By Rick Reeno
According to a recent conversation with John Arthur, manager of James "Lights Out" Toney (70-6-3, 43KOs), the former three-division champion is planning to return to the ring in late March.
"We're looking at March, late march. James just back in the gym. We recently met with his promoter (Dan Goossen) and should have a date, venue and opponent by next week," Arthur said.
The rumored on-again and off-again rematch with Vassiliy Jirov (37-3, 31KOs) is still a future possibility. The two fighters have been credited with putting the cruiserweights back on map with their twelve-round slugfest in 2003. Toney took the decision and Jirov's IBF cruiserweight title in the process. The fight itself was bestowed with "Fight of The Year" honors by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Within a year of their fight, both Toney and Jirov moved up to the heavyweight division. In 2006, Jirov moved back down to the cruiserweight limit of 200. If there was one fight that most boxing fans would like to see Toney revisit, it would be against Jirov. Arthur says the rematch could possibly take place at a catch-weight between 200 and 220 to entice Jirov to move back up. If Jirov doesn't bite, his fighter is willing to battle any champion who steps to the plate.
