Toney Wins Fight, Peter Gets Decision and Duva Boxing Gets New Lease on Life

To the overwhelming majority of the ringside media and fans inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles this past Saturday night, it looked like James Toney had done more than enough to outpoint Samuel Peter

Using his moxie and craftiness, Toney thwarted Peter's advantages in size, strength and power while bloodying his nose with a consistent jab and accurate counterpunching.

In many ways, it was classic Toney, who once again seemed to be a bit out-of-shape ('in shape', being a relative term with 'Lights Out' of course). Yet despite the fact that Toney was giving up advantages in natural size and bulk, it was the younger Peter who was huffing and puffing in the early rounds. And for all his might, he couldn't blow Toney away, and while he swung from his heels, he only seemed to hurt Toney once or twice throughout the evening.

Peter, in many respects, was doing basic arithmetic in the ring; Toney, pugilistic trigonometry.

Unfortunately, the tabulations of Alejandro Rochin and Richard Flaherty (who both scored the bout 116-111 for Peter) trumped the scorecard of Gale Van Hoy, who had Toney winning 115-113.

The verdict left many ringside observers shaking their heads and the partisans inside the Staples Center jeering the result.

With the win, Peter becomes the mandatory challenger for WBC titlist Oleg Maskaev, and Toney, once again, is on the short end of a decision that he will forever dispute. An enraged Toney even had to be restrained by several people as he went after Peter's manager Ivaylo Gotzev inside the ring a few minutes after the bout.

The contentiousness carried over into the post-fight press conference.

Before the fighters came into the Chick Hearn Press Room inside the bowels of the Staples Center, things got snippy between Dan Goossen (who reps Toney) and Dino Duva (whose company promotes Peter).

When asked if they would protest the verdict, Goossen would state: "I don't know if we can protest this."

After an informal media poll was taken among the gathered media, Duva would say, "Sorry you saw it that way."

Then Goossen, being the diplomatic sort he is, tried to appeal to Duva's sense of righteousness.

"I think the thing we should try to accomplish here," he would say, addressing Duva, "for the best of boxing and everything else - it was a great fight for TV - I think this is a fight that we should look to resolve amongst ourselves and look for a rematch."

To which Duva would reply: "After Sam wins the title, we'll be happy to talk about it."

“Then we're going for the damn protest," answered Goossen. To hell with diplomacy.

“Yeah, good luck," sniped Duva, who, feeling that he was facing a stacked deck in Southern California, was growing testier by the second. "Two judges had it by five points; James was so slick nobody realized he won?" Later he would add, "We're happy to beat James Toney in his biased hometown."

In what was his company’s biggest victory to date, Duva was ultra-defensive.

"Look," he would bark out, "he got lucky on the draw with Rahman, you won the protest there, (but) your luck’s run out." And as the questions kept popping up about the legitimacy of his man’s win, he would ask the media, "Why don’t you give him his credit?"

Duva was well within his rights to stick up for his fighter. Goossen was also well within his to state his objections. The Duva family has been no stranger to being on the short end of controversial verdicts in the past and have never been afraid to state their position.

As I reminded Duva about his problems with Kirk Johnson’s disqualification versus John Ruiz a few years ago, he would tell me, "STEVE, STAY IN LA!!!" (Which, by the way, I'll do) I would respond by telling him to get back to Jersey. At this point we were both probably thinking what we should go do with ourselves.

"Y'know what," said a chagrined Duva, "the media is supposed to be unbiased. You guys are killing me."

Then he would ask," Are you guys all on James Toney's payroll?"

All this from a guy who came out on the winning end.

But you could understand how Duva felt. To say his company needed this victory would be a vast understatement. After the rather ugly family feud that split apart the Duva/Main Events clan in 2000 and which had Dino starting over in the promotional biz several years ago, Duva Boxing has struggled to stay afloat and was set back by the bust that was Kirk Johnson - who they had made a million dollar investment in. Duva had literally mortgaged his professional and personal future on the hard-punching Nigerian.

There's no way they're going back to Toney, when they see the light at the end of the tunnel in a title shot against Maskaev.

Peter, who says that Toney is the best fighter he has faced so far, would say, "I never fought anybody like that. I was thinking I was going to knock him out. But he's so slick."

As for a rematch, "I'll fight Toney again anytime, anywhere, he's a great champion."

The last man to enter the press conference would be Toney.

"Everybody knows that I didn't lose this fight. But y'know they want to see me quit this game because I'm so good. They're trying to do what they can to get me out. But I ain't going nowhere."

He would then put the onus on his co-promoters, Goossen and Don King, to flex their muscles.

“Now we're going to see what Dan and Don are all about."

To him, it was clear as day that he got jobbed (again).

“Y’all saw tonight, I didn't lose this fight to this bum. I made the guy do literally nothing. He's not the 'Nightmare', he's a sight-mare. You see his face; you see what I did to his face. He looks like the elephant man."

And when he was told of the reluctance of the other side in participating in an immediate rematch, Toney would respond, "Wouldn't you (be)?"

PATCHING THINGS UP

About 45 minutes after the press conference had wrapped up, it seemed that everyone in the boxing industry that was at the fights headed over to the Palm Restaurant for dinner and a late nightcap.

As everyone mingled and debated the decision, Duva and I would come across each other. Duva would stick out his hand and say, "Hey, Steve..." And I immediately took the olive branch and we both started laughing at what had occurred. Hey, there's no hard feelings, its part of the job. He's doing his, I'm doing mine. Witnessing the raw emotion and passion of folks who make their livings in the game is one of the reasons I love covering boxing. While just about every other sport has been made corporate and sterile, boxing still has a raw, visceral atmosphere to it.

I've always gotten along with the Duva family ever since I started covering boxing in 1996 and I've always enjoyed dealing with Dino. Despite whatever mistakes he may have made in the past, I've always believed he's a good, decent man. Even his competitors in this cutthroat business have good things to say about him, as do his former employees that worked under him at Main Events.

Like his father, Lou, Dino can be a hot-headed Italian who doesn't pull punches and will stand up for their cause. Now while I may vehemently disagree with the decision, I am happy for Duva, personally and professionally. It's been a rough stretch for him, and hopefully this signals a new day for Duva Boxing. www.maxboxing.com www.doghouseboxing.com

"Just to let you guys know what other views are on the Toney-Peter fight!!!!"