On April 30th the world of boxing will be treated to the WBA heavyweight championship bout between John Ruiz and James Toney. Now I use the term treated very lightly. The last time John Ruiz treated a boxing fan to anything entertaining was the last time they put their copy of his fight with David Tua in the VCR and repeatedly hit the rewind button to see Ruiz get tossed in just 19 seconds. If anyone would have told me that years later I would be watching Ruiz defend his title against James Toney you would find me on the floor laughing. Well, here we are years later and John Ruiz is defending his WBA title against James Toney. Not many look at John Ruiz at a legit champion and if James Toney wins, will he be looked on by others as a legit champ? Let's take a short look at James Toney's short time in the heavyweight division.

Toney first fought Evander Holyfield or someone who looked liked him. This was clearly not the Evander Holyfield that so many had came to love many years ago. It was an older, slower and beaten version of the once great warrior. Toney scored a ninth round TKO over Holyfield and immediately people jumped on the James Toney band wagon proclaiming him the successor to the throne. Wait a moment here, I don't get it...  Toney beats a worn out Holyfield and Toney is now the real deal? Where were these same voices when Ruiz beat Holyfield?

James Toney next fought 11 months later after healing from a training injury. His second bout in the heavyweight division came against Rydell Booker. Toney picked up a unanimous decision going the full 12 rounds against Booker. So there you have it, victories over Evander Holyfield and Rydell Booker get  you a heavyweight title shot. There must be a more deserving man for the job, right? Well, with the heavyweight division being paper thin in talent that’s a tough question to answer.

On the other side of  April 30th is John "The Quietman" Ruiz. Sure he's quiet, it's tough to get a word in when you're next to the "Loud Man" Norman Stone. Most of us have suffered through a John Ruiz fight or two, with all the clinching, grabbing, holding, wrestling, and dancing. When he finds time to throw a punch between all those clinches is beyond me.

Ruiz last fought in November against Andrew Golota. And like most of Ruiz's fights it was the same as before. But this time he did hit the deck; unfortunately, he beat the count and again had his hand raised in victory. Lucky boxing fans get treated to yet another John Ruiz fight and a Norman Stone side show. 

On April 30th I'm sure a lot of people will tune in to see one of three things. Many viewing the bout will sit there with hopes of John Ruiz losing to the much smaller man, again. On the other side some people will be rooting for Ruiz to shut Toney’s mouth. And finally there will be people rooting for Ruiz and/or Toney to win because they are fans. Me? I'm just going to tune in because I have nothing better to do that night.