Sam Peter vs. James Toney; Hard to Score for Some, Harder To Swallow for Others
 At Ringside Gabriel Montoya (Sep 4, 2006) Photo © German Villasenor
The Sam Peter vs. James Toney fight this Saturday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Ca. arrived with the promise to deliver both the power and fury of two planets colliding. Or rather a planet vs. its moon. Peter the Nigerian natural heavyweight would be the unstoppable force, ever coming forward while hurling brutal punches with equally high velocity and ferocity. Meanwhile James Toney would be the slick moving object who can stand in the pocket and make you look silly while landing his sneaky rights and hooks. Raw Power vs. Well-Honed Skill. Perhaps not the two best fighters that the heavyweight division has to offer but certainly one of its most exciting matchups in years. Instead of clarity, something the heavyweight division has been lacking since Lennox Lewis retired, what we are left is what we started with as both fighters gave all they had. A hotly contested split decision for Peter who started the fight stronger but finished the worse for wear. “He didn’t do (expletive). I didn’t lose this fight. I took everything away from him. “ Toney said afterwards in typical blunt fashion. L.A. being Toney’s adopted home, the crowd of 9,852 were vocal in their displeasure at the decision.
The bout started with both fighters looking to get behind the jab and establish dominance. Peter got off the first big shots
of the night, going to Toney's sizable body. Toney returned fire and landed a good hook to Peter’s head. The action was sparse but intense and though close, the edge seemed to be with Peter. A nice exchange started the second round as Toney came out swinging with a good right. Peter tried to counter but Toney’s defense is more slippery than a greased seal at high tide. Toney also began find a home for his jab thanks to the lack of head movement or any semblance of complex defense from The Nigerian Nightmare. Toney waved over towards the camp of Peter to signify a victorious second stanza.
Toney landed the two best punches of the night thus far to start the next round. Two straight rights caught Peter’s attention and the crowd went wild as they realized that Lights Out also had neither fear nor respect for Peter’s power. Peter however, showed a warrior’s heart and came back with a vengeance, landing his right hand and driving Toney to the ropes. It seemed as if the power of Peter would take over this fight but Peter slowed the pace down, conserving energy and biding his time. In Round five, Peter landed a huge right that staggered Toney and had him grabbing the ropes for support. The round was a brutal one for Peter who doled out body shots and combinations to Toney’s aged body. This was perhaps the first time that James Toney had been visibly staggered.
After 6 rounds, the fight was virtually even with each man landing his Sunday best. To start the seventh, it seemed as if experience and skill would be the deciding factor, as both guys seemed to tire visibly. Peter began to bleed from the nose and Toney’s legs were rubbery as he ducked under shots and caught others. In the 9th, Toney got caught with a big right by Peter and quickly tied him up and they both moved back towards the ropes. Peter, out of frustration or loss of focus, double punched Toney on either side of his head causing the ref to deduct a point for rabbit punching. What is ironic is that Peter had been and would continue to rabbit punch all night . The double punch however appeared to be on the legal part of the head. There is no rule that says a double punch cannot be attempted or executed. Hitting behind the head however is strictly illegal and strictly ignored by Referee Raul Caiz, Sr. “ I tried to talk to the ref about the head butts “ said Toney’s trainer Freddie Roach . Roach had spoken about Peter’s propensity for head butts at the pre fight press conference. “ The ref told warned that if I continued to argue, I would be ejected from the corner. "
Down the stretch, both fighters began to fight in spurts. Toney began to land the jab and peppered in a few lead hooks. From ringside, to this point, the fight seemed to be turning back and forth in. momentum Peter’s power was still to be respected if his stamina was beginning to fail him. Coming into the 12th, Toney's corner implored him to knock Peter out or down. Both fighters gave every last bit left as they both looked to close the show in style.
The judges saw things very differently scoring it 115-112 for Toney and 116-111, 116-111 for Peter. It was such a difficult fight to score but it was even more difficult to see how one judge had Peter sweeping the final 5 rounds.
Peter is now a mandatory for Oleg Maskaev’s WBC title and looks to get that shot very near future. At 25, Peter is still somewhat raw as a fighter. But what he lacks in experience, he more than makes up for with heart, determination and chin. Should he continue to grow as a fighter, the future is bright. Toney is still a big name in boxing and supremely skilled. A title shot , considering there are four titlists, should not be far away and he can at least take solice in the crowd’s reaction to the decision as well as an assurance that he will get a rematch should Peter successfully challenge for WBC titlist Oleg Maskaev.
Quick Combos
At the post fight party for Sam Peter , Ivaylo Gotzev , Peter’s manager made it clear that a rematch was definitely down the line . “ After we fight Oleg and win the WBC title , we will give Toney a rematch. He made the fight possible and deserves a rematch. "
After seeing the fight at ringside and again at home, a few things became clearer. Judges are notorious for scoring a round based on the last few moments they saw. Especially if they are impressive. Sam Peter closed out several rounds that he was not winning. I personally don’t feel he tried to steal the rounds as a strategy. It is just a hard fact about judging .
At the post fight press conference I asked Don King about open scoring and if he felt it could be useful in avoiding close, contested decisions like this. “Absolutely,” he said without any hesitation. “ All the other sports have instant replay . They are in the future. Boxing is an antique. The people have a right to know the score. “After all Don King has given to the sport , to promotion in general, it will be interesting to see if open scoring will be yet another contribution to the sport of boxing . Boxing has many problems . Erratic judging, horrible inconsistent referees, arrogant boxers who overprice and under perform or don’t challenge themselves. Not to mention the fact that each division has a million champions and no unification bouts in sight . Open scoring , in my opinion, would immediately legitimize our sport in the eyes of John Q. Casual fan. Take the mystery out of scoring. Make the judges accountable as well as the commissions that insist on employing them, the promoters who grease their palms, and the fighters like Sam Peter and James Toney who fought their hearts out only to be over shadowed by inconsistent scoring . With as many problems as the sport has, we have to start cleaning up somewhere.
Guerrero vs. Aiken
In the co-feature, Eric "Mighty Mouse" Aiken defended his IBF featherweight belt against Robert ‘The Ghost” Guerrero. Aiken, who had won his title in a disqualification over Valdemir Pereira last May, was the underdog in this one and why showed very quickly as The Ghost came out and looked to assert himself quickly. The fight was fought at brutal close quarters with bodywork being done by both men. Referee Tony Crebs, showed inexperience in big time fights, by ignoring the low blows from Guerrero and not giving a rest to Aiken once they were acknowledged in the second. In fighting continued through the middle rounds as Guerrero kept the fight in a phone booth and Aiken was content to get hit, work the body and languish on the ropes. Guerrero clearly was the stronger man, breaking down Aiken. After the 8th round, a bloodied and battered Aiken, on the advice of his corner, threw in the towel.
Aiken afterwards said, “Everything Guerrero did affected me. I broke my right hand. I am not taking anything away from him. All glory to him."
Aiken's Second Jerry Paige had this to say. “His hand was hurting and it did not look like he was going to turn it around. He was taking a beating out there so we stopped it."
Guerrero: “ God blessed me with talent. We had a great camp. We executed everything we wanted to do. I was in control of the fight the whole time.”
“ I want to fight the best guys. This is what the fans want.”
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