On Saturday night (April 30, 2005), a very fat James Lights-Out Toney battered, bruised and out-hustled WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz to win by unanimous decision, 116-111, 116-111 and 115-112. James blamed his 233 pounds on his only having four and a half weeks to train.
Even with the extra pounds, Toney (69-4-2 with 43 KOs) has now entered the history books, joining Bob Fitzsimmons and Roy Jones Jr., as the only three men to have won the middleweight title and the heavyweight title (albeit a portion of the heavyweight title).
Ruiz, by contrast, has earned the distinction of becoming the only heavyweight to have lost his title twice to former middleweight champions.
Toney used beautiful counterpunching all night to slip Ruiz’s right hand and fire a right hand in return, bouncing the cleaner shots off the champion’s temple. A wicked body assault by Toney also left marks on Ruiz’s ribcage. The effects of Toney’s body shots prevented Ruiz from staging a late round rally. In the end, Toney appeared to be the fresher of the two.
In the seventh round Toney was credited with a knock-down when he landed a one-two combination. Upon viewing the replay, it was clear Toney stepped on Ruiz’s foot causing him to lose his balance.
What’s next for Toney? He said he’ll fight “anyone at anytime,” but the recognized heavyweight champion is Vitali Klitschko. James Toney will have to beat Vitali if he wants to be recognized as the legitimate heavyweight champion … and one of only two former middleweight champions to have won the legitimate heavyweight title.
--The Mighty Moe
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