It was far from a textbook performance.

Julien Collette turned in a disappointing show, but still did enough in the eyes of the judges to post a controversial unanimous decision win over Jason Campbell in The Next Great Heavyweight professional boxing card on Saturday night in the CEPS Building at the Université de Moncton.

Collette, a Bouctouche native, spent much of the five-round bout trying to tie up his opponent by wrapping his arms around him. Campbell, of Woodstock, was the aggressor and held the lead after Round 3 as a crowd of 1,300 looked on.

"To be honest, not to take anything away from Jason, I wasn't in top shape," said Collette. "I wasn't in as good a shape as my last fight. I took three weeks off where I didn't train at all.

"He has a long jab. I thought before the fight I could slip his jab, but he hit me with that jab every time. It was a hard fight. I've got a lot of stuff to work on before my next fight. I've got to make sure I'm in the best shape of my life for the championship fight."

Collette and Warren Porter, both 3-0, will clash for the heavyweight championship belt and $5,000 cash prize. The date for that card hasn't yet been determined.

Collette, a 29-year-old plasterer, knew he was in trouble after Round 3 in the semifinal. Campbell landed numerous jabs, dictated the pace and looked to be in control.

The momentum shifted in Collette's favour in the final two rounds as he finished the fight strong. It's questionable whether he did enough to earn the win, but he advanced to the final and that's good for business because he's the top fan draw in the heavyweight division.

"My corner told me I had to win the last two rounds," said Collette. "I had to take the aggressor role in the end. I wasn't sure which way the judges were going. It was a close fight."

Porter, a 33-year-old Doaktown native, advanced to the heavyweight final with a unanimous decision win over Mark Peters.

Peters, of Elsipogtog, was making his pro boxing debut and he looked good early with a slight lead after Round 2. The other three contenders were all in their third fight, but Peters was given a free pass to the semifinal as a wildcard injury replacement.

Porter, a heavy equipment operator, began working the body and landed good shots in Round 3. He took control of the fight from there onward and several times had his opponent in trouble against the ropes.

"It feels really good," he said of advancing to the final. "I didn't know what kind of a road it was going to be to get here, but it was tough. All three of my fights were tough.

"The ring experience is the biggest thing. That was my big advantage over my opponent tonight with this being his first fight. My conditioning was also better than his."

Porter knew he was behind after Round 2.

"He was a pretty good boxer, better than I expected him to be," he said. "He came out hard, but I knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up. The first round my plan was to feel him out and see what kind of power he had.

"I was confident in my conditioning. I was pretty sure he would wear down faster. I knew I had to win the last three rounds. My corner told me that."

The card also served as Phase 2 of The Next Great Cruiserweight tournament.

The final four contenders were determined for this championship belt and $3,000 cash prize.

Denis Martin improved to 2-0 with a knockout win at :54 of round 2. He landed a heavy right hook to Fred Mallery's jaw, sending the Petitcodiac native to the canvas.

Martin is from Riviere Verte, near Edmundston, and he's won both his fights by knockout. Mallery was unable to make the 10 count and his corner threw in the towel.

Jesse Frances, of Eel Ground, improved to 2-0 by picking up a TKO victory when Marshall Norrad's corner threw in the towel at 1:43 of Round 3.

This was one of the most entertaining fights of the night as both came out throwing punches at a furious pace in Round 1. Frances landed a flurry of head shots in Round 2 and Norrad, of Boiestown, was saved by the bell.

Chris Norrad, of Boiestown, is 3-0 after picking up a unanimous decision win over Doaktown's Travis Conners in another entertaining bout. Conners, 1-1, was voted back as the wildcard entry to round out the four contenders for the cruiserweight title.

The six-bout card was rounded out by a non-tournament fight. Emile Arsenault of Shediac picked up a split decision win in his debut against Grand Falls native Pierre St. Amand, who's 1-2