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Showtime Championship Boxing James Toney vs. Samuel Peter
September 2, 2006 Staples Center Los Angeles, California 10 PM ET/PT
WBC Heavyweight Title Eliminator Bout James “Lights Out” Toney (69-4-2, 43 KOs) vs. Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter (26-1, 22 KOs)
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James Toney Faces Samuel Peter In Ultimate Heavyweight Eliminator
LOS ANGELES - The charismatic pugilist, World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 2-ranked James “Lights Out” Toney will face the soft spoken and hard hitting, WBC No. 3 Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter on September 2, 2006 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, as the 20-year anniversary of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING continues in spectacular fashion (10 p.m. ET/PT).
The most significant non-title heavyweight fight of the year, a WBC eliminator, holds tremendous upside for the winner. With Toney’s well-rounded technique and Peter’s aggressive style, this match-up figures to be thrilling from start to finish. The winner of the 12-round eliminator, presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions, Don King Productions and Duva Boxing, will become the mandatory challenger of the winner of Hasim Rahman versus Oleg Maskaev WBC title fight on August 12.
The wide-open heavyweight division is heating up. In recent months, there have been excellent heavyweight scraps and some wonderful individual performances. There have been major upsets at the highest level, including Sergei Liakhovich’s stunningly impressive 12-round decision over defending world champion Lamon Brewster April 2, 2006, on SHOWTIME.
So, opportunities exist for today’s top heavyweights to separate themselves from the pack. The key is to make the most of your chances, which is why Toney-Peter is such an important, compelling match-up and one that fans will not want to miss.
Toney (69-4-2, 43 KOs), of Los Angeles, by way of Grand Rapids, Mich., stands only 5-feet-9 but the charismatic, talented 37-year-old is one of the smartest, quickest, most ring savvy boxers in history.
A former world champion at middleweight, super middleweight and cruiserweight, Toney has long aspired to become world heavyweight champion. On April 30, 2005, Toney easily outpointed World Boxing Association (WBA) titleholder John Ruiz to take the title, but the bout was later ruled a no-decision when Toney tested positive for a banned substance. In his last outing on March 18, 2006, he fought a 12-round draw with Rahman, the WBC heavyweight champion.
“None of these bums can stay with me,’’ said Toney, who, in addition to being ranked No. 2 in the WBC, is No. 3 in the WBA and No. 8 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF). “I will be in shape for this. Peter is a big, slow, one-dimensional robot.
“I have always been ready to fight anybody, any time, anywhere. My talent speaks for itself. On Sept. 2, it will be ‘Lights Out’ for Sam Peter. I will put him to sleep. It’ll be his ‘Nigerian Nightmare’.”
Peter (26-1, 22 KOs), of Las Vegas, Nevada, by way of Akwaibom, Nigeria, is also ranked No. 4 in the IBF and No. 5 in the World Boxing Organization (WBO). Possessing perhaps the most devastating knockout power in the heavyweight ranks, Peter has been touted as the future of the division. He lived up to his billing as the division’s most prolific young slugger in his last start when he made short work of Julius Long, stopping him in the first round on April 28, 2006. But in his biggest fight, the 6-foot-1, 25-year-old got credit for three knockdowns but still dropped a close, unanimous 12-round decision to current IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko on Sept. 24, 2005.
“No boxer, including Toney, can deal with my power,” the pulverizing Peter said. “Toney likes to talk but I am going to shut him up once and for all. Toney hasn’t looked good in a fight in a long time, and he is not going to look good against me.
“James Toney has had a great career. But his time has come and gone. This is Samuel’s Peter’s time.”
Promoter Dan Goossen added, “ Two fighters, both in line for titles shots this year without this fight, fighting each other – crazy - simply said, “No Risk, No Reward.”
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING’s Steve Albert and Al Bernstein will call the action from ringside with Jim Gray serving as roving reporter. The producer of the SHOWTIME telecast will be David Dinkins Jr. with Bob Dunphy directing.
- Press Release issued by Goossen Tutor Promotions with a little editing from us (highlights, etc...)
