WBA World Cruiserweight Title

Khodynka Ice Palace, Moscow, Russia 4 November 2011

In a sad night for boxing James ‘Lights Out’ Toney was thoroughly dominated and comprehensively defeated on points by Russian favourite Denis Lebedev for the Interim WBA World Cruiserweight title.

Toney, 42 years old managed to whittle his body down from 257 pounds to 199 pounds yet the years of ballooning in weight and losing it has resulted in a physique where rolls of fat hung over his trunks and his body jiggled every time he moved.

Once the action started even with modern great Buddy McGirt in his corner it was soon clear that Toney (82-6 with 44 wins inside and 6 defeats) would not be a match for the 32 year old Lebedev (22-1 with 17 wins inside and just the one controversial defeat to WBO cruiser champ Marco Huck).

Lebedev also had a ring legend in his corner in Kostya Tszyu and obviously enjoyed the partisan support of the enthusiastic crowd who chanted his name and cheered any aggression from him.

The first round was cagey but already Lebedev was catching Toney with left hooks from his southpaw stance. Toney shook his head at the bell but the wily veteran was fooling no one.

The second and third followed a pattern of Toney holding his left low, slipping and feinting and trying to set traps for the younger man. Lebedev was having none of it and he easily controlled the action with crisp accurate shots. His southpaw jab landed cleanly and he followed up with painful hooks to the body.

In the fourth it was clear that the great technician that Toney used to be is now clearly something of the past. He was unable to avoid the welter of leather coming his way and the Russian was controlling the fight and dictating the pace. Everything the man from Grand Rapids did was telegraphed and easily evaded by Lebedev.

At the end of the fifth McGirt looked concerned and implored his fighter to ‘keep working’ but sadly nothing was working for the former multi weight champion.

In the sixth Toney simply looked old. He was too slow and plodding. He tried to fake and trick his opponent but Lebedev was too fast and too wary to be drawn in. Early in the seventh Toney stumbled badly. Whether you are a fan of him or not and he has certainly been outspoken during his colourful career, it was so sad to see a once great tactician and ring general stumbling around the ring like a drunk in a fun house.

The sleek, slick and strong man who defeated Michael Nunn and shocked Vassily Jirov was but a memory. Here he looked plodding, predictable, ungainly and clumsy. The crowd chanted ‘Lebedev! Lebedev!’ as the Russian teed off.

Toney was staggered again in the eighth and nothing of any note was coming from him. By the ninth it was getting pitiful to watch. Lebedev worked the veteran over with hooks and uppercuts with the ageing American fighter on the ropes. Toney was staggered repeatedly and resembled a confused and tormented old bull. All he had was defiance and an ability to soak up punishment left.

A punch from Lebedev had Toney’s face contorted in pain early in the tenth and he badly floundered once again. The eleventh saw more of the same and to be honest I would have been quite happy if either the referee or Toney’s corner pulled him out. It was totally one way traffic and a late kayo victory for the older fighter looked nigh on impossible.

The twelfth and mercifully the final round saw the veteran hurt again downstairs. He was trapped in a corner and staggering around. I confess to having a lump in my throat as I witnessed a once sublimely skilled athlete reduced to a stumbling, clumsy and one-dimensional human punch bag. When the last bell finally rang one hoped it would be the last bell Toney will hear. He had lost every single round on my card.

For Lebedev who demonstrated great ring smarts, fighting instinct and footwork he can look forward to a return (as well as a unification) contest with old rival Marco Huck. He did everything asked of him and has now added the scalp of Toney to that of Roy Jones Jr another US veteran who was chillingly knocked out in the last round back in May of this year.

What this fight tells us more than anything else is that Bernard Hopkins can still do it well into his forties but James Toney and Roy Jones Jr have no business in a boxing ring anymore. Someone needs to rescue these proud old warriors from themselves.