By Doug Fischer
With the month of July underway the countdown for a pair of pivotal bouts officially begins for two of my all-time favorite gym fighters, James Toney and Antonio Margarito.
Toney, who turns 40 next month, will engage in what could be his last high-profile fight against familiar foe, former heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman. The rematch between the two veterans, a Fox Sports Net-televised main event from the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, will take place on the 16th of this month (a Wednesday).
That gives me this weekend and all of next week to schedule a “pop in” at Toney’s new gym, the 360 Health Club in Reseda, and try to catch the master ply his craft in the ring.
Of all the gym legends I’ve witnessed in Southern California boxing clubs over the past 15 years, from Shane Mosley to Edwin Valero, no other fighter comes close to blending the Sweet Science with the art of the beatdown like ‘Lights Out’.
Toney makes his sparring partners and ring opponents miss, then he makes them pay, and then he tells them about it in rather colorful language.
However, it was a low key and jovial Toney that met the local boxing media at Sisley Italian Kitchen in Sherman Oaks last month, not the bombastic and impetuous ruffian who seemed to delight in exploding into tantrums at most of the press events he took part in during the last two decades.
Maybe Toney’s finally acting his age or perhaps he’s feeling good about his new trainer.
Shadeed Saluki, a longtime area trainer who is probably best known for coaching Lamon Brewster to the 2004 upset victory over Wladimir Klitschko, has been working with Toney since December.
The former pro boxer says Toney, a fighter he’s admired for many years, has been a dream to train.
“Working with James has been beautiful,” Saluki said after Toney’s workout yesterday. “He’s motivated and we seem to be on the same page, so it’s been easy.
“I know he’s got a certain reputation but I can honestly say that he’s been one of the easiest fighters I ever trained. In fact, it’s been a lot of fun. No two days are ever the same with James. There’s a lot of laughter and a lot of work. At times I’ve had to slow him down.”
Saluki says Toney was already near fighting shape before last month’s press luncheon because there were talks of him fighting Rahman and Danny Williams earlier in the year.
“So we’ve really been training,” he said. “He’s done sparred with almost every big man in the L.A. area.”
That list includes Brewster, who is back with Saluki, undefeated dark horse Malik Scott, former prospect Raphael Butler, and heavy handed local journeymen Javier Mora and John Clark.
“There’s been a lot of boxing in the gym and anyone who’s seen James lately can tell how hard he’s been working because it shows in his physique.”
In other words, Toney isn’t grossly overweight. However, how much he currently weighs isn’t a concern for Saluki, who used to fight at welterweight.
“My philosophy regarding a fighter’s weight is simple: train hard, eat well and wherever the weight falls, that’s where it’s supposed to be.
“I’ll say this much on James’s weight, he’s going to be lighter than he was when he was in there with Rock before.”
The official verdict of that fight, which took place in March of ’06, was a majority draw that most observers thought Rahman deserved to win because of his superior workrate. (I scored it even, with both heavyweights winning six rounds.)
Toney was ill going into that fight and even sicker afterward, spending two weeks in the hospital after nearly suffering kidney failure.
Saluki, who has studied tape of Rahman’s last six fights as well as the draw with Toney, believes all his fighter has to do to win the rematch is show up healthy.
“Rahman is going to be Rahman,” he said. “He’s a basic fighter. He’s strong and he can punch, but there’s nothing slick about him.
“With James, there’s nothing he can’t do when he’s in shape and motivated.”
The question is, after 20 years in the hurt biz and nearing 40, just how in shape and motivated can Toney be?
At age 30, Antonio Margarito is at his physical peak. And since he’s facing undefeated WBA welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto later this month we can all assume that he’s as motivated as he’s ever been for a fight.
The former two-time welterweight titlist doesn’t have the natural talent, skill and savvy that enabled Toney to win world titles at middleweight, super middleweight, and cruiserweight as well as campaign in the heavyweight division despite being an inch shorter than Margarito, but the Tijuana Tornado has the kind of toughness and relentless style to rise to the top of the 147-pound division.
Margarito will get a chance to do just that on the 26th of this month when he takes on Cotto in the biggest fight of the summer and by far the most important bout of his career.
I haven’t been by to check out Margarito since the start of his camp, but I’ve been told that he’s getting excellent sparring from former victim Sebastian Lujan and junior middleweight prospect Rashad Holloway.
Although Margarito tends to shy away from hyping his own fights, and appears to be a little bit uncomfortable with acknowledging the magnitude of the Cotto showdown, it’s clear that this fight is special to him.
“There’s history with Mexican and Puerto Rican champions, so of course I want to give the win to Mexico,” Margarito told me through the translation of his co-manager Francisco Espinosa. “Cotto is a champion but no more dangerous that some of the other fighters I’ve faced in the ring as a champion myself. His left hook to the body has to be watched, but I’ll be ready for that and anything else he tries.
“My strategy for Cotto might be a little different from my other fights, but end result will be the same. I’m going to do whatever I need to do to beat him. I never predict a knockout but if I hurt him I’m not going to let him off the hook, I’m going to go for the knockout.”
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