CHESTER, W.Va. — All Jim Emrick did to prepare for his heavyweight fight Sunday at The Harv was pound the mitts.

Then he pounded on Cory Gregory. The only mistake the Butler boxer made was not leaving the 254-pound Cleveland, Ohio, fighter enough room to fall down.

Emrick improved his professional record to 3-1 by securing a four-round split decision over Gregory (5-15) as part of the undercard of the Brian Minto-Byron Polley WBA Federcentro title match.

"I was surprised it was a split decision," Emrick said. "I'd give him the second round, but I feel like I won the first, second and fourth. He caught me with a good right in the second round, but he never hurt me.

"That guy's a tough dude. I hit him with some pretty good shots ... I couldn't believe he was still standing."

Emrick caught Gregory with a straight right hand, bloodying his mouth with 30 seconds left in the fight.

He followed up with a four-punch combination that rocked Gregory, who leaned on Emrick, nearly pushing him through the ropes and out of the ring.

"He was dead weight ... I mean, he was gone," Emrick said. "I was the only thing holding him up. He's a savvy guy in there. He did what he had to do to stay on his feet."

"I was hurt," Gregory admitted. "But I wasn't going down. No way."

Gregory fought Minto back in 2003, losing a unanimous four-round decision. The judges Sunday scored the bout 39-37, 39-37, 37-39 in favor of Emrick, who said he plans to continue the late start to his pro career after spending the past few years training his two young sons in the ring.

I'll fight again, but I'm not sure when or where," he said. "I didn't train hard for my last fight (in Morgantown) and lost a decision. I didn't run a mile to get ready for this fight. All I did was pound the mitts, work on my combinations. That came in handy today.

"I have to train harder, I have to get in better shape than I was for this fight."