Rahman retains WBC crown on majority draw

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey, Mar 19 (Reuters) Hasim ''The Rock'' Rahman retained his World Boxing Council heavyweight title after his 12-round bout against James Toney was ruled a majority draw.

Rahman was rated a 117-111 winner by one judge, but the other two had it 114-114 at Boardwalk Hall, yesterday.

Neither fighter scored a knockdown in the bout, which saw lots of action at close quarters with Rahman carrying the fight to the challenger.

Toney, who seemed content to lean back against the ropes and reel off counter-punches, threw fewer punches but landed the cleaner shots.

The challenger was uncut while Rahman had a small cut over his left eyelid and on his lower lip.

''I'm the champ and I thought I won the bout clean,'' said Rahman. ''Even though it was a draw, I'm still the champ and I can go on from here.'' Rahman's record went to 41-5-2, while Toney's now stands at 69-4-3.

''I thought I won it by two or three points,'' Toney said. ''I thought we had the edge.'' The fight was Rahman's first defense of the WBC crown he was awarded when Vitali Klitschko, who had canceled four fight dates against Rahman due to injury, retired.

REUTERS PM RK1033