By Keith Idec
 
James Toney will try to reinvent himself tonight as a mixed martial artist.

The hard-hitting heavyweight who defeated Toney twice is busy trying to reinvent himself as a boxer.

Samuel Peter promised on a conference call Friday to box better and smarter during his rematch against Wladimir Klitschko on Sept. 11 than he did during their first fight. Peter dropped Klitschko, then still shell-shocked from technical knockout defeats in 2003 and 2004, three times in their IBF elimination match nearly five years ago in Atlantic City.

Peter’s performance before and between those two knockdowns in the fifth round and another in 10th round was what cost the rugged Nigerian the fight and a guaranteed shot at Chris Byrd, then the IBF champion. Klitschko, while reluctant to engage, out-boxed the knockout-crazed, impatient Peter and won comfortably, 114-111, on all three scorecards, despite those three trips to the canvas.

In typical Peter fashion, the under-conditioned contender got tired during the second half of that 12-round bout at Boardwalk Hall. That helped Klitschko hurt him during the 12th round and enabled the huge Ukrainian with the suspect chin to advance to another title fight.

Klitschko, 34, has hardly lost any of the 73 rounds he has started in nine bouts since Peter tested him. He has become boxing’s most dominant heavyweight, albeit in a monotonous, safe fashion that has prompted frustrated American premium cable executives to stop paying large license fees to televise his fights in the United States.

That trend, according to Peter and his handlers, is about to change.

“I believe that Sam will present the biggest challenge that Klitschko’s seen in the last five years,” said Ivaylo Gotzev, Peter’s longtime manager. “And there’s really not that much to talk about.”

There’s actually plenty to talk about before this heavyweight title fight, a rarity in what has developed into an exasperating era for a division devoid of personalities, rivalries and American contenders capable of captivating the public’s imagination. Peter (34-3, 27 KOs), a Las Vegas resident, isn’t technically an American challenger, but his recent resurgence, coupled with his history with Wladimir Klitschko (54-3, 48 KOs), makes this the most compelling heavyweight fight of the year.

That isn’t exactly high praise, but a Klitschko-Peter rematch seems much more interesting than Klitschko’s long overdue mandatory defense against Alexander Povetkin.

Teddy Atlas, Povetkin’s trainer, wouldn’t allow the unbeaten Povetkin to face Klitschko on Sept. 11 in Frankfurt, Germany, even after a purse bid guaranteed Russia’s Povetkin (19-0, 14 KOs) a career-high purse of roughly $2.08 million. That’s how unprepared Povetkin is for such a huge challenge, according to Atlas.

You can imagine, then, that Klitschko-Povetkin probably would’ve amounted to another tedious glorified sparring session, which Klitschko would’ve won either by late knockout or by an embarrassing margin on the scorecards. Atlas obviously should’ve pulled Povetkin away from the Klitschko bout before the purse bid, but he probably did fight fans a favor last month by opening up an opportunity for Klitschko-Peter II.

Peter suspects Klitschko never would’ve fought him again had he not climbed back up the IBF’s ratings and forced the issue. The IBF — a notorious East Orange, New Jersey-based sanctioning organization — seemingly did some good in this instance by making Klitschko skip to Peter, the next available contender.

The 29-year-old Peter plans to capitalize on this second chance by taking a more tactical approach toward fighting the 6-6, 245-pound Klitschko.

“Everybody looked at him as a big brawler,” said Abel Sanchez, who became Peter’s trainer 15 months ago. “He does have a big punch, but we’re trying to [use the] boxing skills that he has put aside, that he had back in the past. We’re trying to develop those skills again.

“I think it’s important that you don’t come in with just an ‘A’ plan against Klitschko. You have to come in with an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ and a ‘C’ plan, to be able to use them at different times. And he’s been working on that. It’s been a year and [three] months, and he has improved a lot on the boxing end of it, not just the brawling end of it.”

The underachieving Peter sold Sanchez on his desire to be better by completely committing to training. He has been in Big Bear Lake, Calif., for about two months, something a younger, more stubborn Peter would not have done.

Peter claims promotional problems with former promoters Dino Duva and Don King affected his psyche, but whatever issues he had with King and/or Duva doesn’t excuse Peter’s poor preparation for fights in which he was as much as 20-plus pounds over his optimum fighting weight. A sloppy Peter weighed in at a career-high 265 pounds prior to a majority decision defeat to Philadelphia’s Eddie Chambers (35-2, 18 KOs) in March 2009 in Los Angeles.

That discouraging showing marked Peter’s first fight after a disgraceful defeat to Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KOs) in October 2008, in which Wladimir’s older brother battered a disinterested Peter into submission after seven one-sided rounds in Berlin. The 2000 Olympian has won four straight fights with Sanchez in his corner, though, and will probably weigh in at least 15 pounds lighter for his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko than he was when he fought Vitali Klitschko (253 pounds).

“I think the dedication has been the big difference that I’ve seen in Sam,” said Sanchez, who’ll leave Thursday with Peter for Frankfurt. “I’ve been able to keep him in the gym six, sometimes seven days a week. He’s been here now eight weeks, so we’re looking to an exciting heavyweight fight because he’s put in the work this time around.

“I think in the past he has allowed outside influences to contribute to his lack of dedication, his lack of commitment. The discipline, this time, has been there for me, anyway. I don’t know why in the past it wasn’t, but we’re looking forward to an exciting heavyweight fight.”

Peter repeatedly refused to discuss previous fights or training issues during the conference call, but he did predict Klitschko wouldn’t last beyond four rounds in a fight that won’t be televised live in the United States.

“This time around, I’ve got my referee and my judge,” Peter said in reference to challenging Klitschko in his adopted homeland. “My referee is my right hand and my judge is my left hook. So no question about it this time around. He will not get up from my hook, so I’m ready, I’m prepared. I don’t need no referee, I don’t need no judge. This time around, it’s not going be long.”

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com.