Boxing Profile: Hasim Rahman vs. James Toney

They don’t know it yet but there’s more than just a title at stake

James Toney and Hasim Rahman have one of the biggest heavyweight title fights in the last five years scheduled for 2006. Both fighters right now are on top of their game and possibly the two best heavyweights in the business. Rahman, 41-5 (33), now a two time world champion, first made his mark on the sport in 2001 by knocking out then heavyweight king Lennox Lewis in the fifth round of their first showdown. Rahman not only took Lewis’ belts but also Ring Magazine’s upset of the year award. Though he lost those titles in the rematch, Rahman tasted what it was like to be the champ and has wanted it again ever since. After a string of bad luck and lackluster performances against competition that he should have beaten. Rahman has rebuilt himself over the last year or so and is fighting like a man in his prime.

James Toney, 69-4 (43), is as good as he ever was. The three division champion has held world title gold in the super middle, cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. After taking the strap from John Ruiz, Toney was soon stripped of the belt for testing positive for steroid use. In the fight with Ruiz however, he showed that he is every bit capable of competing as a legit heavyweight. With his relaxed style and composure in the ring, Toney, a pound for pound fighter for quite some time now has shown even at thirty seven years of age that he just gets better with every fight.

Considering the heavyweight top ten roster, seventy five percent of them would be journeyman at best in almost any other era. Currently, a PBS documentary on recycled underwear could draw more attention than the heavyweight division. With Ruiz out of the way for the moment and Valuev nothing more than a novelty, Chris Byrd is the only title holder with any length to his reign. Unfortunately, Byrd is considered a boring fighter and almost no one wants to endure one of his snooze fests.

If the rumors are true that Byrd will defend against Wlad Klitschko, then in my opinion he will most likely lose his belt. Byrd doesn’t have the power to keep the younger Klitschko off of him and during the Samuel Peter fight, Wlad showed improved ability to deal with a knockdown or two. So, if for some reason Byrd does knock Klitschko down, it doesn’t mean that he will stay down as it generally had in the past. In any case, it really doesn’t matter because the public has no interest in Wlad anymore. Even if he did dethrone the IBF king, the bout would mean little to the heavyweight division and we are still left with a hum drum existence among the big men. Hopefully Rahman – Toney will change things for the better.

No matter who prevails in this one, it’s a win-win situation for the division. In one corner you have a rebuilt fighter in Rahman and at thirty three years, of age he has time left for a long lengthy tenure as champ. He is a hard puncher with some decent boxing skills and has big fight experience where he proved that he can perform under real pressure. As long as Rahman can keep his weight under 245, no problems should occur.

Rahman has been consistent throughout his career as long as he has managed to stay under that magic number. It’s when he fought over that weight that he had problems in the ring. Add the previously mentioned fact of a weak division and you only have more potential for his success. He also knows how to conduct himself like a champion. So it is fair to say that Rahman can be the man to give an ailing division the much needed respectful king it lacks at the moment.

James Toney, on the other hand, is perhaps one of the best fighters in any weight class over the past twenty years. With the three world and countless minor titles he has owned, the man from Ann Arbor, MI doesn’t need to show us how good he is. He has no need to prove himself a worthy champion as James has done that time and time again.

Toney is also known outside the world of boxing and he can make the belt a household name again. There was a time when everyone knew who the heavyweight champion was but now only devout boxing fans can name them. Toney has been a top fighter in the sport for so long that it’s almost hard to picture him as the young up and comer he was at one time. A reporter once wrote about him that “Sometimes he makes you think the only person capable of beating James Toney is James Toney.” For those of us who have followed his career he has had moments that can make you believe this statement. For Toney to hold the title he can bring back luster to it’s fading value.

The heavyweight title was once the most valuable prize in all of sports and it’s champion was a household name. With Lewis long gone and Vitaly’s sudden departure, the belt has gone into limbo. It is hard to imagine that the champions from every other division have more recognition outside the sport than the heavyweight champ does. We are in an era that makes the early to mid 80’s look like glory years but this bout can change all that if all goes well. If not then we may start turning to the cruiser weights as the division of big men that we love to watch most. I can’t believe I even said that but at least they have a top ten roster deserving of top ten ratings.

On paper, this match up has everything it needs to be a classic; the hard puncher and the slick veteran. After the scuffle in Mexico a few weeks back at an awards ceremony, bad blood can only add to the draw. The problem is that recently fights that look good on paper have been anything but. Most recently two that come to mind are Hopkins – De La Hoya and Trinidad – Wright. Both turned out to be one sided mismatches that were quickly forgotten. A one sided fight here will hurt the division almost as much as a good one will help it. A top performance by the two will draw more fans to the division a one sided affair will quite possibly turn more away.

With all that being said the only thing left is the bell to start the first round. A great deal is riding on this. Not just for each fighter involved but the heavyweight division and those in it. More fans mean bigger paydays. More fans mean a bigger future. Neither fighter may know how important this bout really is. This may be the spark needed to ignite the heavyweight interest and heat up a division gone cold. Lets just hope all the heat doesn’t stay on paper.