Peter Dominates Toney in Rematch

The decision in the first fight between heavyweights Samuel Peter and James Toney could have gone either way (two of the three judges favored Peter). This time around it was clear to everyone in attendance - including all three judges - that they were watching two talented fighters whose careers are headed in opposite directions.

Peter seized control of the fight from the opening bell -- staggering Toney in the first round and flooring him with a jab in the second (Toney's first taste of the canvas since his super middleweight title loss to Roy Jones Jr. in 1994). Peter appeared on the verge of possibly becoming the first fighter to stop Toney inside the distance but Toney once again proved his resilience (has anyone ever had a better chin?) and managed to land some good shots of his own in the middle rounds. Peter, however, showed dramatic improvement from their first meeting and was simply too big, too strong and too energetic for a past-his-prime (not to mention past-his-ideal-fighting-weight) Toney. The final scores - 119-108 and 118-110 twice - were indicative of Peter's dominance. Toney's sub-par performances in the past seemed - more often than not - to be the result of poor conditioning. Tonight - for the first time - Toney simply looked old.

Nevertheless, after the fight, Toney proved to be as ornery and delusional as ever as he claimed that he "won the fight" and is "still the best fighter in the world". In contrast, Peter was refreshingly humble in stating that while this was his "best fight ... I'm not the best yet. The champions have the belts, so I have to give them credit first. But I will be the best."

Peter's chance to win a title belt may be coming up as this bout was billed as a title eliminator with the winner getting a shot at WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev. Of course, that's exactly what was supposed to be on the line the first time Peter and Toney met but when Toney's camp protested the scoring, the WBC - as it tends to do - changed it's mind and decided instead to order a rematch. After the one-sided nature of the rematch, there will be no one - other than James Toney of course - calling for Peter-Toney III.