Temecula, CA (August 27, 2009)— Three-Time World Heavyweight Champion, James “Lights Out” Toney (71-6-3, 43 KOs) will once again step into the ring at Pechanga to do battle with Matthew Greer (12-5, 11KOs) in a special 10-round heavyweight attraction on a special Saturday primetime edition of ShoBox: The New Generation, on SHOWTIME. Having scored some of his most legendary bouts at Pechanga, fight fans are looking for another classic match-up from Toney, one of the sport’s most colorful characters and talented fighters..
Undefeated super middleweight Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (19-0, 12 KOs) will tangle with Shelby Pudwill (22-3-1, 9 KOs) of McGlauglin, S.D., in a 10-round super middleweight main event.
On May 16, 2009, in Oakland, California, Ward defeated Edison Miranda by unanimous decision in what was called the first difficult test of his career. Miranda couldn’t stay up with Ward’s versatility around the ring.
In his last fight on Dec. 6, 2008, Pudwill, 34, beat Anthony Osbourne in Mandan, N.D., with an eighth-round knockout. While he was inactive in all of 2007, Pudwill suffered a loss in his fight before Osbourne to John Duddy at Madison Square Garden in 2006. Pudwill took eight straight wins into the Duddy fight and didn’t lose for almost five years in a time-span that dated from June 2001 to March 2006.
40-year old, two-time Ring Magazine “Fighter of the Year” and multi-division world champion James “Lights Out” Toney doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘quit’, either in the ring or out of it. He remains steadfast in his belief that he can become heavyweight champion of the world.
Toney, who won a hard-fought decision against rugged veteran Fres Oquendo in his last ring appearance back in December, is no stranger to Pechanga. He has turned in three impressive performances there, including a knockout victory over Jason Robinson (2002) in an IBF Cruiserweight Eliminator; a 12-round unanimous-decision verdict over Rydell Booker (2004) for the Vacant IBA Heavyweight Title and a WBC Heavyweight Elimination bout; and had former WBC Heavyweight Champion Hasim Rahman (2007) out-boxed and in big trouble when “Rock” informed the ringside physician that he could no longer see out of one eye and a TKO win for Toney was eventually overturned and ruled a “No Decision.”
“I love fighting and I especially love it at Pechanga,” Toney offered. “None of the Russian chumps who are posing as champions want to fight me. I am the best heavyweight boxer in the world and I will do whatever it takes to get one of those titles. But first I am going to kick some a** on September 12.”
Goossen, who also promotes Toney, said: “James believes he will not let another opportunity slip through his fingers again — even at the age of 40 — and has recommitted himself to getting into great shape. If in fact he can go into his bag of tricks and pull out a few good performances, there is no doubt that he will place himself back into the Heavyweight World Championship picture in 2010. We shall see.”
Pechanga Resort & Casino is the biggest and best Southern California casino. As an all-inclusive resort destination with a larger casino and more slots than anywhere in Vegas and more than 130 table games, Pechanga is located in the Inland Empire, in the Southern California Wine Country of Temecula Valley. Just an hour from the Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County and Ontario airports, the AAA Four Diamond property offers a luxury hotel with a full-service spa featuring a couple’s massage suite, and the finest restaurants with 24-hours of gambling action, superstar concerts, a comedy club, title boxing events, the Silk nightclub, more than 100,000 square feet of convention/meeting space and the brand new 18-hole Journey at Pechanga, which has been rated as one of the best new golf courses of 2008. As the largest casino in the Western United States, Pechanga is perfect for a romantic weekend or just a daytrip with happening nightlife to make for an exciting getaway.
For more information, visit www.pechanga.com
About ShoBox: The New Generation
Since its inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. The growing list of fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Leonard Dorin, Scott Harrison, Juan Diaz, Jeff Lacy, Ricky Hatton, Joan Guzman, Juan Urango, David Diaz, Robert Guerrero, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Malignaggi, Kendall Holt, Timothy Bradley and Bernard Dunne