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By Scott Shaffer
03/09/2006
Sam Peter W12 James Toney... Sam Peter won a very close heavyweight bout by split decision over James Toney in Los Angeles on Saturday. Peter garnered two of the official scorecards by 116-111 while Toney prevailed on one, 115-112. There were no knockdowns, but Peter was penalized a point for hitting Toney as the referee called for a break. The deduction did not affect the outcome, however, of what was a very tough fight to score. Al Bernstein and all three of Showtime's unofficial judges thought Toney did enough to win. Although both men were overweight, it was a competitive and entertaining fight with Peter landing the harder single punches but not throwing many combinations. Peter, now 27-1, must be considered the second or third best heavyweight in the world, behind his lone conqueror Wladimir Klitschko, and perhaps Nikolay Valuev, while Toney, 69-5-3, is clearly still a top ten heavyweight. Peter put himself in a great position, as the win makes him the mandatory contender for 37-year old Oleg Maskaev's WBC title. Peter would likely be favored to win against Maskaev. The 38 year old Toney indicated he will not retire. source: Showtime Championship Boxing
