GL: How has preparation been going for your rematch with James Toney on Saturday night? "It's been going very well. I've trained hard for this fight and now training is done and I"m ready to go. I'm fighting in Florida on January 6, so staying here in Miami to train has been a good thing for me."
GL: Does all the controversy that followed the first fight bother you? Does being ordered to fight James Toney again before you fight for a title bother you?Samuel Peter: I think God has a reason for everything. I know I beat him in the first fight and I wanted to move on to a world title after September, but this is what God has in store for me. I'm looking to make it a great fight and I'm expecting everything will be different this time because I want to kncok him out and end any chance of rematch of controversy."
GL: Would you say that this is the best shape you've been in during your professional career?SP: "I'm in shape all the time, it just depends on who I'm fighting and what I'm looking to do when I get in there."
GL: James has never been knocked out, what makes you think you're going to be first guy to do it?SP: "Because knocking him out is the only way I won't have to worry about the judges or any controversy. I want to become champion more than anything and I'm ready to go through James Toney again and beat him twice just to get there."
GL: Do you think James Toney was at his best during the first fight?SP: "James Toney is a heavyweight and he's been at his best at heavyweight. He beat Evander Holyfield, John Ruiz and he had a draw with Hasim Rahman. He's a heavyweight, he's not a middleweight. When he was middleweight he was weighing 190, but nothing about James Toney matters because I'm going to beat him again."
GL: Do you think Toney is a more difficult fight than Maskaev?SP: "Definitely, I think so. He's more difficult than Maskaev. Maskaev isn't a tougher fight for me Toney is and that's why I've been training the way I have to make sure it's lights-out for him. Tell him I don't think he paid his electric bill because it's going to be lights out for him on Saturday night. It's going to be Lights-Out for Lights-Out.