Wow, forget Tyson-Holyfield or Trinidad-De La Hoya…

Tonight was Romney-Perry and it was the slugfest in Vegas, that the bookies didn’t have an eye on.

Winners:

Mitt still a level above the rest: He showed some style dissing 999 (Cain compared tax plans to apples and oranges, Romney called them a bushel, both still taxes) and beat back Santorum when asked about Romneycare. He’s got the most poise folks. He thinks quickly has a solid message and knows the game inside and out.

Romney's apples and oranges return on 999 and calling them two different taxes gets a 3 out of 5

He owned Rick Perry. Watch the video coverage. Forget Perry’s Texas Swagger. He put the Vulcan nerve pinch on the Texas Governor and you saw the energy drain out of him. The most intense part of the debate…

What kind of message does this picture send to the voters?

Newt for VP?: Gingrich continued to play nice with the candidates and looks like a warm pick for VP. There were times when he sounded like the most rational guy in the room but…he’s not electable. I like him across the stage from Joe Biden on a VP debate stage.

Didn’t Win or Lose:

Bachmann plays to strengths: She’s been sounding smarter, sticking to her tax law strengths and social issue hot spots. She’s not a winner because she’s not going to gain any ground with this message and it’s not evolving or rolling out fresh talking points. She thinks Iraq should pay us back for their conflict.

Has Ron Paul found the right tone? He’s getting better. What was once completely bizarre is now a little more agreeable with the average conservative.

Cain can’t talk 999- Mr. Cain , don’t give a national audience a reading assignment on your economic plan. If it’s so simple then explain it. He also owned up to TARP. He needs to walk back 999. I don’t think he expected this much ridicule over the plan and its got loopholes you could drive a dump truck through. The only reason you’re not in the loser column is because you’ve still got a lot of people fooled.

Herman Cain can't give you straight answers on 999 because there aren't any

Losers:

Perry tries to muscle up and gets beat down: The Mitt Romney exchange was painful to watch. No one puts their hand on a debate opponent. Perry has been criticized for being timid and when he tried to be tough, he was pushed back. He still stumbles during his delivery and at times doesn’t sound like a Governor let alone a President. He’s gone from sketchy to reckless.

Santorum shows some life but no traction: Santorum brings up good points from time to time but the guy isn’t gaining any ground. You could blame it on the debate order, his position in the polls that forces him to constantly attack, or you could blame it on not having a resume big enough to talk about his achievements. He’s always on his heels.

Jon Huntsman’s no show unnoticed and move debate pace along nicely: What his campaign considered a defiant move did more damage than good. In the last month he’s ditched Olrlando and put all of his hope in NH. He’s going to have to battle Romney and even if he can steal New Hampshire, he doesn’t have a chance anywhere else.

Thanks for stopping by guys!