HOLLYWOOD- In what was an outstanding night of boxing on Showtime, the title theme could not have been more prophetic as ‘Redemption’ was exactly what the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ received despite the fact that he won the first contest to begin with. This was a rematch that most in the Peter camp believed should have never come about, but due to the questions lingering around the scorecards and the judges who delivered them in the first bout, it was an issue that was prompted and tonight fulfilled. The runaway victory for Samuel Peter, (28W-1L-22Ko’s), was a validation of the beliefs in his camp, and from the very start of the fight it appeared to be nothing that James Toney could do about it. As masterful a boxer as James Toney has been, the skill level that we’ve all come to know and love appeared to be an ‘arrested development’ tonight as he had very few shining moments. In the first round the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ came out swinging bombs, landing a few, missing more, as Toney displayed a more tactical start, carefully avoiding Sam’s heavy hands. He would end up eventually getting caught by a few shots that appeared to get his attention, and by the 2nd round, it was obvious that it would be a long night for the Toney camp has he was floored, which typically doesn’t happen to the man known as ‘Lights Out’. James Toney, (69W-6L-3Dr-43Ko’s), would have his moments in the match where he landed a flush right hand or two, but all in all, the shots that did have an effect on Peter were far too scarce to allow him to slow the Nigerian down. Peter had a very solid 5th round, landing shots after shot, and backing Toney up, but like Toney, Peter didn’t really appear to have enough in his tank to finish James off either. Coming into the contest the ‘anthem’ in both camps was conditioning; Peter dropped 9lbs, While Toney was said to have reduced fat. Translation at fight time still appeared to be two fighters with different dimensions yet still the same issue, which was fair conditioning at best. Toney had the skills to slow Peter down but couldn’t sustain his peak efforts to finish the job, while Peter’s power did major damage, but he also couldn’t sustain the effort to polish Toney off. A common belief this evening based on conversation around the ring was that Peter was successful because youth is on his side. Had tonight’s opponent been someone equally as youthful with the Toney’s set of defensive skills, it could have easily gone the other way. Samuel Peter is being lined up for a shot at current WBC Champ Oleg Maskaev and it is believed that he will be highly favored since he would once again be paired up with an older heavyweight, but this time one who’s skills are slightly above marginal at best, and is more or less a belt holder by default due to weak divisional competition. That fight will probably be staged closer to the middle of spring, and may even take place in Samuel’s homeland, Nigeria. Talks will begin shortly being that it’s a mandatory defense, but for now, Peter will savor the flavor of victory. One that was perhaps easier than even he thought as the judges score cards, (119-108, 118-110, and 118-110), gave him nearly every round. Travis Simms-Vs-Jose Rivera In the televised undercard, the matchup between Simms and Rivera went exactly how it was predicted in the preview posted earlier on this site; (It was a firm belief prior to this fight that Rivera would have his moments, but in the end it would be a combination of too much power, speed, and skill that would eventually cut his night short somewhere in the vicinity of the 10th round). The prediction was completely accurate, (albeit one round off), as Rivera couldn’t do enough to keep Simms off and mount a true attack. Rivera was bloody as early as the 2nd round and the onslaught never completely ended. Rivera would appear to have a rally of sorts at one point, but in hindsight, it appeared that Simms simply picked his spots and did what he had to do to win because he basically landed shots at will, and got all the ones he desired with no problem. With Simms adding his name to the light middleweight/ super welterweight ‘pot’, things should continue to get interesting, as this is one of the deepest divisions in boxing today. His efforts went far from unnoticed and MVN looks for some major things in the career of “Tremendous” Travis Simms in the future. Most Valuable Network would like to Thank Don King Promotions, Goosen Tutor Promotions, and Duva Boxing, as well as Showtime for turning this fight card from a thought to a reality in the city of Hollywood, Florida, as well as in the livingroom of homes around the globe.
Daydreaming Toney Suffers Nightmare Before Lights Out
Posted by Tim Starks on Jan 7, 2007 11:23
