Action Comes After Bowe Wins : Boxing: Civil suit and promised criminal charges stemming from sucker punch on Monday follow 12-round decision over Larry Donald.

The fight started in a lounge on Monday, moved to a ring on Saturday, spilled over into a press tent afterward and figures to end up in Superior Court sometime next week.

The fight in the ring? Oh yeah, that .

Once the two sides decided on a ring size, an issue that caused screaming-match acrimony, Riddick Bowe at last stalked his elusive opponent down and won a unanimous 12-round decision over Larry Donald before a crowd of 3,574 at the Caesars Palace Sports Pavilion.

Bowe (35-1) dominated from start to finish in a fight that did not compare to events that preceded and proceeded it. One judge had Bowe winning all 12 rounds. Donald, who danced effectively early, became an easy target in the latter rounds.

Bowe stunned Donald with a straight left in the 12th and then went on furious pursuit for a knockout, coming up short as Donald, his face bloodied and swollen, wobbled to the finish.

“Riddick fought the better fight,” Donald (16-1) said. “He was the better man. But I’ll be back.”

According to stats provided by CompuBox, Bowe landed more than twice as many punches, 219 to Donald’s 103.

But that was only the half of it.

As Bowe sat in the news conference folding chair afterward, a brawl nearly ensued when the former heavyweight champion was served legal papers in connection with a civil suit filed against him Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Bowe, remember, had sucker-punched Donald last Monday at a Forum news conference to promote the fight.

Before Saturday’s fight, copies of the complaint, accusing Bowe of assault and battery and “Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress,” had been passed out on press row.

After his victory, Bowe apologized for the incident and even embraced Donald later in the press tent. After Bowe sat down, however, Harry Callicotte, wearing a Team Donald jacket, approached the fighter and tried to serve him papers, a legal formality, he said.

Bowe refused to accept the document and left. Members of Bowe’s entourage, though, erupted with anger and had to be restrained, it appeared, from attacking Callicotte.

“I never thought I’d go over there and the guy would try to clock me,” Callicotte said. “It’s all a part of the procedure. He (Bowe) must have known it was coming.”

More than a dozen members of the Las Vegas Police Department stormed the tent and separated members of the two camps.

Callicotte, it turns out, is the boyfriend of Donald’s manager’s sister.

Roderick J. Lindblom, an attorney representing Donald, said criminal charges of assault and battery would be filed against Bowe next week in Los Angeles Superior Court.

“Mr. Bowe will have to appear, and a warrant will be issued if he doesn’t come,” Lindblom said.

Bowe was unavailable for comment about the suit. Rock Newman, his manager, said the fighter was driving back home to Maryland in a motor home.

Steve Nelson, one of Donald’s two managers, said Bowe was served after the bout so as to not further disrupt the fight.

As if that were possible.

Newman said promoter Bob Arum had threatened to cancel the fight at 4 p.m. over arguments about the ring size, which originally had been set at 17.2 feet, a size the Donald camp thought greatly favored Bowe.

Newman, though, had contractual control over the ring size.

After a screaming match between Arum and Newman in which epithets were exchanged, the ring was set at 18.2 feet.

Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, said that beginning Monday, all ring sizes in Nevada will be standardized at 20 feet.

Once all parties laid down their arms, Bowe took a positive, if not compelling, step back toward regaining the heavyweight title he lost more than a year ago.

His punches, particularly his right, missed wildly at times and showed the effects of having fought only once once since November of 1993.

Eddie Futch, Bowe’s 83-year old trainer, called it “ring rust.”

Bowe seemed satisfied. And confident. In fact, before the Donald fight, he reportedly had secured a contract to fight World Boxing Organization champion Herbie Hide next March.

“I proved without doubt I’m the best heavyweight in the world,” Bowe said afterward. “I’m real happy with the fight. He never hurt me. The fight went about how I expected.”