By Kent Appel

20.08 - I couldn't help but think as I sat ringside Sunday at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California how sluggish former middleweight and super-middleweight champion James Toney of Ann Arbor, Michigan looked for almost five rounds against number ten ranked IBF cruiserweight contender Jason Robinson of Haywood, Illinois. Toney, the number five ranked IBF cruiserweight contender going into the fight, was heavily favored not only to win, but to win convincingly thus setting up a tile bout with champion Visily Jirov. But was it because Toney was sluggish or was it because Robinson was a difficult opponent? I tend to think it was a combination of both and while Toney got the job done with a seventh round knockout over Robinson, Toney’s best days may be behind him at 160 pounds and 168 pounds where he was champion in both of these weight classes, weights he may no longer be able to make at the age of 34, which he turns on August 24. The cruiserweight limit of 190 pounds may be too much for his body to carry entirely effectively.

It is interesting to see the difference between being at a live fight card and then watching those same fights at home on television. Right after the fight card was over, I rushed home to catch the fights on Fox Sports Network, which was showing the event on tape delay here on the west coast of the United States. I don't knock those reporters that rely on watching fights on television and then reporting what they see on the broadcast as it is can be difficult and expensive to make it to live cards, especially when it can be hard to get some sites or publications to pay for us to attend live events, but I got a totally different perspective of the fight I just saw only about an hour before as I listened to the announcers praise Toney for being a brilliant tactician and patient fighter marking his time before lowering the boom on Robinson. Maybe I should turn the sound down if the next time I report on a fight I can't see it live and I should not listen to the commentators so I won't be influenced by their opinions when I write my own report.

The contest started out with both fighters feeling each other out as Toney pursued the southpaw Robinson, who used movement while boxing behind a right jab. I gave this first round to Toney on the basis of a good body attack and because he was the busier of the two fighters. Round two saw Toney missing more than he had in the first round and Robinson scored with several hard combinations to have the edge. Round three showed both combatants going toe to toe at the start of the round in the best action of the fight so far. I gave Toney the edge early in the round because he got the better of the exchanges but by the middle of the round, Robinson had reasserted himself again with the jab and left cross. Toney did land a hard right hand, his best punch of the fight so far, near the end of the round but Robinson fired back with a good straight left of his own and I saw this round as being even. Robinson came out poised in round four and he won the round controlling the action by using movement behind a fine right jab. Robinson had tasted some of Toney’s power in round three but he didn't let it rattle him and he continued to control the action with his fine boxing skills throughout most of round number five only to be knocked down by two tremendous right hands at the 2:52 mark of the round. Robinson arose at the count of seven on wobbly legs and the bell to end the round may have saved him from being knocked out. Toney came out aggressively in round six to try and finish Robinson and while he did land some more right hands early in the round, by the middle of the round Robinson had recovered sufficiently to box well for the remainder of the round. Robinson deserved credit for showing a lot of guts and composure by not giving into the pressure of the event and from Toney as he seemed to be on the verge of controlling the tempo of the fight as he out-boxed Toney for most of round number seven. But just as it seemed that Robinson had a good chance of scoring the upset and just after Robinson had driven Toney into the ropes with a hard right hand that stung Toney, Toney scored with a hard combination punctuated by a vicious left hook to the head of Robinson, sending him sprawling to the canvas. Referee Pat Russell counted to seven but then waved the contest off as Robinson was hurt too badly to continue, giving Toney the knockout victory at the 2:47 mark of the round.

What is next for these two fighters? James Toney is headed to a title shot against Jirov probably in November. He had better throw more punches because against a master boxer like Jirov, he may not be able to wait for an opening to land his knockout punch like he did against Robinson. Some may say that Toney used strategy and slowly wore Robinson down but it could be that he used his power to bail himself out of trouble. If this same thing works against Jirov at the world championship level, then we can say that Toney is still a major factor in boxing. Until then, the jury is still out. Jason Robinson fought very well, especially for a fighter with only eighteen previous professional fights going into a fight with a vastly more experienced opponent. Robinson at age 27 still has time to make a championship run. He may have to regroup after a tough loss but he shows a lot of promise. Toney with the win improves to 65-4-2, 42 by knockout while Robinson falls to 16-3, 10 by knockout.

In the CO feature bout IBF junior lightweight champion Steve Forbes of Las Vegas, Nevada won a twelve round split decision over David Santos of St. Petersburg, Florida. Forbes won the fight but lost the title as it was declared vacant because Forbes, who weighed in at 134 pounds, was not able to make the division weight limit of 130 pounds. Forbes, who overcame an early lead by Santos, pressed the action throughout most of the fight to get the nod on two of the judges’ cards both by scores of 117 to 111. The third judge voted for Santos by a score of 115 to 113. I saw the fight at 115 to 113 for the winner Forbes. Santos started out quickly and used a strong body and head attack for the first three rounds to build an early lead. Round three was one of the best rounds I have seen for a while as Santos worked over Forbes with a strong flurry of punches early in the round only to have Forbes fire back at mid round with some bombs of his own. But just as the tide seemed to be turning, Santos stormed back with another onslaught of punches. This may have been a turning point in the fight as even though Forbes is not known for his punching power, Santos, with the exception of round five, when he had Forbes hurt with a left hook, his best punch of the fight, seemed content to back pedal and counter-punch for most of the rest of the fight. The rounds were close but Forbes had a slight edge because as the fight wore on, Santos seemed to be less aggressive and he just did not do enough to have a clear edge in the fight and this is how the judges saw it. It was Forbes’ aggressiveness on the other hand that pulled out the victory for him.

What is next for Forbes and Santos? Even though this is the second time Forbes has beaten Santos, as Forbes holds a victory in a previous match up in September, 2000, it was a good enough fight where I think the fans would want to see another go between these two. The next time it should be for the vacant 130 pound title and this time Forbes had better make the weight. It is a shame for a champion to win a fight but lose his title just because of not making the weight limit.

Toney Takes Eliminator By KO