By Bill Calogero
Photo © Javiel Centeno/Fightwireimages.com

The state of pro boxing today has helped me coin the phrase, “Everyone wants to fight, but no one wants to fight anybody.” The Samuel Peter vs. James Toney fight last Saturday night, broadcast live from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino located in Hollywood, Florida by ShowTime Boxing, could have been a lot better of a fight if the two combatants wanted to actually fight. It definitely backs up my line.

I can’t take anything away from James Toney. He has accomplished more in pro boxing then most could ever dream of. His current quest to become the Heavyweight Champion would be quite the cap-off of a great career. I don’t think anyone could argue that.

The problem is he’s a thug. I know….he has always been a thug. The BS that seems to flow like water in a stream from his mouth, in and out of the ring, has run its course. Yet he continues on. Talking the same crap, making endless promises that he can’t keep and now has become a guy who is very content on surviving the twelve rounds, then complaining about the decision whether it’s justified or not. His fight against Samuel Peter was no different.

Samuel Peter is supposed to be a Champion caliber fighter. After all, the WBC has him ranked number one, and the WBO has him ranked at number two. Is he deserving of those rankings? All I can say about that is time will tell. I do know one thing: In my opinion, a Heavyweight Champion should have the “kill or be killed” attitude. He himself should want and feel he can beat ANYONE put in front of him. Not just to win, but to leave a “without a doubt” feeling with everyone who witnesses one of his fights that he is “The Man”.

This certainly was not the case with his second bout with James Toney. He was happy, and sad to say, SATISFIED with his unanimous decision win. After all, he did go the distance, right? He DID win, right?

The second Peter vs. Toney fight was not only supposed to settle the score between the number one and number two ranked Heavyweights in the WBC, it was also supposed to put to rest the controversy that surrounded the decision of the first fight. Billed as an Elimination bout (again), the winner would get his shot at the current titleholder, Oleg Maskaev.

I think it would be safe to say that it all was pretty much on the line for this bout….especially for Samuel Peter, whom some say IS the best Heavyweight out there today.

In the first round, Peter stunned Toney. He was clearly hurt by the big man’s power. But Lights-Out was able to utilize his defensive skills (you can say what you want about Toney, but one thing IS FOR SURE….he IS one of the best defensive fighters I have seen in a very long time) and was able to survive the round.

Also during the first round, referee Jorge Alonzo warned the Nigerian about hitting behind Toney’s head. He seemed to warn him about that during every round, sometimes twice. Toney’s awkward style and his constant defense, which causes him to turn to his side at times, almost drew those shots from the bigger man.

In the second round, a solid left jab that landed right on the Chin-Button sent James Toney to the canvas. It was a legitimate knock down, but Toney did not seem hurt. As a matter of fact, he started his BS talking in the ring from that point on. His counter-punching ability was also on display, catching Peter with several shots that landed flush.

In round three, Toney picked up where he left off in round two. He was landing solid punches and seemed to be slipping most of what the Nigerian Nightmare tried to land. Even though both men appeared to be in much better shape then their previous bout, Peter was already breathing through his mouth by the end of this round.

Rounds four through ten were all carbon copies of one another. Toney was talking crap; trying to get Peter to follow him against the ropes so he could counter punch. Peter was smart enough to stay an arm’s length away, so he was able to land shots and Toney wasn’t able to do much counter-punching because he was too far away. Peter also was coming on strong for the last twenty-five seconds of the round, but he seemed tired. Toney WAS landing shots, but it became very obvious that he was NOT hurting Peter at all.

Peter did not seem like he was EVER in trouble during the fight. He did not even get stopped in his tracks during round six when James landed a very solid left-right combo directly to his chin, a “facer”, as Pierce Eagan would have said.

When the eleventh round began, in my opinion, it was a one-sided fight, but the one thing that started really bothering me was that Peter, who was in total control of this fight, was just going through the motions to SURVIVE the fight. Not win, just make it through. It was clear that Toney could not hurt the big man, but this did not make Samuel come on and go for the KO. Instead he followed his corner’s advice and jabbed and moved. He WAS ahead on the scorecards, but why not put the fight in your own hands and knock the guy out?

Needless to say, the “survive” game plan almost bit Peter AND his corner in the ass.

During the 11th Peter hit Toney as Jorge Alonzo was separating them during a hugging session. The referee IMMEADATELY stopped the action and took a point away from Peter. I said to myself, “Here we go”. This is why boxers need to finish and put their own destiny in their hands…not the judges, and not the referees. Knock the guy out! The referee had been warning Peter throughout the fight for hitting behind the head. He could have disqualified him. Not that it would have been the correct call, but it COULD have happened. Since Toney was losing the round, I scored the round 9-9.

Samuel Peter won a justified unanimous decision to improve to 28-1 (22 KOs). Two of the three judges at ringside scored the fight 118-110, while the third had it 119-108. TheDailySports.com scored the fight 118-109, also in favor of Peter. James “Lights Out” Toney drops to 69-6-3- 1 ND (43 KOs).

Don’t get me wrong, during a fight that is one-sided, for a Title or in this case, a shot at one, I wouldn’t blame a fighter for surviving the bout to earn the victory IF (and ONLY IF) his opponent showed the LEAST bit of ability to end the fight with a KO. This was certainly not the case for Peter. Toney could not hurt him at all. Add the fact that Toney wasn’t doing much either, and that Peter had hurt him several times during the fight, I totally disagree with Peter AND his corner…..Peter should have went for the KO. A victory by KO would have increased his value that much more.

Is this what we should expect from Samuel Peter from here on in? Is his goal to make it through twelve rounds and put the fight in other people’s hands? I hope not.

World Champion Fighters need to be able to finish. All of the great ones did. The not so great did not. I know a win is a win, a shot is a shot, and being a Champion is being a Champion, but I can’t help but want our Champions in the great sport of professional boxing to be a complete package. I want them to be Champions in and out of the ring. I want them to fight anybody that is put in front of them.

Most importantly, when their time is up, and they no longer possess the ability or desire to compete at a Champion level, then they should step aside. Sometimes it takes the people around them to advise them when the end is near. In a perfect world, they would put their fighter’s best interests first, not the money. Then again, we don’t live in a perfect world.

All comments are welcomes  Bill@TheDailySports.com