WBA BELT OF RUIZ IS UP FOR GRABS
Tomorrow night, a much anticipated match-up between two top ten heavyweights in challenger James ?Lights Out? Toney and WBA titleholder John ?Quiet Man? Ruiz will go down in the recognized Mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden in New York City. HBO Championship Boxing will air the card live at 10 PM EDT or 7 PM PDT.
JOHNNY?S NOT SO QUIET ANYMORE
In the pre-fight press conference, Johnny spent over five minutes explaining to the media why he?s the best heavyweight out there. Ruiz pointed out that the last five fighters he has faced, they have had a combined record of 176-11-3. Not a fan favorite, Ruiz was only dominated once and that was against Roy Jones Jr., a fight where Ruiz claims he just wasn?t mentally prepared.
FOR RUIZ, IT?S HOW UGLY HE WINS!
For fight fans who hate Ruiz? guts already, the trash talking version of Johnny Ruiz will make these fistic followers even more irate! His wins against Kirk Johnson, Hasim Rahman, and Fred Oquendo were snooze fests where the only statistic of interest was the number of clinches involved. Ruiz, however, claims that he is now a fighter who wants to rumble on the outside or inside. Obviously, people who?ve watched a Ruiz fight will find that last statement quite hard, if not impossible to believe.
UGLY HEAVYWEIGHT MEETS THE GIRL BOXER!
James Toney is himself a human reality show. He took little time to point out that Ruiz?s fighting style is best described as ?sissy boxing? and called him a girl. Ruiz responded by calling Toney, the ugliest heavyweight in the division. These are fighting words for the ?Loud Man? and if Toney was not angry already, he?s found another reason to want to bash Ruiz beyond silly.
?BIG BIRD? DAN GOOSSEN GETS AN ?A?
After the fall of America Presents, promoter Dan Goossen has rebounded nicely in handling Toney?s career. Goossen, AKA ?BIG BIRD? has been a regular guest on FOX?s ?Best Damn Sports Show? and has promoted Toney into a household name beyond boxing. And in just two fights in the heavyweight division, the former middleweight gets a chance to win WBA heavyweight gold against Ruiz. Goossen definitely should get accolades for promoting the smallish Toney into a million dollar fighter.
THE FIGHT WILL DEPEND ON RUIZ
In Ruiz?s last fight against Andrew Golota, he did more fighting and less hugging, and Ruiz even rallied late to steal the fight. However, he was dropped early and backed off a little bit after that. Against Toney, he may use the Roy Jones plan and attack as much as possible. Toney is as a small as Jones, but he is not as fleet-footed as Jones. Toney likes to stand in the pocket, old school style, and bang to the body and break down his foe. If Ruiz fights and hugs, it could be an entertaining fight with a lot of up and down flows. If Ruiz jabs and grabs, it could be boring but still close. It?s a 50-50 fight anyway you break it down.
COACH ROACH LOOKING TO BOUNCE BACK
Former trainer of the year, Freddie Roach will try to get a fighter back into his win column in a major fight. Losses with Manny Pacquiao and Wayne McCullough have put the trainer into a rut and he?ll try to rebound with ?Lights Out? James Toney.
IT?S TONEY?S FIGHT TO WIN
For James Toney, it?s his opportunity for bigger monaaay and even bigger fights in the heavyweight division. He knows what Ruiz can do and to his credit Toney has the skills and experience to beat any version of Ruiz. Toney should go to the body early and often, he could drop Ruiz with a body shot. James? only problem is the size advantage of Ruiz and his own conditioning and health. He has been injured twice after fights and only started training in mid March for this fight. Skill wise though, Toney can wake up in the morning and whoop on a lot of the heavyweights out there now. But conditioning wise, he has to be in top shape. I find no reason why Toney shouldn?t handle Ruiz and finally get rid of the ?Quiet Man? and loud trainer Norman Stone.
MANNY?S GOT TO FIX THE PROBLEM NOW!
Speaking of Manny Pacquiao, it has been over a month since his loss to Erik Morales and nothing has been definite as to the future plans of Pacquiao. He has talked to well-known lawyer Judd Bernstein and he filed a case in New York against Murad Muhammad. He has also reportedly asked long time handler and ?boss? business manager Rod Nazario about remaining on the team.
NAZARIO GAVE MANNY AN ULTIMATUM
After speaking with Manny, Rod Nazario made it clear that he would not work with new manager Shelly Finkel. He was quoted in several newspapers that either they go or he goes. It?s a difficult decision for Manny to make because if he wants to keep Nazario, he has to buy-out the contracts of Shelly and his attorneys. The simple decision for Manny is to leave Nazario and follow his new manager. However, he apparently needs a Filipino in his corner for support and he and Nazario have had such a long history together.
YOU?RE THE BOSS NOW MANNY!
In the upcoming months Manny needs to get definitive and start over with whomever is on his team when the smoke clears. It?s clear he does not want Murad as his promoter. The problem with that is Murad claims to have an airtight contract and will sue anyone who promotes Manny in the U.S. Upcoming lawsuits against Murad may give Manny the leverage to wiggle out of the contract and start anew. However, when things do clear up, as they most surely will, Pacquiao will have to be more involved and active in the handling of his career so nothing like this will happen again.
