By Johnny Ortiz

On September 2nd, James "Lights Out" Toney will engage in a WBC elimination bout against one of boxing’s most feared fighters, Samuel "The Nigerian Nightmare" Peter. The fight will be telecast on Showtime Championship Boxing. WBC President Jose Sulaiman has gone on record as saying that the winner of this fight will challenge the new WBC Heavyweight Champion, Oleg Maskaev, for his newly acquired title. To explain by example just what a competitive fighter James Toney is, he did not have to take this fight against Peter, as #1, he was automatically penciled as the next challenger for the WBC title.

A lot of boxing people who are under the misapprehension of knowing what goes on in boxing, have criticized James for taking such a dangerous fight. What these people do not understand is that James Toney is a fighter, he makes his living fighting. If he does not think in his mind that he cannot beat a fighter in his division, he should not be fighting. If he believes he can win and he loses, it may well be boxing’s way of telling him it might be over, either way, it’s his call and no one else’s. In Samuel Peter, James will be facing a methodic, big, hard punching heavyweight who has been beaten only once, and that was by the current IBF champion, Wladimir Klitschko.

James is my friend, I have backed him since the very beginning, I will naturally be pulling for my guy when he steps into the ring against "The Nightmare." James has one of the best trainers in boxing going for him in Freddie Roach, Freddie is what I consider a throwback to the great trainers of yesteryear, and why not,? he was taught by the greatest trainer of them all, Eddie Futch. Eddie, I am sure passed on to Freddy all of the tricks of the trade used by the once, great trainers.

Speaking as a former trainer, Freddie has got to have James in the best shape of his life, he has to come in at a quick and ready weight, not the 237 pounds he brought into the ring in his last fight against Hasim Rahman on March 18, 2006. James looked beautiful back on Oct. 4, 2003 when he weighed a suave 217 pounds as he totally dismantled Evander Holyfield, who by then had seen better days.

I would like to see James come in at around 220-225 pounds when he goes toe to toe with Samuel. This is an interesting matchup in that both James and Samuel like to fight in close, they do not relish chasing an opponent. At a lighter weight, James, who is as crafty as they come, might be able to possibly outslick the heavier Peter inside and slip his punches on the outside. Body punches down the line would be a huge asset for James as they enter the championship rounds.

Samuel, who stands at 6’1 and weighed 256/1/2 pounds in his last fight would be wise to come in ten or even fifteen pounds lighter himself. James will be giving away height and weight, the fight will most likely be fought at close quarters, both having the same reach of ‘77 inches. I would like to see James pick his spots before engaging Samuel in close...in close is where Samuel Peter lives. Everyone who saw their elimination bout, were aware how disconcerted Peter became when Wladimir Klitschko steadily took him apart from the outside.

Freddie and James would be wise to study Wladimir’s blueprint of the fight. Samuel knows only one way to fight and that is getting into his opponent’s chest, in close is where he does his damage. James, who has a tenancy to disregard the other guy’s credentials, has to get it into his head that Samuel is a very hard puncher, he cannot trade shots with him. James Toney is one of boxing’s most skilled fighters, he has to completely be at the top of his game in order to beat this guy at his game.

He has to know when to get in and when to get out. With his vast experience and at a lighter weight, plus with Freddie Roach going for him, he should be able to outthink and outmaneuver Peter. Wladimir Klitschko showed how it can be done, bust him up from the outside, get in and out then load up in the later rounds.

In the twelfth round, we all saw how Wladimir was able to get Peter to do a little version of the "Funky Judah," another round and Klitschko would have knocked Peter out. James has to be patient and careful not to allow Samuel to have his way, make no mistake about it, Samuel Peter is a very dangerous opponent as his 22 KO’s in 26 wins will attest.

Take it to the bank that Samuel will be going forward at all times, he will want to make it a pier 8 brawl, that is where he is most effective, getting the other guy to stand in front of him, luring him in to trade punches. Peter has to apply and keep constant pressure on James, he has to hope that he can get to James’ bravado and make him fight his fight, and that is in close where he can put his weight advantage to good use.

On September 24, twenty-two days after the fight, James will be 38 years of age, he will most assuredly have to put together everything he has learned in his many years of boxing if he is to upend the 26-year old Nightmare. By signing to fight Peter, James has shown that there is no one he fears in boxing, a few years ago before Mike Tyson started to slip and was later stopped twice by a couple of guys who at one time would have been blown out by Iron Mike, James sincerely sought a fight with the one time, self proclaimed, "Toughest Man On The Planet."

Although he has no fear of Samuel Peter, he would do himself well to respect his punching power. As witnessed in the Klitschko fight, Samuel relies entirely too much on his vaulted power, it was obvious to me that he was never properly taught the fine rudiments of boxing, such as defense, how to slip punches and to be able to box when necessary. James can do so many things, he has to use his instinctive boxing skills to outthink, outhustle and outpunch the beast from Nigeria. He cannot let Peter muscle him by using his weight in an attempt to tire him. Peter has the big edge in punching power, but if James can land enough of his big shots, even Goliath can fall.

Lest we forget what Mahummad Ali took before he was able to take out big, powerful George Foreman when his many punches added up in the end. It all comes down to an incredible night of boxing, brawn against brains, has James bitten off more than he can chew, will the "Nightmare" underestimate "Lights Out?" These are questions that will be answered on the night of September 2.

There are not many fighters I have known in my many years of boxing who have had more confidence than James Toney going into a fight, he recently said this in an interview, "I’m always confident. I will win. First I must take out this slow, methodical "Nigerian Nightmare," and then it’s on to the Russians. I’ll fight all three on the same night. I will answer all of your questions on September 2nd, just ‘Wait and See!" At the end of the interview, James proclaimed himself as, "America’s only hope!" It’s fine to be as confident as James is, just as long as he is not overconfident. Knowing James, it’s his way of letting the other guy know that come September 2, he won’t have to look for him.

To reiterate, James Toney has to be in top physical shape, if not, it could be his undoing. It is his fight to win or lose, either way, James is my guy, win, lose or draw, I will be leaving the dance with him.

JOHNNY ORTIZ IS A MEMBER OF THE WORLD BOXING HALL OF FAME BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND A FORMER CO-OWNER OF THE LEGENDARY, WORLD FAMOUS MAIN ST. GYM.