MONTREAL - Kevin Bizier pounded Nate Campbell for eight rounds and forced the 40-year-old former world champion to concede defeat in a one-sided welterweight battle Friday night at the Bell Centre.

Campbell did not come out for the ninth round of the scheduled 12-round contest and his corner waived to referee Marlon B.Wright that the bout was over.

Bizer (20-0), of St. Emile, Que., retained his minor NAFA title and added the vacant IBF Continental belt with the TKO victory.

It was the 28-year-old's first time as a main event fighter and he got international exposure on ESPN's Friday Night Fights.

Campbell took the fight on two week's notice after the original opponent, Englishman John O'Donnell, injured a hand in training.

Campbell is the former unified lightweight champion who has taken on most of the world's top fighters in his division. He recently scored an upset win in the Dominican Republic against highly touted contender Victor Cayo.

But he was never in it against Bizier, who looked to win every round. The right hander was particularly effective with a jarring left hook and uppercut.

The co-feature saw an upset of sorts as Baha Laham (11-0-1) of Montreal scored a 10-round majority decision over Tyler Asselstine (12-1) of Toronto.

Both fighters moved up from their normal weight classes to fight at lightweight (135 pounds).

Asselstine was busier and looked to land more punches, but Laham bowed his head and stayed tight to his opponent, scoring repeatedly from the inside.

One judge scored it a draw and two gave it to Laham by close decision. Opinion in the media seats was split. The Canadian Press had it 97-93 for Asselstine.

There was debatable judging early as portly crowd-pleaser Stephane (Brutus) Tessier (3-30-2) lost a four-round split decision to Steve Harvey (3-1), despite having his fellow Montreal resident in trouble twice. The heavily bleeding Harvey looked to be saved by the bell in the final round as Tessier pounded him in a neutral corner.

The heavyweight Tessier has not won in 31 fights since Oct. 1, 2005, when he scored a majority decision over Patrick Cote of Rimouski, Que. It was the one and only pro boxing match for Cote, who has since gone on to a mixed martial arts career in the UFC.

Didier Bence (7-0) was rocked badly in the first round by a body shot and looked in trouble again in the final two rounds of a six-rounder with Joey (Polish Thunder) Dawejko (7-2-2) of Philadelphia, but somehow the Montreal heavyweight got the judges' unanimous decision.

Steve Rolls (3-0) of Toronto scored a unanimous decision over Ahmad Selemani (0-8) of Quebec City in a four-round super-middleweight bout.

And Michael Gadbois (9-0) of St. Hyacinthe, Que., scored a bloody six-round majority decision over Polish super-featherweight Krzysztof Rogowski (5-1).

News from © The Canadian Press, 2013