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Fight Nearly Breaks Out At Press Conference To Formally Announce James Toney vs. Sam Peter Saturday, Sept. 2, at Staples Center on Showtime
LOS ANGELES - If the fight is even remotely as entertaining and exciting as the press conference, fans are in for The Fight of the Year, Saturday, Sept. 2, when world-ranked heavyweights James "Lights Out" Toney (69-4-2, 43 KOs) and Samuel "The Nigerian Nightmare" Peter (26-1, 22 KOs) collide in a 12-round World Boxing Council (WBC) elimination bout at STAPLES Center on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast). Toney is ranked No. 2 in the WBC, one notch above Peter.
Tempers flared toward the end of Tuesday's presser at The Palm Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles after Toney took exception to comments made by Peter's promoter, Dino Duva, and manager Ivaylo Gotzev.
A former three-time world champion, Toney was peeved at Duva for calling him "dumb" for accepting the match when Toney currently is next in line to fight for the WBC title. Gotzev angered Toney by standing up and shouting that he had had enough of the "(Toney promoter) Dan Goossen and Toney show," and that it was, "Samuel Peter's time."
At one point, an enraged Toney stood up from his seat at the dais and began to remove his jacket. He took a couple steps toward Team Peter before being stopped by members of his camp. Moments later, he threw a glass of water at Gotzev.
The press conference came to a premature end shortly thereafter.
Below are quotes from AEG CFO, Dan Beckerman, Toney and Peter.
Dan Beckerman, AEG CFO "Speaking on behalf of everyone at AEG and STAPLES Center, we are ecstatic to be part of such a great event. This is a fantastic match-up, one that follows in a long line of great match-ups and fights at STAPLES Center.
"Far and away the heavyweight division is still boxing's most popular weight class. Our fans want to see the heavyweights, deserve to see the heavyweights and will see the heavyweights on Saturday, Sept. 2. The winner of this fight will go a long way in helping to sort out what is a wide-open heavyweight division. We are thrilled to be part of it."
James Toney "I am No. 1, and I will prove it on Sept. 2.
"I thought Peter won his fight against (Wladimir) Klitschko and, even though it was a draw, I thought I won against (Hasim) Rahman. (So) this is the heavyweight championship right here. The Eastern European fighters were put there by the boxing organizations.
"I am the only heavyweight champion. On Sept. 2, I am going to show James Toney at his best. I am looking forward to it. I want to thank Peter for stepping up to the plate and taking the fight against me. He is a tough guy, but he is no James Toney.
"Being the best fighter in the world, I have to stay busy. I am no joke. I am not someone to mess with. I take the sport of boxing very seriously.
"I am like a John Elway or Joe Montana. I feel no pressure. I am always ready to fight the best, any place, any time. Someone has to pay the electric bill because the lights are going to go out.
"I like to beat up people and I have fun doing it. It is going to be a short fight, but the beating I give Peter will make the fight seem like a long one.
"He is talking like he is going to go through me like Swiss cheese. I am a natural born fighter. I am going to go right through Peter."
"For me to get a fight with Toney right now is a miracle.
"Toney is a great champion, a Hall of Famer. When he is in shape, he can make anybody look bad. He beat (John) Ruiz), (Evander) Holyfield and drew with Rahman. Toney has the heart of a real man, and I commend him for that. I give him credit for taking this fight. But he had a guaranteed fight for the WBC title in his back pocket, and now he is fighting me.
"That is a big mistake. I thank him for this opportunity. I owe him a debt of gratitude. But I will beat him.
"This is a crossroads fight for both of us. If I don't win, they are going to say I did not perform well against the very best. Toney has to win because of who he is and where he is at.
"The upside for me is tremendous. I am very excited and ready to take my game to the next level. Boxing is my life, and my vision and dream is to become world champion.
"I do not do my fighting at a press conference. I do my fighting in the ring. Toney is Toney. He likes to talk a lot and act crazy. I am no Rahman or Ruiz. On Sept. 2, Toney will not survive in the ring. I will put 260 pounds on him. I will get rid of him within five rounds. I will make Toney regret that he took this fight."
- Press Release issued by Showtime with a little editing from us (color, highlights, etc...)
Subject to change
(7/20/06) |
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