Every once in a while, things just get a little bit weird.  It could be the alignment of the planets, perhaps the changing of the season, or maybe just strange coincidence.  But it happens.  

This summer has been one of the strangest that I can remember.  For one thing, Southern New Mexico has received ridiculous amounts of rain over the last month.  Normally, the rain would be welcomed with open arms.  Instead, a constant and steady dose of rainfall has caused minor damage...and major inconvenience for many people.    

So that explains why the mighty Rio Grande is flooding.  But why is the mythological River Styx overflowing? 

In addition to events that will remain unmentioned, something beyond the realm of oddity occurred this last weekend.  It was unfathomable and intangible...inconceivable and unbelievable... preposterous and...well, you get the idea.   

I watched a heavyweight boxing match...and it was entertaining!  And even more astounding, it wasn't a pay-per-view bout.

I know, I know.  I was more shocked than anyone.  But it's true.

This past Saturday night, Samuel Peter stepped into the ring with James Toney.  This was no championship fight, but the winner would be virtually assured a shot at a major world title.                                    

Samuel "The Nigerian Nightmare" Peter entered the fight with a 26-1 record, which includes 22 knockouts.  His opponent, James "Lights Out" Toney, boasts 69 total wins (in various weight divisions) and had not lost since 1997 as a cruiserweight.  For 38 year-old Toney, this was perhaps his last realistic shot at earning a heavyweight title fight.

I must admit that I did not make specific plans to watch this fight.  Thanks to some timely channel-surfing, I came across this fight only a minute or two before the first bell.  Little did I know that the fight would be entertaining enough to watch in its entirety.  

My first thought at seeing the two fighters was, "someone is going to get killed".  The imposing Samuel Peter stands at 6'1" and weighs in at 257 lbs.  And they claim that he "trimmed down" in order to reach that weight.  James Toney is quite a bit smaller, at 5'9" and 223 lbs.

Though neither appeared to be built for endurance, the fight went the entire 12 rounds.  Instead of fading towards the end, both boxers continued to throw punches that would put an average joe in the hospital for months.

Toney set the pace in almost each and every round.  Utilizing a stiff power jab, he was able to inflict damage early in the fight.  And almost every time, Peter was able to withstand the combinations and flurried with power punches during the final minute of each round.

The 5th round is when the fight would change.  While Toney had been elusive over the first 4 rounds, The Nigerian Nightmare would catch up with him in the 5th.  A devastating downward right would connect squarely, and left Toney a bit shaken.  He quickly recovered without receiving much more damage, but clearly gained some respect for the big fella's power.

In the 9th round, Peter was deducted a point for an odd-looking double handed punch to Toney's ears while they were clinched on the ropes.

The final scorecard simply came down to a decision of quality versus quantity.  James Toney had thrown many more punches, but Samuel Peter seemed to have landed more solid power shots.  The end result was a split decision in favor of Peter.  A decision I might have accepted, except for the presence of Don King...but I digress.

So what was so good about the fight?

The best things in life are free.  Just the simple fact that this fight was aired on Showtime rather than pay-per-view made it worthwhile.  Of course, if it had been PPV...odds are that it would have lasted 2 rounds, and had me screaming at the television set for a refund.

It was an actual heavyweight fight.  Nothing against the little guys, but when you watch a fight...you wanna see a real fight!  When lightweights square off, it's almost like a power outage.  When heavyweights go at it, you don't have to assume that a punch landed...you know it when you see it.  Bottom line - it's entertaining.

It was an actual competitive fight.  13 years of age and 30 lbs separated these two fighters, but until the winner was announced...there was no clue as to who might have the edge.  And that isn't because of a controversial decision, it's only because the fight really was that close.  Neither boxer was knocked down, neither tired out down the stretch, and both were swinging with power.  What more could you ask for?

If I want to watch someone run around in circles, I'll watch Dancing With the Stars.  These guys danced around for about 30 seconds of the first round.  At that point, they both then stopped dancing and started swinging.  There was no dodge and run tactics that you often see in the lighter divisions.

So overall, this was a very entertaining fight to watch.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not ready to label either of these fighters as among the elite of all time.  In fact, the only thing worse than Samuel Peter's boxing technique was his mastery of the English language.  But he's getting better.  With his technique, that is.

The second close decision of the evening came during the post-fight interviews...in the battle of words.  If you thought Peter's English was bad, you should have heard James Toney.  He must have said over a hundred words during the interview, but all I heard was "Everybody knows I won the fight".  I'd say the linguistic contest was a split decision too.

An entertaining fight in this day and age is proof that anything is possible...