Saturday night in Atlantic City, James Toney (69-4-3-43 KO’s) took on designated WBC Heavyweight Champion, Hasim Rahman (41-5-2-33 KO’s), who was installed as such after former WBC Champion, Vitali Klitschko retired—right before their scheduled fight.

The Rahman - Toney fight featured some close rounds but it was Rahman’s jab and work rate that put the most rounds in the bank over Toney on my scorecard.

This was the best boxing I’ve ever seen from Rahman. He used his jab, kept good control of the tempo and even beat Toney at his own game too many times on the inside. At times, Rahman lost his focus and got drawn into Toney’s game on the inside but even when he did, he was at the least, equally effective. On the outside, Rahman used his jab effectively to control the pace, while winning most of the exchanges with stronger punching power.

Toney did a fair share of damage, cutting Rahman with a head butt and causing a cut on Hasim’s mouth to trickle blood by about the eighth round. Toney landed at a higher percentage but the fact is, he lost this fight because he didn’t do enough to win.

It was an exciting fight. I didn’t expect this kind of consistent effort from Rahman, who outworked Toney most of the night and should have easily won this fight. If all three of the Official Judges were competent, he would have.

The official scores were 117-112 for Rahman and 114-114 twice by two of the judges. That’s an intense disparity. I can’t see how anyone saw this fight as even. But then boxing has a soiled reputation to uphold, so a majority draw decision such as was meted out, is no real surprise. All it does is open the door for a “mo money, mo money, mo money” rematch.

What a shame. Though Toney gave a good account of himself, he clearly lost this fight. Though Toney landed cleaner shots, Rahman landed the harder ones and clearly outworked Toney for most of the rounds. Toney fought a hell of a fight for a guy who looked so out of shape, but it wasn’t enough to win more than a few of the early rounds.

The Fight:

Round One
They boxed at center ring, Toney landed some, and Rahman landed some. Rahman’s shots were a bit heavier and Toney’s a bit crisper. Rahman was careful to always work his jab and land to the body whenever he threw combinations, which was fairly frequent. Rahman had the edge by the sound of the bell.
10-9 Rahman.

Round Two
They mixed it up quickly. Toney landed some short hooks and combinations as he got on the inside. Rahman landed good shots up and down. Rahman banged Toney with good clean shots. Toney’s inside work featured very effective uppercuts that landed cleanly. Rahman answered with some clean shots of his own that had a bit more authority.  I thought both guys did equally well and scored this round.
Even.

Round Three
Both men exchanged shots in a brawling beginning of the round. Toney more effective inside, Rahman more effective outside with his jab and follow up shots. Toney landed a nice right hand and Rahman returned the favor with a right of his own. Rarely did Rahman land his right hand, as Toney’s defensive style appeared designed to prevent such. Rahman did some good bodywork and Toney landed some more big shots, mostly right hands. Whenever Toney clinched, Rahman used his right to land the only punch he could with it, short shots to the left side of Toney’s back. Ultimately, Toney landed the cleaner combinations in a close third round, where Rahman looked to be slowing a bit.
10-9 Toney.

Round Four
Both slug it out tirelessly at the start. Toney was able to draw Rahman into a close quarter battle, where he was able to land at a high percentage and better control the bigger Rahman. Hasim stayed ever busy, throwing about 70 to 90 punches per round.
10-9 Toney.

Round Five
Rahman showed smarts as he took his corner’s advice and worked his jab to keep Toney on the outside, where Rahman had the advantage. Toney tried to get inside but was looking tired in the process. Though Toney is dangerous when tired, Rahman appeared to have the edge in stamina and overall effectiveness.  After a clash of heads during an inside exchange, Rahman was bleeding over his left eye.
10-9 Rahman.

Round Six
Rahman showed discipline and continued to work his jab and kept Toney out of his range. Toney showed a sudden burst of energy and scored in turn with Hasim, until he lured him towards the ropes, where Rahman beat Toney at his own game in close quarters, landing several quality shots both up and down. Rahman appeared to be in charge as Toney swung wildly and missed, almost falling from being off balance.
10-9 Rahman.

In the corner, Thel Torrence gave Rahman great advice about sticking with his jab and keeping Toney outside. Though Rahman’s face was bleeding above his left eye, Toney’s portly face was swelling enough to notice.

