JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (Ticker) -- More than the WBA title, John Ruiz and Kirk Johnson fought for a shot at Lennox Lewis' legitimate heavyweight title. Which means Johnson lost, and Ruiz might not have won either.

Ruiz retained his WBA title when referee Joe Cortez disqualified Johnson for repeated low blows last Saturday in Las Vegas. Johnson proved himself not yet ready for prime time, and Ruiz didn't fight well enough to have fight fans clamoring for a fight against Lewis.

"I want to take on that girl Lennox Lewis and prove who the real heavyweight champion is," Ruiz said, verbally retaliating for Lewis calling him "Johnny Louise."

Ruiz didn't take himself out of contention either. Lewis might want to try and unify the heavyweight championship again. But fighting Ruiz might cost Lewis the IBF title because the IBF has ordered him to fight Chris Byrd next. So Lewis must decide between Ruiz and Byrd, or go for the most lucrative fight out there -- Ukraine heavyweight Wladimir Kltischko.

Ruiz failed to force the issue by winning decisively against Johnson. Like his three fights against Evander Holyfield, Ruiz was involved in a bout with an inconclusive ending. Ruiz proved himself a better actor than fighter. TV replays showed that at least two of the low blows that brought penalties, including the final one in the 10th round, landed above the waist or on the waistline.

Every time a punch landed close to low, Ruiz went down and flopped around on the canvas. He also got away with a flagrant head butt, which was perhaps the only intentional foul of the fight but went unseen by Cortez. But Cortez also missed what should have been a ninth-round knockdown of Johnson because Johnson pulled Ruiz down with him.

Johnson lost more because of stupidity than because he was outfought. After Cortez told him another low blow would result in disqualification, he should have made sure not to throw anything close to low.

"I don't know what happened," Johnson said. "It was my fault. There was a lot of emotion. I wanted to be very impressive. Whenever you try to impress people, that's when you don't impress them."

Going into the fight, Johnson had more of a chance to earn a shot at Lewis than Ruiz did. Johnson was unbeaten, while Ruiz has four losses. And Johnson is from Canada, where Lewis grew up. But even if he avoided disqualification, Johnson probably would have blown his shot at Lewis. He either would have lost a decision or won too indecisively to generate interest in a Lewis-Johnson bout. ...

The rematch between Vernon Forrest and Sugar Shane Mosley cleared up one thing about both boxers' future -- they should never fight each other again. Why do that to boxing fans?

Forrest's decision victory over Mosley repeated his victory in January and his triumph in the amateurs that sent him to the 1992 Olympics. Forrest retained the WBC title he took from Mosley the first time around. Still, Mosley probably still has the brighter future of the two.

Mosley impressed enough earlier in his career as undisputed lightweight champion and with his domination over Oscar de la Hoya for the welterweight title to remain among boxing's top acts. He could probably land the winner of the September 14 de la Hoya-Fernando Vargas junior middleweight title fight. Mosley-de la Hoya could still be one of the biggest fights of 2003.

Forrest doesn't have any lucrative options right now. He would love to step up to junior middleweight to meet de la Hoya, but he'll have to get on line behind Mosley. De la Hoya could make more money against Mosley while getting a chance to avenge the only clear loss of his career. Besides, why would he want to deal with the tall Forrest and his awkward style?

Mosley has yet to solve that style, and his second loss to Forrest was the most boring and disappointing major bout of the year. The fight included more clinches than combinations, as both showed far too much respect for their opponents' ability to counter. Just about every time one landed a big punch, the guy who landed grabbed his opponent. Usually, the guy who gets hit holds on.

"I still feel I'm a great fighter," Mosley said. "I don't know if he has my number. He fought a smart fight, and the judges saw it his way."

The rematch was more competitive than the first time, when Forrest dropped Mosley twice in the second round and dominated. There were many more close rounds in the second fight, but Forrest was busier. Unfortunately for Forrest, he failed to gain the respect he expected would come from beating Mosley again.

"I don't have his number," Forrest said. "I'm 35-0. I have everybody I've fought's number."

Before his first loss to Forrest, many people considered Mosley the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. That's obviously changed, but Mosley said nobody should write him off yet.

"A lot of people lost, came back and did great things," he said. "Evander Holyfield lost, Sugar Ray Leonard lost, and now I've lost twice. "I'll go up to 154 (pounds), campaign there and see what the boxing world has to offer. If the people want to see another fight, we can do it again."

Trust us Shane, nobody wants to see that. ...

Antonio Tarver earned a shot at light heavyweight champion Roy Jones by stopping Eric Harding on the Forrest-Mosley undercard. Tarver avenged a loss to Harding that gave Harding a title shot to Jones, and now he wants his crack at Jones.

"I knocked out Eric Harding, something Roy Jones couldn't do," Tarver said. "So, if Roy wants to fight me, tell him to look me up."

First, Jones will fight soft touch Clinton Woods September 7 in Portland, Oregon.

Ronald "Winky" Wright will defend his IBF junior middleweight title against Bronco McKart on the Jones-Woods undercard. It will be the rubber match between Wright and McKart, who have split two previous decisions. ...

Larry Holmes says his 10-round decision over 334-pound Eric "Butterbean" Esch is his final fight. Then again, we've heard that before from the 52-year-old former heavyweight champion.

"This is my song," Holmes said after the fight. "The fat lady is singing. I'm out." ...

Middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins appeared close to signing a three-fight deal with Showtime, but he decided the cable network wasn't offering enough money. Likely opponents for Hopkins would have been Morrade Hakkar, Harry Simon and super middleweight Joe Calzaghe. Signing with Showtime would prevent Hopkins from meeting Roy Jones or Oscar de la Hoya, who both have contracts with HBO. ...

Acelino Freitas defends his WBA junior lightweight title against Daniel Attah Saturday night at Phoenix on Showtime.