Las Vegas, NV (BoxingGurus.com) - "Quiet Man" John Ruiz avenged his controversial loss to Evander Holyfield by winning a unanimous decision last night to win the WBA Heavyweight Title at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Ruiz now becomes the first man of Hispanic decent to win the Heavyweight championship of the world.

"I know I beat him the first time and this time proved it," a jubilant Ruiz said. "I came and got what I wanted."

The fight was close in the first few rounds as both fighters were fighting sloppy and dirty. Ruiz had suffered a cut under his left eye in the second round that ended up swelling his eye closed by the end of the fight. Then Holyfield appeared to slowly start taking the fight over in the middle rounds by throwing solid combinations and finishing each round strong. But then in the tenth round, Holyfield threw a punch that was borderline low and referee Joe Cortez took a point away from Holyfield. It appeared that Ruiz was faking as he was very tired and beat up and the punch seemed not to hit low. Ruiz used almost all his allotted 5 minutes to rest and to make one last charge.

Holyfield is knocked down in the 11th.   Kevork Djansezian (AP)

Ruiz made that charge at the beginning of the 11th round as his face was bloodied and beaten, but he had more than enough in his tank to dominate the championship rounds. Ruiz (37-4, 27 KO) knocked down Holyfield (37-5-1, 25 KO) with a big right hand early in the 11th round and Holyfield was staggered the rest of the round. Holyfield just tried to tie up Ruiz the rest of the round and hold on for dear life.

Holyfield did last the rest of the fight, but left the decision in the hands of the three judges. Judge Stanley Christodoulou scored it 116-110, while Chuck Giampa had it 115-111 and Patricia Jarman-Manning had it 114-111. BoxingGurus.com had the fight scored 114-111. The fight was a bit closer than what the judges scorecards had it, but a decision in favor of Ruiz was defiantly fair.

"It looks like I'm going to have to get back in line," Holyfield said. "I was a four-time champion and now I'm going to have to become a five-time champion."

Don King mentioned that John Ruiz will next defend his title in Beijing, China against a yet to be determined opponent.

ON THE UNDERCARD:

"Cincinnati Kid" Tim Austin (22-0-1, 20 KO) defended his IBF Bantamweight Title for the sixth time by knocking out Jesus Perez (20-1-2, 11 KO) at 2:02 of the 6th round. Austin knocked Perez down for the first time in the 3rd round and again in the 5th round. Then in the 6th round Austin knocked Perez down twice before the referee stopped the fight.

Journeyman Manuel Gomez (18-10, 15 KO) pulled off an upset by winning a split decision over top Junior Welterweight contender Miguel Angel Gonzalez (44-3-1, 34 KO). Gonzalez looked sluggish because of having to lose too much weight and tired out in the later rounds. The judges scored the fight 95-94 (Gomez), 95-94 (Gonzalez), and 97-92 (Gomez). BoxingGurus.com had the fight comfortably for Gomez 98-91.

In another rematch, former WBA Junior Flyweight champ Rosendo Alvarez (29-2-1, 18 KO) regained his title by revenging Beibis Mendoza (27-1, 23 KO) with a split decision win. In the last fight, Alvarez was DQ'd after hitting low three different times. Ironically, Mendoza was penalized a point in the 3rd and it ultimately cost him his title. The final judges' scorecards were 114-113 (Mendoza), 115-112 (Alvarez), and 114-113 (Mendoza).

In another title fight, #1 contender Manuel Siaca (14-3, 13 KO) fought former champion Byron Mitchell (23-2-1, 17 KO), a late replacement for Bruno Girard, for the vacant WBA Super Middleweight Title. Girard vacated the title since he was unwilling to defend it against mandatory opponent Siaca because he felt the purse was not high enough. Late replacement Mitchell took advantage of this opportunity and knocked out Siaca with a surprising stoppage in the 12th round. Mitchell, who looked lackluster throughout most of the fight, was behind on 2 of the 3 cards going into the 12th.