Round Seven
Rahman got his second wind and was bouncy and popping his jab with authority. On occasion, he drifted into Toney’s lair on the inside, but even still, Rahman was always busier and actually dictating the tempo. Late in the round, Rahman got sloppy and Toney capitalized with some good scores to the head and body. It was not enough to win the round though.
10-9 Rahman.

Round Eight
Toney tried to draw Rahman in but Rock wasn’t buying and as Toney came in, Rahman banged him with a straight jab that pushed Toney to the other side of the ring. Toney’s weight was weighing heavy on his agility and footwork. Rahman was beating Toney in every facet at that point, even in close.
10-9 Rahman.

Round Nine
Rahman kept working his jab. Toney started holding more often. Whenever he did, Rahman kept chopping at his backside of the body. Though Rahman got caught up on the inside again, he did the more impressive work in round nine.
10-9 Rahman.

Round Ten
They box at the center ring. Toney needed a knockdown to level out the scoring. Rahman stuck with his jab. Toney was clinching to get inside but Rahman kept up his high work rate. The left side of Toney’s back had to be quite sore from all the punishment that section of his body took from Rahman’s right hand during the clinches. Rahman clearly outworked Toney again in the tenth but Toney had a convincing rally late, almost stealing the round, causing me to score it.
Even.

Round Eleven
Rahman pressed the action. Toney was looking for a big shot to help his cause and though he landed a few good ones, nothing he did could deter Rahman from outworking him and landing the harder shots.
10-9 Rahman.

Round Twelve
Toney was surprisingly lively in the final round, aggressively trying to pull off an upset that would never come. Rahman simply outworked him again and usually got the best of the exchanges. Toney showed he could take a big punch but Rahman was a bit too motivated to ever let Toney turn the tide.
10-9 Rahman.

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Surprisingly, Rahman, who retained his title, didn’t seem all that upset by the Official result. During the post fight interview, he said that he thought he won the fight. He did. He graciously gave Toney some well-deserved praise and some advice about shaving off some of that excess weight if they have a rematch, where he expects Toney would do better next time.

Toney wasn’t so flattering towards Rahman. He also said he won the fight, then ignored some of Larry Merchant’s other questions, while goofing around for the cameras. A rematch between Toney and Rahman is probable down the line since the Judges already set it up.

Toney would like to do it right away, saying that if Bob Arum is a real promoter, he’d get it done quick. At ringside was Dennis Rappaport, the promoter of Rahman’s next mandatory challenger, who started to say something when he was shouted down by Toney, who asked, “How much did you pay to get Maskaev ranked?” Funny Toney should ask that, since after Toney’s reversed win over John Ruiz (due to steroids in James’ bloodstream), one has to wonder how Toney got rewarded with a Title shot so soon after that fiasco.

Rahman’s next mandatory challenger, Oleg Maskaev (32-5, 25 KO’s), knocked Rahman through the ropes and out in the eighth round of their 1999 fight. A lot has happened for both men since then.

Maskaev has quietly come a long way since falling from grace in 2000, when he lost to Kirk Johnson, followed by a loss to Lance “Goofi” Whitaker of all people. In 2002, Maskaev suffered his last loss to 300-pound Corey Sanders (the American Corey Sanders, not the South African one who knocked out Wladimir Klitschko in two rounds).

Don’t be so quick to write off Oleg Maskaev as being a ‘has been’ that never really was. The newly trained Maskaev has persevered, putting together a string of ten wins in a row, the last one against the iron chinned, Sinan Samil Sam (24-3, 15 KO’s) of Turkey (in Germany). Anyone who saw that fight would notice the vastly improved boxing skills of Maskaev, who has evolved into a better technical fighter, who jabs with conviction and throws combinations frequently and effectively.

Against Maskaev, Rahman has an opportunity to redeem himself for that humiliating 1999 KO loss. With the retooled Maskaev taking on re-legitimized Rahman, it could be the most interesting mandatory fight at Heavy in a long time. If Maskaev were to win, it would be a real Cinderella story. Time will tell.

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Comments can be emailed to Frank Gonzalez Jr.

3-18-2006