Ishe Smith (left) and Fernando Guerrero battling it out / photo © Cheryl Nemazie - cherylnemazie.com

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Joseph R. Holzer recaps this past Friday night's Shobox and FNF cards.

Who needs to shell out $54.95 when ESPN and Showtime are giving good fights away for cheap?

On Friday, while the boxing world awaited the late-night Bob Arum conference call regarding the "deadline" Top Rank imposed on Floyd Mayweather Jr. to approve a potential bout against Manny Pacquiao (spoiler alert: Money May decided to remain mum), Friday Night Fights and ShoBox showcased some old faces and some new ones in a few entertaining scraps.

Zab Judah returned to the ring after an eight-month layoff to score a third-round knockout of Jose Armando Santa Cruz in ESPN's main event. In his first bout at junior welterweight since 2003, Judah (39-6, 27 KOs) proved he still has some gas in his tank at 32. The speedy southpaw landed a highlight-reel left uppercut that floored Santa Cruz in the third round. Santa Cruz beat the count, but was on wobbly legs when Judah unleashed an assault that had Santa Cruz on the ropes and referee Benjy Estevez stepping in at 2:33.

A leaner Judah vowed he was back in a post-fight interview, calling out the top dogs at 140. Timothy Bradley, who defeated Luis Carlos Abregu on HBO last night, may be a future opponent if Judah has his way. The division is ripe with young talent, including Amir Kahn, Devon Alexander and Marcos Maidana. A proposed tournament was nixed by Golden Boy Promotions, but with Judah in the mix, the weight class has a solid name to draw in casual fans.

At this point, Judah really has nothing to lose. Maybe that's what fans needed to see all along from a guy who possesses the talent he does. Remember: This was a guy who dominated -- yes, dominated -- Mayweather the first four rounds of their 2006 bout. The top of the 140 crop may have an age advantage, but Judah is experienced and appears capable of making fan-friendly fights.

ShoBox began its tripleheader with a battle of unbeaten welterweights, as Mike Dallas Jr. squared off against Lanard Lane. Though the Showtime commentary crew is always and annoyingly quick to point it out, this is what separates the program from other televised boxing cards. Dallas and Lane knew what they were getting into, and it meant one was likely leaving with his first loss. Dallas fought that way. Lane, not so much.

Dallas (15-0-1, 5 KOs) started quick out of the gate, throwing punches often in combination. He was hit behind the head in the middle of the initial round, which slowed him a bit, but came on strong again in rounds two through six. While Lane launched looping shots, Dallas was content with boxing and using angles to frustrate his opponent.

Lane (12-1, 7 KOs) had a good seventh round, but Dallas reverted to what was winning in the eighth and final round. Dallas took a unanimous decision, 78-74 on all cards, the same as this writer.

But ShoBox didn't stop there. The second bout of the night -- and the most intriguing on paper -- had two welterweight prospects going head to head. In a match-up of considerably contrasting styles, Shawn Porter defeated "The New" Ray Robinson in a somewhat sloppy affair.

At 5-foot-7, Porter (16-0, 12 KOs) might be a tad too short for the division, but that didn't stop the diminutive Porter from slugging his way to a win over the comparatively statuesque Robinson. It wasn't easy -- and it certainly wasn't pretty -- but it remained compelling enough to maintain viewers' attention.

After an even first four rounds, Porter began to take control, slowing Robinson's activity by pounding his long body. He knocked Robinson down in the sixth, but Robinson regained his wits. The awkward Robinson (11-2, 4 KOs) boxed effectively enough to take the eighth, but Porter once again went on the offensive and closed the fight strong.

Porter deserved the decision, but the judges' scorecards were too wide. Louis Henry scored it 98-91, while Reccia Mullins had Porter ahead an unfathomable 99-89. Only Gerald Deming's card was on par with reality at 97-92, the same as this writer.

And the atrocious judging didn't end there. Too mar an otherwise good card, the officials managed to cheapen the efforts of Ishe Smith in his surprisingly fun slugfest against an undefeated Fernando Guerrero in the main event.

It began as a war of attrition, with Guerrero (19-0, 15 KOs) attempting to penetrate the Las Vegas fighter's superb defense, and Smith (21-5, 9 KOs) responding by ripping shots to the southpaw's body.  The strategy to target the body had benefits down the road, though appeared to be working against Smith at first, as referee Randy Phillips repeatedly warned him for low blows

The first definitive round was the fourth, where Guerrero took advantage of Smith's reluctance to work the mid-section. Guerrero continued with a high-volume output in the middle rounds. Smith was even penalized for going low in the sixth, but he hit the gas pedal in the final three rounds with pinpoint accuracy and defense and scored a knockdown in the waning seconds of the eighth.

There was an ebb-and-flow to the battle that made it an exciting crowd pleasing fight, though some of the shine was taken away by a scorecard that didn't mesh with reality. Smith took at least one, and possibly all of the first three rounds, and definitely had an edge in two of the last three. That's a minimum of three rounds, and arguably as many as six that he was entitled to.

So how is it Henry had Guerrero winning 8 of the 10 rounds for a 97-91 score? There's no way that card can be justified. Deming and Mullins had it closer for Guerrero at 96-93 and 95-93, respectively. This writer saw the close battle a little differently, 95-93 for Smith.

Mayweather and Pacquiao are the cream of the crop, no doubt. On Friday, a few guys proved boxing goes beyond two big names. Whether it was seasoned veterans like Judah and Smith, or prospects like Dallas, Porter and Guerrero, there are fighters out there willing to lay it on the line.

Fans can sit and wait and complain for a fight that might never happen, or they can enjoy what the sport offers on those "other" days. Friday was one of those days.

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