Body Blows: Toney/Peter II

Results

The first big fight of 2007 is a rematch from a controversial decision in 2006. Samuel Peter defeated James Toney by split decision last year in an eliminator bout to determine the challenger to the WBC belt held by Oleg Maskaev. Unfortunately for Peter, winning the fight wasn’t enough to get the title shot. Boxing can be like that. A rematch was ordered by the WBC and Peter’s frustration was eased by a $1.5 million payday.

James Toney vs. Samuel Peter II

James Toney’s conditioning gets nearly as much publicity as Britney Spears’ hooha. Everyone has seen each of the flabby rolls and not too many leave impressed. Toney hired Tae Bo guru Billy Blanks to help get him in shape. Surprisingly, Samuel Peter was the one with the more impressive physique as the Nigerian Nightmare came in eight pounds lighter than he did in their previous fight. Toney weighed one pound heavier than his weight for their first fight but Billy Blanks’ impact needed to be shown in Toney’s stamina. Toney has made it clear he is comfortable with his weight.

Peter showed his supreme conditioning from the opening bell as he outworked James Toney in the first frame. The second round produced something that hasn’t happened in boxing in over ten years. James Toney was knocked down. Peter is known for his great defense but has always relied on his reflexes to evade punches. However, much like Roy Jones Jr, his reflexes have deteriorated with age. Peter caught Toney with a relatively weak jab, at least in comparison to what Peter can really do, but Toney was so off balance from hip-swiveling to avoid punches that his footwork failed him and he went down. Coincidentally, it was Roy Jones Jr that last put James Toney down on the mat in 1994.

James Toney proved the knockdown was a fluke as his granite chin was on display for the rest of the fight. That isn’t the best way to sway the judges in your favor. Toney started to show swelling above his left eye in the fifth round. Peter showed excellent composure throughout the fight that would go the full twelve rounds. James Toney dug into his bag of tricks to frustrate Peter. When Toney realized his counter punches weren’t effective he started throwing F-bombs instead. Some were for Peter and some were for Peter’s corner. Toney would post up on the ropes and invite Peter in for combat but Peter held steady in the center of the ring as to not fall into any trap from Toney.

The power advantage was certainly in favor of Sam Peter. Toney started his career as a middleweight and has to deal with having less power than the naturally bigger heavyweights in all of his fights. He needed to be more active than Peter and hope to land more effective shots to counter Peter’s stronger shots. When Peter was outworking Toney in the early rounds the conclusion of the fight became evident far before the final bell rang. Toney wasn’t going to knock Peter out. He had already hit Peter with his best shots and the stocky 26-year-old kept coming forward. Peter showed he still had energy in the late rounds as well. During a tieup in the eleventh round, Peter threw an illegal uppercut as the two fighters were being separated. Peter offered his apologies to Toney but Toney refused the glove tap. Wrong move. Peter spent the rest of the round unloading power shots on Toney, showing he had plenty of stamina for a late-round flurry.

The final decision was unanimous for Samuel Peter. James Toney won no more than two rounds on any of the three judges’ official scorecard. At least James Toney is still a winner in his own mind. In the post-fight interview, James said he felt he won the fight but he was done fellating himself. He added that he was the best fighter in the world (Toney has won three of his seven fights since moving up to heavyweight) and that no one can knock James Toney out. He’s going to keep fighting and promises to knock out all bums. When asked if he respected Sam Peter after the fight Toney said he respects no one. I find James Toney to be supremely entertaining in and out of the ring so here’s a post-fight quote from the current king of boxing:

“I didn’t go down,” said Toney. “I slipped. I felt I won the fight, but it’s all good. I’m still the best fighter in the world. This guy is supposed to be a hell of a puncher and he couldn’t knock me out, and I started at middleweight.”

Samuel Peter was humble in his post-fight interviews. I will say that he is a much better boxer than singer. He sang some “Praise Jesus” tune after the fight and while it may have had the best intent, it couldn’t have ended soon enough. He was certainly in high spirits though. Peter even did a little dance that he described as an Ali Shuffle with a little bit of Floyd Mayweather. This win should give Sam Peter his title shot against Oleg Maskaev.

Other Results From The Week

– Cristian Mijares retained his WBC Super Flyweight Title with a tenth round TKO of Katsushige Kawashima.

– Edwin Valero made quick work of Michael Lozada by dispatching the challenger to his WBA Super Featherweight Title in the first round.

– Nick Casal suffered his first loss as a professional, dropping a unanimous decision to fellow lightweight prospect Jose Antonio Izquierdo.

– Anthony Hanshaw and Jean Paul Mendy fought to a draw in the finals of the super middleweight tournament for the IBO Super Middleweight Title. ShoBox has been televising this tournament for six months and it’s a disappointing conclusion.

– Jose Armando Santa Cruz won a unanimous decision over lightweight Luis Antonio Arceo. Can’t these guys just stick to first and last names?

– ESPN Friday Night Fights made it’s season debut with victories by the Peterson brothers. Anthony Peterson scored a 4th round KO of Juan Garza in his lightweight bout. Lamont Peterson went the distance with Juaquin Gallardo but won the light welterweight contest by unanimous decision.

– Guillermo Jones moved up to heavyweight and picked on the scraps left behind by Evander Holyfield. Jones earned a TKO of Jeremy Bates in the first round.

– Roman Karmazin rebounded from his loss to Cory Spinks when he finished James Obede Toney (no relation) by TKO in the fourth round.

– Travis Simms ended a two-year absence from boxing due to legal troubles and took out his aggression on Jose Antonio Rivera. Simms won by 9th round TKO and snagged the WBA Light Middleweight Title that he never lost in the ring.