If the fight is even remotely as entertaining and exciting as the press conference, fans are in for The Fight of the Year Saturday, Sept. 2, when world-ranked heavyweights James “Lights Out” Toney (69-4-2, 43 KOs) and Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare’’ Peter (26-1, 22 KOs) collide in a 12-round World Boxing Council (WBC) elimination bout at STAPLES Center on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast). Toney is ranked No. 2 in the WBC, one notch above Peter.
Tempers flared toward the end of Tuesday’s presser at The Palm Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles after Toney took exception to comments made by Peter’s promoter (Dino Duva) and manager (Ivaylo Gotzev). A former three-time world champion, Toney was peeved at Duva for calling him “dumb” for accepting the match when Toney currently is
next in line to fight for the WBC title. Gotzev angered Toney by standing up and shouting that he had enough of the “(Toney promoter) Dan Goossen and Toney show and that it was Samuel Peter’s time.’’ At one point, an enraged Toney stood up from his seat at the dais and began to remove his jacket. He took a couple steps toward Team Peter before being stopped by members of his camp. Moments later, he threw a glass of water at Gotzev.
The press conference came to a premature end shortly thereafter.
Below are quotes from James Toney
JAMES TONEY
“I am No. 1, and I will prove it on Sept. 2.
“I thought Peter won his fight against (Wladimir) Klitschko and, even though it was a draw, I thought I won against (Hasim) Rahman. (So) this is the heavyweight championship right here. The Eastern European fighters were put there by the boxing organizations.
“I am the only heavyweight champion. On Sept. 2, I am going to show James Toney at his best. I am looking forward to it.
“I want to thank Peter for stepping up to the plate and taking the fight against me. He is a tough guy, but he is no James Toney.
“Being the best fighter in the world, I have to stay busy. I am no joke. I am not someone to mess with. I take the sport of boxing very seriously.
“I am like a John Elway or Joe Montana. I feel no pressure. I am always ready to fight the best, any place, any time. Someone has to pay the electric bill because the lights are going to go out.
“I like to beat up people and I have fun doing it. It is going to be a short fight, but the beating I give Peter will make the fight seem like a long one.
“He is talking like he is going to go through me like Swiss cheese. I am a natural born fighter. I am going to go right through Peter.” www.maxboxing.com www.doghouseboxing.com
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