The Nigerian Nightmare Turns the Lights Out on Toney’s Heavyweight Title Dreams
by Gabriel Montoya (Jan 7, 2007) Photo © Tom Casino/SHOWTIME
James ‘Lights Out’ Toney may want to turn the lights back on after living through a 12 round Nigerian Nightmare Saturday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood, Florida. Heavyweight contenders Sam Peter and James Toney got it on for a second time to settle the dispute over the WBC’s number one contender spot. And settle it Peter did. Peter scored with hard right hands, a new addition uppercut and dictated the action behind hard jabs to the head and gut of Toney.
Coming into the fight, much was made of Toney hooking up with Tae Bo fitness guru Billy Blanks. While Toney came in
one pound heavier than their previous encounter, he looked trimmer and fitter than he had in years. It was that rotund look and lack of conditioning that prompted Jim Lampley to refer to Toney as a “fat tub of goo” against Hasim Rahman. Lost or ignored in all the Toney fitness hoopla was the fact that the younger, stronger, naturally more powerful Peter had refined his game further in the gym and had the camp of his life. He would come into the fight weighing 8 pounds less than the first fight and with much more energy as proved by his increased stamina and ability to sustain a good work rate throughout the night.
The action started hot as Toney came out firing his jab and Peter quickly returned fire while looking to land his right hand and assert control. A mean looking and determined Peter threw a 4-punch combo while Toney was on the ropes and Toney answered with a 3-jab combo of his own. Peter would land a body shot and a right upstairs that appeared to rock Toney a bit. Good action down the stretch as both traded shots but it was clear there was a power discrepancy here tonight.
Round two saw Toney dropped for the first time in 13 years by a double jab from Peter. It was a bit off balance shot but the jab was powerful and landed cleanly. Toney rose quickly and came back firing but Peter kept him buzzed with rights and battered on the ropes. Toney landed a few crisp shots but it didn’t faze Peter in the slightest. Peter began to measure Toney with his left hand by leaving it on his forehead and teeing off with the other hand, an infraction for which he would be rightfully warned by referee Jorge Alonzo. A crisp left hook would land for Toney towards the end of the round and ‘Lights Out’ went to his corner talking shit to Peter.
Round three was Toney’s best round as he landed a Sunday punch of a right hand and left hook that again didn’t make Peter blink. Peter seemed a bit winded after teeing off on Toney in the previous round. They began to trade jabs and Toney started finding his rhythm while landing little jabs, lead rights and the occasional body shot. Peter would land a good right to the body followed by a new punch in his repertoire; the uppercut. Peter would land 4 rights to finish the round but it wasn’t enough to steal it from Toney.
The middle rounds saw Peter take total control as he pounded the smaller man with right hands and powerful jabs. It seems that the once raw heavyweight contender has learned from his matches with Toney and Klitschko and is now a much more complete fighter. After blowing energy early in the fight trying to knockout Toney along the ropes, Peter would instead keep the action in the center of the ring. By round seven, Peter seemed to have the range figured out and was going for the knockout but despite being rocked time and again, Toney’s veteran skill would prevent that from happening. In round ten, Peter would display his dominance by wobbling the defensive wizard and rather than going for the KO, Peter instead mocked Toney by wobbling in similar fashion. “I taunted him. I gave him the Muhammad Ali shuffle and a little Floyd Mayweather too,” Peter said. It was clear in the corner that Toney needed a knockout to win going into the twelfth and final round but while he was aggressive, it was clear that Sam Peter was not going to be denied his shot at the WBC title. As the bell approached a jubilant and triumphant Peter would get up on his toes and tattoo Toney with jabs to end the fight and possibly Toney’s hopes of ever factoring into the heavyweight title picture. “I really felt I was going to win. I was in good shape and it showed in the ring. This was my best fight,” said Peter, who won by scores of 118-110 on two of the judges’ cards and 119-108 on the third.
With the win Peter, 26, improves to 28-1 with 22 KO’s. Barring a unification match between IBF titlist Wladimir Klitschko and WBC titlist Oleg Maskaev, Peter is set for a title shot by the Spring. Toney, 38, falls to 69-6-3 with 43 KO’s. A sure fire first ballot Hall of Famer, Toney must now decide where to go from here. No doubt he is still a viable fighter and an asset to the sport but with age setting in, a lack of heavyweight punch to keep these young guns off him, and a style that might keep those in title contention away, it is hard to say where he fits into the heavyweight picture. One thing is certain, with this win by Peter, clarification in the heavyweight division is drawer closer.
