JOURNEY BACK TO PROMINENCE By Jeff Mayweather

Saturday night April 26th at the Foxwoods Casino... It will have been a long journey back for two of the combatants who will step into the ring for a World Championship Title Fight.

Montell "Ice" Griffin, a former Light Heavyweight Champion of the World who has the distinction of being the only fighter to defeat Roy Jones, Jr. and then we have one of the Bad Boys of boxing, James "Lights Out" Toney whose last significant fight was also against Roy Jones, Jr.

There is also another bond that will forever have these two names mentioned in the same breath, as Roy Jones, Jr. is not their only common opponent, but Griffin and Toney also fought against one another on two occasions, with Griffin emerging victorious in both encounters.

It's been a long time since these two former Champions have had a chance to display their talent on a major network such as HBO I think they both have their work cut out for them, as Griffin takes on once beaten former 1996 Olympian Antonio Tarver, a tall rangy southpaw with very good punching power. Tarver has been on an impressive run since losing to Eric Harding, a defeat which he later avenged via knockout.

The Griffin-Tarver fight is too close to call. Montell's a very crafty boxer, while Tarver is the better puncher and a southpaw. Like most of the fighters I write about, I know both guys very well and hope that the best man wins on that night.

The second fight is a little more compelling, as we have Bad Boy Toney who has been fighting in obscurity, in terms of a meaningful fight since losing to Jones, Jr. Toney has been very impressive in his quest this title shot but he is a guy who has fought just about anyone willing to step in the ring with him from Middleweight all the way up to Cruiserweight. Unfortunately the Cruiserweight division is one of those divisions that gets no notoriety. The only other name that stands out is Vasiliy Jirov, 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist in the Light Heavyweight division, with a win over before mentioned Antonio Tarver yes and that is the man that will be coming out of the other corner on Saturday Night.

Jirov is one of the best body punchers in all of boxing no matter the weight class. This fight will be a very high action fight, I lean toward Toney from the aspect of all around boxing skills, but it won't be no walk in the park. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to see Jirov come out victorious; he's younger, hungry and very determined. In James Toney we have a solid veteran who only fights about a minute and a half of each round, but his impact is so impressive he can easily steal the round with fewer punches and his great defensive skills make it difficult to land a clean shot, sometimes swaying the judges even when he has done less throughout the round.

Well, Toney has talked so much trash that he better be ready to walk the walk as he has taunted and belittled Jirov for over a year now, since the fight has been an on-again, off-again affair. Toney has taken many pot shots at Jirov and has also questioned his character as a man, claiming that Jirov was just scared and that's why the fight kept being delayed.

I think that for Toney this is his chance to once again make some noise with his fists instead of his mouth; an opportunity to put himself back in elite company, which would allow him to then explore various options, maybe even a jump up to heavyweight where now his one time conqueror sits on the WBA throne. On the flipside of that, if Toney comes up short he would be all but finished as a quality fighter with any real marquee value, and would probably become one of the most avoided fighters in all of boxing because of the risk that comes with fighting a James Toney.

Well, the stage is set and what a tangled web it weaves as there are so many connections that link each one of these fighters with one another, with Roy Jones, Jr. probably being the Grand Prize that these fighters will be looking for when the evening comes to a close.