Rahman retains WBC crown with bland draw against Toney

By David Gonzalez SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ATLANTIC CITY (Ticker) - Hasim Rahman and James Toney tried to resuscitate the heavyweight championship Saturday night, but the end result left the division gasping for air.

Rahman retained his WBC title as he fought to an uninspiring and questionable majority draw with Toney in front of 8,427 at the Boardwalk Hall.

In a bout that featured no knockdowns and plenty of pawing, Rahman easily won the scorecard of judge John Steward, 117-111, but was overruled by judges Tom Kaczmarek and Nobuaki Uratani, who had the fight at 114-114.

“I am the champ,” Rahman said. “I won the fight clear. The judge who had it 117-111 was accurate.”

Rahman (41-5-2) pressed the action throughout the bout but often found himself being outboxed on the inside by the smaller but pudgier Toney, who weighed in at 237 pounds. “I thought I won by 2-3 points,” the 5-9 Toney said. “He was scared. Nobody knock out James Toney.”

After a tactical first two rounds, the 37-year-old Toney began to open up in the third as he landed flush heavy shots to the head of Rahman, who kept trading back.

Despite having advantages in height and reach along with being a natural heavyweight, Rahman fought small, not using his strengths as he let Toney (69-4-3) dictate the pace.

In the opening minute of the fifth, Rahman found some offense as he landed rights to the head of the challenger, who seemed to be tiring. Both fighters came out trading to start the following round, but the pace slowed as the crowd grew restless and booed the lethargic pugilists.

Toney found a second wind in the eighth round. He won the inside battle in the corner later in the round as the crowd began chanting, “Toney, Toney, Toney.”

Rahman continued to press forward, trying to take the fight to Toney, but was losing the inside battle as the challenger landed the cleaner, more effective punches. He drew blood from the champion’s mouth and left eye in the ninth.

“I wasn’t hurt, and felt I hit him with a lot of clean shots,” Rahman said.

Despite the shots, Toney seemed to be sapped in the closing rounds, seemingly allowing the champion to accumulate points. Trainer Freddie Roach went as far as to tell Toney that he needed a knockout before the 12th round.

Toney, who led on two of the three judges’ scorecards at the halfway point, started the final round by landing a big right hand and began to fight with urgency. But it was Rahman who finished the fight on his toes and strong.

Rahman next will face mandatory challenger Oleg Maskaev, who knocked him clear out of the ring for an eighth-round stoppage in November 1999.

“I have some unfinished business with Maskaev,” Rahman said.

Toney was looking to win a share of the heavyweight title for the second time. He won belts at middleweight, super middleweight and cruiserweight before defeating then-WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz last April.

However, Toney tested positive for steroids, the bout was ruled a “no-contest” and he was stripped of his title.