Montreal proved once again it was a great fight town as a boisterous crowd braved a rainstorm to cheer on local fighter Herman Ngoudjo in an outdoor fight against Randall Bailey (the ring was covered but not the stands). With an IBF 140-pound title shot at stake, Ngoudjo and Bailey traded knockdowns in the first two rounds. Bailey stalked Ngoudjo aggressively but was off-balance in the first round when Ngoudjo's counter floored but did not hurt Bailey, who has held world title belts on two occasions, but never a truly legitimate championship. Still, give Bailey credit for going into Ngoudjo's home base and taking the fight to the younger man. Ngoudjo rallied over the last two rounds, and won a split decision by scores of 115-112 Bailey, 115-112 Ngoudjo and 114-112 Ngoudjo. One judge was from each boxer's hometown, and one was from Nevada, with the neutral judge deciding the bout for Ngoudjo. More punches were landed by Ngoudjo, but Bailey landed the harder shots, and can make a legitimate claim that he deserved the decision. ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas favored Bailey. Ngoudjo will now be a very interested observer for next week's Lovemore Ndou-Paul Malignaggi IBF title fight, as he will be named the mandatory contender for the winner. source: friday night fights on espn2