By Ryan Songalia

Risking his top ranking with one of the governing bodies, it appeared to be a no-win situation for Nate Campbell at the Florida State Fairgrounds Hall in Tampa, FL. The gamble payed off, however, as "The Galaxxy Warrior" blasted Wilson Alcorro into Deep Space Nine in six rounds, extending his winning streak to three fights. The bout was televised by ESPN2.

Campbell, who is the mandatory challenger for IBF Lightweight titlist Julio Diaz, seemed a bit antsy in the early going as he lunged in with punches trying to end things quickly. As a result, Campbell was hit with punches that he normally would have evaded from his opponent. Alcorro fought gamely, landing punches to the body when Campbell would exchange shots along the ropes. However, Nate clearly bested the war of the body punching.

"The Galaxy Warrior" settled into a rhythm in the fourth stanza when he reverted back to the basics of sticking and moving. The Colombian brawler's confusion began to mount as Campbell's kinetic style opened up right hand counterpunching opportunities. It was early in the sixth round when one of those right hands stunned Alcorro, and a follow-up right that dropped him, that led to the count of ten that awarded Nate his desired result. The official time was :27.

"I thought I was able to sustain my attack and do the best I could with only three weeks of training," said Campbell, now 31-5 (25 KO). "I just said screw the big shots and let him walk into a big punch. He was tough, period."

Nate did not have the services of trainer John David Jackson, who is preparing Bernard Hopkins for his upcoming bout with Winky Wright. Says Campbell of being without his chief second, "It was different, I miss John. I wasn't as sharp as I could've been."

Campbell acknowledged that he was not in top form, but assured that he will perform better once John David Jackson returns to his corner.

Alcorro's record is now 35-8-3 (23 KO).

Williamson rolls Wheeler

Davaryll Williamson put another W on his record by knocking out Maurice Wheeler in three rounds. Williamson, who was coming off of ten months of inactivity, appeared rusty in the early going, although the rotund Wheeler's lack of conditioning prevented himself from accomplishing anything of note. If the previous statement was too vague a visual description, Wheeler appeared ready to face Chris Arreola to decide who was the breast heavyweight in the division.

Wheeler was deducted a point without a warning for hitting on the break in the first round. When Williamson retaliated in the third, the referee felt it appropriate to caution Williamson for his infraction. One more point would be deducted from Wheeler, this time for head-butting, before Williamson gave Wheeler a "Touch of Sleep" with the right hand, flooring him for the ten count at 2:56.

"I wanted to shake off some of the rust that I had," Williamson said. "It's hard fighting a guy who doesn't want to fight, but I just remained calm and let the knockout come. The main thing for me is to remain active. I'll speak with Don King when I get hoe and see what's next for me."

Williamson, whose losses include Wladimir Klitschko, Joe Mesi, and Chris Byrd, raises his record to 24-4 (20 KO). Wheeler continues his six fight losing streak and breaks even at 10-10 (1 KO).

Tough Angulo Spoils Lopez Party

It was an all-out war, and Fernando Angulo had the weapons of mass destruction to pull off the upset over two-time Venezuelan Olympian Patrick Lopez. The fight was fought in a phone booth, with wild exchanges typifying the action throughout. Angulo, who went 12 rounds with Juan Diaz in his last bout, was the more grizzled fighter and stayed active over the long haul, stunning Lopez with roundhouse punches that were telegraphed Western Union-style.

Lopez, also a Venezuelan expatriate now living in New Hampshire, seemed uncomfortable with the rough style of Angulo yet was unable to slow down the action. Lopez suffered cuts to the top and bottom of his left eye in the middle rounds, which impaired his vision substantially.

The scorecards read 94-96 on two cards and 93-97 on the other awarding Angulo the upset victory.

"The decision was surprising," said Oscar Suarez, trainer of Lopez. "I thought it was a little closer than that. This fight was more emotional for Patrick. They had some personal issues between them and Patrick fell into his trap." Suarez did concede that Angulo deserved the decision.

In other action

Joshua Cordero stopped Marcus Broadnax in the first round. Southpaw Manny Cortessis scored a first round TKO over Raymond Brindle to win his professional debut. Ahsandi Gibbs won a hard-fought unanimous decision over Eric Clinton. Willy Chisholm knocked out Brian Rollins at the end of the second round with a violent display of belated fireworks from both hands.

Any questions or comments? Send them to me at mc_rson@yahoo.com