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August 26, 2006
FF: Freddie thanks for taking the time to talk with the FightFans here at FightFan.com. How is James Toney’s training camp going as you enter the final stages before his fight with Sam Peter?
FR: We just finished training for today. James did ten rounds just now and he looked good.
FF: We were trying to get James on the line a little earlier today and I didn’t want to ask him this because I was afraid he’d yell at me, but what’s his weight like now? A lot gets made of it, but are you comfortable with where his weight is right now?
FR: His weight is better. He’s 230 pounds as of today (26-Aug).
FF: What weight can we expect to see him weigh in at?
FR: Right around there.
FF: What is your take on that? James maintains too much fuss is made over his weight, and I know you’d like to see him a bit lighter but I’ve also heard him say he wants to maintain the size to stand in there with Peter who’s much heavier…
FR: James has definitety kept some of the weight because he feels Peter is a big guy . James knows his body better than anyone else and he’s been doing this a long time. We’ve had conversations about his weight in the past and I’d like to see him lighter and faster but James wanted to keep some size for this fight because of Peter’s size. James is usually right about this kind of stuff.
FF: The actual number of pounds he weighs aside, his problem in the last fight was his conditioning. Can you talk about where you feel his conditioning is at going into this fight with Peter? Is he as conditioned as you’d like him to be despite his appearance?
FR: I think he’s in the best condition he’s been in for quite a while. He’s hit the pavement for this fight and has been doing roadwork instead of doing the machines.
FF: That was one thing we were going to ask, has he been putting in some good miles running and doing road work?
FR: He’s been doing roadwork for the last month. One of his sparring partners was formerly a track star in France and he’s been getting James out there five mornings a week. This is the first time in quite a while that James has been doing road work like this on the pavement and it’s working out well for him.
FF: So do you think James is ready to go 12 hard rounds, and if so will Peter be able to keep pace with him?
FR: We’re ready to go 12 rounds. James is an experienced guy and he knows when to turn it up and when to rest. A key for tiring out Peter will be James making him miss. That’s a big issue for us. We’re going to get him swinging and missing and that will fatigue him and we’ll be working the body a lot. And you know he’s got a lot of body to work with as he’s not the best conditioned athlete in the world himself, he’s bigger than James is.
FF: Freddie, Peter’s stamina wasn’t very good against Klitschko. He was tired after 5 rounds and became largely ineffective as a result. Is the plan to capitalize on that and maintain a high punch output and tire Peter out down the stretch?
FR: I think Peter’s fight plan is to try and get James out of there early and James is going to make him miss. He’s going to get tired and I think James will stop him late in the fight. We’re going to work the body very well in the early rounds which will add to the fatigue of him missing. The body shots will be very useful in the early rounds I think.
FF: James is always at his best in rounds 8 – 12 and is very notorious for picking up the pace in those rounds. In the Rahman fight it cost him when he was unable to step on the gas in the later rounds…
FR: You know in the Rahman fight he was really flat after five rounds and that’s the first time I’ve seen that in James Toney. That’s why he’s been hitting the road as hard as he has.
FF: So are you confident this time around he’ll be his usual self and very strong late in the fight?
FR: Oh yea.
FF: Is there any concern on your part about Peter’s notorious habit of hitting to the back of the head?
FR: That’s a major concern and we need a strong referee for that. We need a referee who’s going to have the guts to step in there if he’s hitting to the back of the head and warn, take points away or disqualify if need be. You saw the other night when Jay Nady warned Rahman twice for hitting to the back against Maskaev. Rahman tried to take that plan that he used against James into that fight and Nady did a good job of catching it. I applaud Jay Nady for that. He wouldn’t let Rahman get away with those fouls because he knew what happened in the fight with James. I mean James was pissing blood for a week after that fight because of the kidney punches.
FF: Freddie you saw the fight between Maskaev and Rahman a few weeks back, what was your take on Rahman’s conditioning? He seemed to be very dull and fought a poor fight against Maskaev where as when he fought James he seemed to be in the best condition we’ve ever seen him in…
FR: I was really surprised because I thought Rahman’s turn around was his conditioning. When he started to do well in fights was when he poured it on. That’s why I was surprised to see him tire in his last fight. I thought he’d come on late against the older guy but Maskaev showed guts and did what he had to do.
FF: It’s just unfortunate because I really think he looked the best he ever has against James and then just slipped again in his next fight.
FR: Well you know I did think James won the fight when you look at the scoring of each round. But when we get a win over Peter here, James will look to take on any of the title holders.
FF: Freddie you’ve worked with Wlad Klitschko before and James has said several times he thinks Klitschko is easy work. Wlad’s a big guy and a big puncher, what’s your take on that fight if they were to be matched up?
FR: It’s obviously a tough fight because of Klitschko’s size, but one thing about James is that he’s very good at taking distance away. And Klitschko does need distance to punch because he’s a long puncher. James is very good at getting inside and up close to bigger fighters to take that distance away. I think it will be a very interesting fight because Klitschko is a big puncher and James is so slick. The mental aspect could play a big roll here because I think James just might get to him.
