Toney fights for Heavyweight Title

On April 30, James Lights-Out Toney (68-4-2, 43) will challenge John Ruiz (4-5-1, 28) for the WBA Heavyweight Championship of the world at the sacred alter of pugilism, “the Garden” (Madison Square Garden) … and the Mighty Moe will be glued to the television.

This will be the second time Big John Ruiz will have to defend his title against a former middleweight champion, having dropped a decision to Roy Jones in 2003. But let’s face it; fans won’t be tuning in to see Ruiz, they’ll be tuning in to see the brash and loquacious James Toney.

When James Toney won the middleweight title with his 11th round destruction of Michael Nunn, fans understood there was something special about Toney. His list of victories looked like a list of who’s who in the middleweight division. But all that started to fall apart for the then pound-per-pound king as Toney kept having trouble making weight, and culminated in to consecutive losses.

Fans were frustrated and angry as they watched an out of shape James Toney drop another two more losses. Even his lack luster victories seemed to confirm in everyone’s opinion, it was all over for Toney. It seemed as though James Toney had eaten his way out of the greatness that most fans believed he was destined to achieve.

A couple years back James started to take his training serious, and a showdown was set for Vassiliy Jirov’s IBF Cruiserweight title. Toney was sensational, he fought the undefeated champion in a toe-to-toe battle that would earn him a unanimous decision … and the honor of knocking the champion off his feet in the last and final round.

With the momentum set, James turned his attention towards the heavyweight division and called out one its greats, Evander Holyfield. With his 9th round TKO destruction over the “Real Deal,” James Toney has made believers out of the harshest of skeptics.

Now the table has been set once again … and I’m a believer. As long as James Lights-Out Toney stays motivated, I think he is one of the most formidable fighters in the game today. Tough and durable, his boxing skills are recognized by fight fans as old-school.

I believe Toney will win a unanimous decision over a gutsy performance by John Ruiz.

--The Mighty Moe

Antonio Margarito vs. Kermit Cintron

On April 23, WBO Welterweight champion Antonio Margarito (31-4, 22 KOs) will face unbeaten WBO-Interim Welterweight Champion Kermit Cintron (24-0, 22 KOs) for the WBO 147 pound title.

This should be a very entertaining bout because of the explosive punching power and offensive styles both fighters possess. Having said that, I’m going to pick Mexican Antonio Margarito over the hard punching, KO sensation, Kermit Cintron, for a couple reasons.

Margarito recently moved up to 154 pounds and challenged WBO champion Daniel Santos. Unfortunately, the fight was stopped because of a cut caused by a clash of heads. It was a split decision victory for Santos, but not a convincing victory for the 154-pound champion. Santos stood his ground during the early part of the fight against the smaller challenger, but was soon convinced Margarito was the stronger of the two. Daniel Santos changed tactics and used his boxing skills in order to squeeze out this marginal victory.

In this loss, Margarito proved once again that he is a solid puncher with the gritty determination and strength to out-gun even larger opponents … but he can be out-boxed.

By contrast, Cintron won his last fight against Teddy Reid, but showed weaknesses in his style that might play into the hands of Margarito. Cintron started that fight with hard punches that seemed to indicate he would make quick work of Teddy Reid. However, Reid proved to be more resilient and began landing big punches of his own through Cintron’s poor defense. Kermit Cintron’s inexperience started to show, and seemed bewildered and tentative when Reid started to rally with his counterpunching. The fight seemed to sea-saw back and forth, despite Cintron winning most of the rounds. Ultimately, Cintron stopped Reid in the eighth round with a series of explosive punches.

It was a tremendous victory for Cintron, and perhaps the toughest test of his young career. At the end of the fight, Cintron became emotional during the interview. It was clear, Kermit Cintron was unprepared for that level of performance from an opponent and the stress had taken its toll. In victory, Cintron proved he is a world-class fighter, but also has the insecurity and inexperience of a young fighter.

I am a fan of Cintron, but I think fighting the tough veteran Margarito may be too-much-too-soon for this young prospect. This is a terrific match-up. I look for Antonio Margarito to win a hard fought late round stoppage over a bewildered Kermit Cintron.

--The Mighty Moe

This Las Vegas event will be an ESPN PPV, along with:
Juan Diaz vs. Ebo Elder (WBA 135),
Shane Mosley vs. David Estrada (147)
Jameel McCline vs. Calvin Brock (Hvy).

The Contender … Good Or Bad For Boxing?

I’m going to come right out and say it. I don’t like it. The problem with The Contender reality show is that it’s a reality show!

Fight fans know that the sport of boxing is already a reality show. There is no righteousness prevailing over evil, social justice or political correctness, it is simply as cold and as real as reality gets. Unfortunately, the producers believe that watching the reality of boxing isn’t as interesting as the feigned social drama that pans in front of the camera.

In fairness, I just don’t like reality shows.

For me, I’m already watching “The Contender” just by being a boxing fan. I watch young fighters coming into the sport become contenders, and then I follow their careers through to their title shot (and so on). The difference is I don’t have to watch 55 minutes of weeping and backbiting, just to watch five minutes of edited fighting.

Hey, and by the way, what’s with the team activity games that have nothing to do with boxing training? Boxing isn’t a team sport, and loading medicine balls on the back of a pick-up truck isn’t boxing training!

Maybe this show will introduce mainstream audiences to the sweet science. Unfortunately, this show ranked dead last in its timeslot in its first week. Not even big names like Sylvester Stallone or Sugar Ray Leonard could pull audiences in.

--The Mighty Moe

Castillo vs. Corrales

On May 7, lightweight champions Diego “Chico” Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo will meet each other in the ring for a WBO /WBC unification battle that will pit the two best lightweights against each other.

After disposing of unbeaten champion Acelino Frietas, and highy regarded Joel Casamayor, Diego Corrales has set himself as the man to beat in the lightweight division. A devastatingly hard puncher, Corrales has the power to neutralize any fighter at any given moment -- with either hand. Combined with stamina, discipline and heart, Diego Corrales is one of the most effective pressure fighters in the game today.

With an equally impressive record, the highly regarded WBC champion Jose Luis Castillo has over 50 fights and nearly as many KOs. This rugged Mexican has also set himself at the top of the division as a boxer/puncher after stopping Julio Diaz in his last fight, beating Joel Casamayor and Juan Lazcano.

By comparison, both fighters have beaten Joel Casamayor, but both also lost to Floyd Mayweather. Corrales lost by TKO, and Castillo dropped a controversial split decision in his first fight with Mayweather, and a unanimous decision in their second fight. Now that Mayweather has moved up in weight, the table has been set for this elimination bout between Castillo and Corrales.

As a former sparring partner for the great Julio Caesar Chavez, Jose Luis Castillo has never been taken off his feet. However, as the hardest puncher in the division, Diego Corrales would like to put that feather in his cap.

Corrales’ weakness is that he has a stand-up style and lacks lateral movement. This is going to make Corrales easy for Castillo to find him. Corrales has been dropped by Mayweather and Casamayor; both of who are excellent boxers, but neither punch as hard as Castillo.

To sum it up, Diego Chico Corrales has the bigger punch, but Castillo has the better chin.

In order to win, Castillo will have to avoid standing in front of Corrales. He has to be either right on top of Corrales backing him up, or outside Corrales’ reach. If he gets caught within range, Corrales will certainly bust him up.

This sensational match-up looks to be a lightweight version of Hearns vs. Hagler. I’m going to pick Mexican WBC champion Jose Luis Castillo over Diego “Chico” Corrales.

--The Mighty Moe