18.03.06 – By Lee Hayes: Tonight we may be witness to the best heavyweight championship fight since Evander Holyfield fought Mike Tyson the first time, back in November of 1996. Usually heavyweight title fights are unable to live up to the hype the division assumes it deserves. Tonight may be different. In James Toney we have with out a doubt and all-time great throw back fighter.. He’s got talent that is rarely seen in any weight class or in any time period. Toney has been able to bring his skills and natural ability all the way from the middleweight division right up to the big boys, and has more or less proven himself at +200lbs with his victories over an aged Holyfield, journeyman Rydell Booker, John Ruiz and Dominick Guinn. Rahman, for his part has won his last six fights straight after coming off a few disappointing fights against champions or championship caliber opponents.
The reason this fight may be so pleasing to watch has less to do with the greatness of each fighter, and rather more to do with the intangibles. Sure, Toney has A+ boxing skills, but the fact is that Hasim Rahman will be the hardest puncher that Toney has ever faced. And not just by a little bit. Holyfield rarely dropped a glove on James. Rydell Booker is an average puncher for the cruiserweight division at best, and John Ruiz and Dominick Guinn were so outclassed when they fought Toney that any power they may have had was rendered useless.
Rahman’s over hand right is by far the hardest single punch Toney will ever have to cope with. In fact, Toney himself has revealed that the hardest punch he’s ever taken as a professional prize fighter was from the hands of Iran Barkley. Now Barkley was very heavy handed and could punch, but Rahman’s over hand right is far more lethal than Barkley’s. When you factor in Rahman’s 82 inch reach over Toney’s 76 inch reach, you can see how this could become a very long night for Toney. The question is, can Rahman land that punch flush. Toney has always had a granite chin. In fact, it can be argued that he’s never even been legitimately knocked down. His “knockdown” against Roy Jones Jr., seemed more of a balance issue than an injury caused by Jones, and even when he’s hurt, Toney has the uncanny ability to hide it from his opponents.
The intangibles seem to have a lot to do with conditioning. Toney is rarely in top condition. Especially since he left the light heavyweight division. Even though it doesn’t seem to matter when he fights, it may tonight. That’s because Hasim Rahman has shown a new dedication to training and physical condition. He has looked superb in preparing for this bout and in my opinion, that’s going to be the deciding factor. I see this fight ending with James Toney being either knocked out or stopped. Probably somewhere between round 7 and round 10. I do not think that James will be able to hide the effects the first time Hasim unloads his over hand right when they are against the ropes. The power will finally be too much for even a gifted fighter like Toney to over come. The only case where I see Toney winning this fight is if he is able to cause swelling or a massive cut over Rahman and the fight has to be stopped on a technicality.
Personally, I’ve always liked both of these guys, and it’s too bad one will have to lose. The good news however, is for boxing and the heavyweight division, because this should be a great fight. Does the WBC title belt isn’t really significant here. The value of the alphabet soups straps has diminished more and more ever since their introductions. What is significant is when you get two talented men that both want a fight badly enough to put their life and limbs on the line. Both Rahman and Toney are very competitive and both seem to have some animosity towards one another. Best case scenario is that it’s a thriller of a fight and we could get a sequel. That’s what boxing could use, as both Rahman and Toney are colorful and a writers dream when it comes to quotes.
Here’s to what should be an excellent night of boxing, and at a more reasonable price than what we’ve been subjected to in recent years. Also, cheers to keeping Don King temporarily out of the heavyweight title business. Monopolies are never good for the sport.
This writer welcomes your comments and/or suggestions.