Blood streamed down Brian Minto's face. But how did it get there?

Minto said it resulted from a head-butt.

Donnell Holmes' camp said it came from a straight right hand. Television replays confirmed neither.

The cut occurred during the fourth round. The ringside doctor didn't allow Minto, who had a jagged gash above the bridge of his nose and near his left eye, to start the fifth.

Referee Rick Steigerwald ruled the cut occurred from an accidental head-butt. Because the scheduled 12-round WBO North American heavyweight title bout Friday night at Pullman Park completed four rounds, by rule the scorecards determined the outcome. Minto was ahead 39-37, 40-36, 40-36 on the judges' cards and was awarded the title.

"As soon as it happened, I backed off and said to (Steigerwald), 'That's a head-butt.' He nodded in agreement and told me to finish the round,"Minto said.

"That's why boxing is in the state it's in ... because of this stuff," Holmes' cornerman John Butler said. "Donnell was turning this fight. Minto was going to leave this ring on a stretcher if it continued.

"If it was a head-butt, why didn't they stop it right away? Why doesn't Donnell's head show any trace of blood? (Minto) was cut by a punch and was in trouble. That's why they stopped it."

Minto controlled the first three rounds, slipping Holmes' left jab and winning the exchanges.

But the jab began landing in the fourth round and Holmes was able to land punches more consistently.

"That's because of this," Minto said, pointing to his cut while awaiting stitches. "Blood was getting in my eye and I was having a hard time seeing.

"Before the head-butt, I wasn't worried about him. He was predictable. He kept throwing the same three punches."

Holmes said he couldn't recall a head-butt during an close exchange between the fighters along the ropes early in the fourth round.

Minto went into that exchange with no marks on his face. He emerged from it with a bloodied face.

"I'm not a sore loser," Holmes said. "I still respect and thank Brian Minto for fighting me. But I do believe I would have eventually won this fight.

"We knew the crowd would have him all amped up early, so we wanted to let him have his flurries and tire himself out. I could tell he was getting tired. He started backing away, then holding on. He began ducking his head and throwing wild punches.

"I took his best shots early. He doesn't have any punching power. I wasn't worried about that," Holmes added.

Holmes' camp said the WBO will review the tape. Holmes said if a replay clearly shows Minto was cut by a punch, the North American title may be awarded to him.

If no reason for the cut can be determined, a no-contest could be declared and a rematch ordered.

"That's my understanding of the rules," he said. "We'll just wait and see how it turns out."

"Brian Minto was exposed tonight," said John Tripp, Holmes' attorney. "He was slow. He looked ordinary."

The crowd of 2,600 booed loudly when the fight was stopped.

When asked if he could have continued the fight, Minto said, "I leave those decisions to the doctor. He can see the cut. I can't.

"Sure, I'm disappointed the fight ended this way. I wanted to knock the guy out. Unfortunately, head-butts are a part of boxing. It happens."

Freddy Roach, training Minto (34-2) for the first time, was pleased with his fighter's performance.

"Brian was patient and was fighting a very disciplined fight," Roach said. "(Holmes) couldn't do anything with him until blood started getting in Brian's eye.

"We'd fight him again if the money's right."

Minto isn't against a rematch. He's just skeptical about it happening.

"Who's going to put up the money?" he said. "Showtime didn't want this fight because they're not interested in Holmes. I'm the champ now. I'm the attraction. I'm moving on."

The loss was Holmes' (31-1-2) first in 34 professional fights.

"The loss goes on my record, but I still haven't been beaten by another fighter," Holmes said.

On the undercard, Paul Zalus of West Deer, a former Butler County Community College student, improved to 2-0 with a TKO of Justin Novaria at 2:35 of the second round.

Novaria, of Zanesville, Ohio, was making his pro debut. He was knocked down twice in the second round and took a standing eight-count another time.

Russ Niggemyer of Columbus, Ohio, scored a knockout 52 seconds into his middleweight bout and Farrell's Cliff Gregory won for the first time in nine pro bouts, getting a majority decision in the welterweight division.

<B>Heavyweights</B>Brian Minto (34-2, 21 KOs), Butler, unanimous decision over Donnell Holmes (31-1-2, 27 KOs), Ivanhoe, N.C., four rounds, fight stopped by accidental head-buttPaul Zalus (2-0, 2 KOs), West Deer, second-round TKO over Justin Novaria (0-1), Zanesville, OhioBrandon Winner (3-6), Youngstown, Ohio, majority decision over Brian Cook (2-3, 2 KOs), Cleveland, Ohio<B>Middleweights</B>Russ Niggemyer (2-0, 2 KOs), Columbus, Ohio, first-round knockout of William Hampton (0-1), Zanesville, Ohio<B>Welterweights</B>Cliff Gregory (1-5-3), Farrell, majority decision over Gabe Morris (1-3-1), Toledo, Ohio