FF: Freddie thanks for taking the time to talk with the FightFans here at FightFan.com. How is James Toney’s training camp going as you enter the final stages before his fight with Sam Peter?
FR: We just finished training for today. James did ten rounds just now and he looked good.
FF: We were trying to get James on the line a little earlier today and I didn’t want to ask him this because I was afraid he’d yell at me, but what’s his weight like now? A lot gets made of it, but are you comfortable with where his weight is right now?
FR: His weight is better. He’s 230 pounds as of today (26-Aug).
FF: What weight can we expect to see him weigh in at?
FR: Right around there.
FF: What is your take on that? James maintains too much fuss is made over his weight, and I know you’d like to see him a bit lighter but I’ve also heard him say he wants to maintain the size to stand in there with Peter who’s much heavier…
FR: James has definitety kept some of the weight because he feels Peter is a big guy . James knows his body better than anyone else and he’s been doing this a long time. We’ve had conversations about his weight in the past and I’d like to see him lighter and faster but James wanted to keep some size for this fight because of Peter’s size. James is usually right about this kind of stuff.
FF: The actual number of pounds he weighs aside, his problem in the last fight was his conditioning. Can you talk about where you feel his conditioning is at going into this fight with Peter? Is he as conditioned as you’d like him to be despite his appearance?
FR: I think he’s in the best condition he’s been in for quite a while. He’s hit the pavement for this fight and has been doing roadwork instead of doing the machines.
FF: That was one thing we were going to ask, has he been putting in some good miles running and doing road work?
FR: He’s been doing roadwork for the last month. One of his sparring partners was formerly a track star in France and he’s been getting James out there five mornings a week. This is the first time in quite a while that James has been doing road work like this on the pavement and it’s working out well for him.
FF: So do you think James is ready to go 12 hard rounds, and if so will Peter be able to keep pace with him?
FR: We’re ready to go 12 rounds. James is an experienced guy and he knows when to turn it up and when to rest. A key for tiring out Peter will be James making him miss. That’s a big issue for us. We’re going to get him swinging and missing and that will fatigue him and we’ll be working the body a lot. And you know he’s got a lot of body to work with as he’s not the best conditioned athlete in the world himself, he’s bigger than James is.
FF: Freddie, Peter’s stamina wasn’t very good against Klitschko. He was tired after 5 rounds and became largely ineffective as a result. Is the plan to capitalize on that and maintain a high punch output and tire Peter out down the stretch?
FR: I think Peter’s fight plan is to try and get James out of there early and James is going to make him miss. He’s going to get tired and I think James will stop him late in the fight. We’re going to work the body very well in the early rounds which will add to the fatigue of him missing. The body shots will be very useful in the early rounds I think.
FF: James is always at his best in rounds 8 – 12 and is very notorious for picking up the pace in those rounds. In the Rahman fight it cost him when he was unable to step on the gas in the later rounds…
FR: You know in the Rahman fight he was really flat after five rounds and that’s the first time I’ve seen that in James Toney. That’s why he’s been hitting the road as hard as he has.
FF: So are you confident this time around he’ll be his usual self and very strong late in the fight?
FR: Oh yea.
FF: Is there any concern on your part about Peter’s notorious habit of hitting to the back of the head?
FR: That’s a major concern and we need a strong referee for that. We need a referee who’s going to have the guts to step in there if he’s hitting to the back of the head and warn, take points away or disqualify if need be. You saw the other night when Jay Nady warned Rahman twice for hitting to the back against Maskaev. Rahman tried to take that plan that he used against James into that fight and Nady did a good job of catching it. I applaud Jay Nady for that. He wouldn’t let Rahman get away with those fouls because he knew what happened in the fight with James. I mean James was pissing blood for a week after that fight because of the kidney punches.
FF: Freddie you saw the fight between Maskaev and Rahman a few weeks back, what was your take on Rahman’s conditioning? He seemed to be very dull and fought a poor fight against Maskaev where as when he fought James he seemed to be in the best condition we’ve ever seen him in…
FR: I was really surprised because I thought Rahman’s turn around was his conditioning. When he started to do well in fights was when he poured it on. That’s why I was surprised to see him tire in his last fight. I thought he’d come on late against the older guy but Maskaev showed guts and did what he had to do.
FF: It’s just unfortunate because I really think he looked the best he ever has against James and then just slipped again in his next fight.
FR: Well you know I did think James won the fight when you look at the scoring of each round. But when we get a win over Peter here, James will look to take on any of the title holders.
FF: Freddie you’ve worked with Wlad Klitschko before and James has said several times he thinks Klitschko is easy work. Wlad’s a big guy and a big puncher, what’s your take on that fight if they were to be matched up?
FR: It’s obviously a tough fight because of Klitschko’s size, but one thing about James is that he’s very good at taking distance away. And Klitschko does need distance to punch because he’s a long puncher. James is very good at getting inside and up close to bigger fighters to take that distance away. I think it will be a very interesting fight because Klitschko is a big puncher and James is so slick. The mental aspect could play a big roll here because I think James just might get to him.
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