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When the grizzled veteran James “Lights Out” Toney comes face-to-face with the brutal punching Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter September 2nd, he will, for the first time, meet a heavyweight fighter who always delivers blows with a gruesome intent.
Sure, Toney stopped an ancient Evander Holyfield. He also decisioned a light-hitting Rydell Booker. No one will forget his near-win over John Ruiz in which he out-boxed the then-titleholder only to be stripped of the win for cheating by way of steroids. He also won a point victory over hot-and-cold (mostly cold lately) Dominick Guinn. More recently of course he was the recipient of a gift draw after obviously falling way behind then-titlist Hasim Rahman.
The one thing all of the heavyweight opponents that he actually defeated have in common is that none of them were legitimately ranked top 10 fighters. That’s correct, the illusion Toney created with his victory over the depleted Holyfield has for whatever reason stuck.
Even though a state commission verified the fact that he illegally used steroids before his fight with Ruiz, many still believe he would’ve won anyway. (This is a dubious claim in light of his abysmal performance against Rahman). [details]
Sure, Toney stopped an ancient Evander Holyfield. He also decisioned a light-hitting Rydell Booker. No one will forget his near-win over John Ruiz in which he out-boxed the then-titleholder only to be stripped of the win for cheating by way of steroids. He also won a point victory over hot-and-cold (mostly cold lately) Dominick Guinn. More recently of course he was the recipient of a gift draw after obviously falling way behind then-titlist Hasim Rahman.
The one thing all of the heavyweight opponents that he actually defeated have in common is that none of them were legitimately ranked top 10 fighters. That’s correct, the illusion Toney created with his victory over the depleted Holyfield has for whatever reason stuck.
Even though a state commission verified the fact that he illegally used steroids before his fight with Ruiz, many still believe he would’ve won anyway. (This is a dubious claim in light of his abysmal performance against Rahman). [details]
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