Saskatoon’s Ryan Henney regained his Canadian Cruiserweight title after outboxing Sarnia, Ontario’s Frank White (7-3-1, 5KOs) over 10 rounds Saturday night in Edmonton, Alberta. It was the third time these two warriors have fought each other. Henney stopped White in 6 rounds in a non title affair in the initial encounter. In their rematch a year later, White took away Henney’s Canadian Cruiserweight title by way of unanimous decision. Saturday night’s rubber match, with the title on the line, was action packed.

The openning round had both men feeling each other out. White attempted to intimidate the former champ but to no avail. Round two brought some excitement to the table as both combatants went toe to toe, landing plenty of leather on the other. An overhand right from White exploded on the chin of Henney half way through round three, sending him to the canvas, something that many other have failed to accomplish. Henney easily beat the count, then wisely hung on to White until his legs returned. The additional time served him well as he was able to escape the round.

Henney again felt the power of White midway through the 4th. During an exchange in the centre of the ring, White's overhand right made Henney’s legs buckle once again. Hurt, Henney fought gallantly through White’s power punches and even managed to turn the round into his favor by putting pressure on White. That would signal the turning point in the bout. Round 5 had White swinging and missing while Henney would dart in, landing a quick combo then moving out of harm’s way.

Henney began to pick White apart over the course of round 6 however, late in the round, White attempted to steal the round by landing some massive punches at the end of the frame. Round 7 had both men in an all out war in the center of the ring. This time Henney attempted to steal the round by landing an impressive combination that sent White stumblin back into his own corner.

Over the next three round (8, 9 and 10) White began throwing caution to the wind, using every punch in his arsenal to get Henney out of there. Henney, in turn, would punch himself out of whenever trouble would arise. When the final bell rang to end the bout, the decision would fall upon the judges to determine the winner. All three judges saw it the same, 96-93 all in favor of Henney who once again is the Cruiserweight champion of Canada.

On the undercard, Edmonton boxing fans had the opportunity to see their own Amy Johnson, who has not fought since Dec 2007 due to injuries, take on Calgary's Peggy Maerz in a 4 round Lightweight female affair. Johnson (5-2-3, 1 KO) looked a little rusty while Maerz taking the action to Johnson and fighting the better fight of the two. Maerz, who was making her pro debut, showed her inexperience by letting Johnson steal away the 4th round and it proved costly as Johnson was able to earn a draw.

Kyle Matuk make his pro debut a winning one but in an odd and bizarre fashion. Matuk was in an all out battle with fellow Edmonton Super Middleweight Justin Berger when, in round 3, Matuk landed a left, right combo that dropped Berger to the canvas. Berger (3-5) immediately rose to his feet and then literally walked out of the ring before his corner could stop him. Left with little choice, referee John Braak ended the bout, awarding the victory to Matuk. Once the official decision was announced as a stoppage victory (TKO3) for Matuk, Berger, who was now back in the ring, dropped to his knees in disappointment. It’s always entertaining to watch Berger fight with his George Foreman cross armed defensive style and his intense eyes that stare right through his opponent but hopefully for his own safety the boxing commission will take a good look at this fight.

Undefeated Calgary prospect Steve Claggett (6-0-1, 1KO) scored a quick knockout of Chicago’s Michael Maley. Claggett landed a devastating right, followed by a left hook to the chin that drove Maley to the mat. Maley (3-7, 3KOs) tried to beat referee Don Smart’s count but the contest was waved off at the 1:31 mark $of the first round.

In a heavyweight showdown, Ryan Ford, a local MMA star and son of former Canadian Lightweight Champion Al Ford, made his pro debut against former Canadian Cruiserweight champion Willard Lewis. Lewis, a onetime world title challenger now on a 20 fight winless streak, showed his experience and granite chin by taking Ford’s best punches over the course of the 4 rounds. Even though Lewis (17-24-3, 9KOs) continued to get rocked every time Ford connected, he kept to his plan of boxing without engaging the younger Ford in a brawl. Judge Craig Metcalfe scored the bout 38-38, William Warwick Jr had the fight 39-37 for Ford while Mark Edel scored all four rounds for Ford.

Edmonton's Anthony “Hits Hard” Lessard (8-5-2) was scheduled to fight Vancouver’s Antonio Dos Santos (2-2) however when Santos' CT scan detected q possible head injury, the fight was cancelled.

If you wish to contact the author of this article, email Tom Hebert at FightNews Canada