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Controversy and boxing are as interwoven as peanut butter is with jelly. The sport’s long and storied history is teeming with assorted instances of disputatious events. One of the latest cases involves the arguable decision that Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter received over James “Lights Out” Toney this past September.
While most observers had Toney winning the fight, two of the three ringside judges awarded the victory to Peter. Let’s not kid ourselves into believing that this verdict was by any means behemothic in its level of unfairness. The bout was an extremely close contest that saw both men stand on a dime and winging shots at each other.
By no means was it Hagler vs. Hearns, but in today’s impoverished heavyweight division any marquee fight that exhibits back and forth competitive action is a welcomed sight.
In the first fight, Toney proved that veteran skill and guile are enough to weather a brutal onslaught of concussive power shots. Both men came into the contest tipping the scales at over 230 pounds and such girth between two pugilists is often a precursor to a plodding bore of a fight. That was not the case in this battle, as an action packed affair erupted in the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Peter hammered down clubbing projectiles of power to the back of Toney’s head, while Toney stood in the pocket and put on an awe inspiring clinic of infighting and subtle defensive nuances, although in the end, the young Nigerian fighter emerged victorious.
Fast forward four months and here we are set to do it all over again. At the demand of WBC president-for-life Jose Sulaiman, we are treated to a repeat of the WBC title eliminator this Saturday at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood, FL. Under the auspices of “correcting the controversial decision of the first fight”, Peter and Toney will duke it out to garner the right to dethrone current WBC Champion Oleg Maskaev.
So far, the majority of the pre-fight hype is not of the battle in the ring, but more in the battle of the bulge. The oft criticized Toney has never had an Adonis-type physique especially since making the jump from middleweight. While his flabby exterior may never win him a bodybuilding contest, one cannot discount his continued success in the heavyweight division.
After his loss to Peter, his first in 10 years, it seems that Toney has taken the initiative to finally do something about his waistline. Retaining the services of Billy Blanks, best known for his series of Tae Bo exercise tapes, Toney is making a conscious effort to do something about his questionable conditioning.
“I have him on a diet of 1500 calories a day, burning fat”, Blanks stated in a conference call last month. Gone are the cigars and soda, enter the palate pleasing dish that is lima beans. It appears that the renewed focus on nutrition and conditioning have reaped their benefit as Toney came in at a solid 234 pounds at Thursday’s weigh in. Granted, this is a pound over his listed weight of 233 from his last fight but according to Toney, “I’m in 150 percent better shape now”.
Lost in the hubbub and inquires into Toney’s new training regime is one Samuel Peter. The soft spoken, murderous puncher by way of Nigeria, is often an afterthought in this promotion. “Billy Blanks will not be inside the ring; when I hit him, everything that Billy Blanks told him, he is going to forget”, Peter would say during last months conference call.
Peter came in at a career high 257 pounds last fight and they added weight seemed to slow down and tire the African. Peter has reportedly trained for this fight with a ferocity not seen in his previous camps and is reportedly running four miles a day in an effort to increase his stamina for this Saturday’s 12 round affair.
Judging by the fact that Peter’s official weight at Thursday’s weight in was much lighter at 249 pounds, it appears that his hard work has paid off.
The keys to victory for this bout rely on how well conditioned the two combatants are. While far from dull, both fighters were visible fatigued going into the latter rounds of the first bout. If Toney had just stepped on the gas for a few more rounds, we would be talking about the upcoming Toney vs. Maskaev duel instead of this rematch.
James Toney has forgotten more about boxing than Peter will ever hope to learn. With that being said, Peter possesses the great equalizer, thunderous power. In their first match up, Peter seemed to have Toney visibly hurt but the older man’s ring generalship allowed him to weather the storm and avoid a knockdown.
It is with little doubt that Peter absorbed a great deal of knowledge after having faced the wily veteran but Toney is the consummate professional. Look for “Lights Out” to continue to stay close to the much larger Peter as Toney’s ability to in-flight is second to known. Staying close and in the pocket also negates Peter getting full extension on his punches, not to mention smothering his clubbing overhead shots.
Peter needs to keep using his jab to establish range and throw of the timing of Toney. Peter also sustained a level of success by countering Toney’s left hook with a straight right. Look for Toney to not make the same mistake this go around but should he lapse and fall into his old habits, expect Peter to capitalize.
In this day in age, it is extremely rare to be treated to a captivating heavyweight fight. Granted, this rematch is under somewhat tainted circumstances but as a fight fan, you can’t help but be excited for this battle.
Let’s just hope this time around there is no controversy to besmirch our enjoyment.
