Determined to leave no doubt this time, James “Lights Out” Toney has added the services of renowned training and fitness guru Billy Blanks to ensure he steps into the ring on January 6, 2007 in the best possible condition when he takes on Samuel Peter in their WBC Heavyweight Title Elimination rematch at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
 
In their first battle in September, Peter, known as “The Nigerian Nightmare,” was the recipient of a split decision victory over Toney in Los Angeles, contrary to views of the vast majority of ringside media observers and a worldwide Showtime Championship Boxing viewing audience.  Promoter Dan Goossen advocated for - and received – a mandate by the WBC of an immediate rematch by a Board of Governors vote of 21-10.
 
Both Toney and his manager/godfather John Arthur - though thoroughly certain that Toney got the better of the much younger and bigger Peter in their exciting, action-packed first encounter – agreed that there was still room for improvement in order to win the rematch in convincing fashion and solidify Toney’s mandatory shot at the winner of the December 10 Oleg Maskaev-Peter Oktello WBC Heavyweight Title Bout.
 
“I had been training and conditioning James myself for years until I got overwhelmed with the business side of things,” Arthur stated.  “Then I hired outside trainers to help condition him, but I didn’t feel the input or the results were what we had in mind.  James needed to be guided by someone who is as competitive as he is, and someone he respects.  And we needed the right training methods.  So when Billy came on board it was a blessing.”
 
For the past month, the 38-year old Toney has been working out with Billy twice daily leading up to his customary afternoon boxing workout at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.  He goes through full scale workouts for two hours in the morning and a shake-out for a couple of hours in the early evening.
“James Toney and I have known each other for about six years now,” revealed Blanks, a former Massachusetts and Tri-State Golden Gloves boxing champion, multiple martial arts world champion and founder of the ever-popular body training method known as Tae Bo®, which combines dance moves and Tae Kwon Do.
 
“He’s been coming into my studio regularly with John Arthur.  One day we walked over to each other and I asked him to ‘give me an opportunity to work you out, work your abs and legs out.’  He said, ‘You know what, Billy.  That’s what I’ve been waiting to hear for a long time.’  He just wanted me to break the ice and now we’re a team working out together.”
 
According to Blanks -- who has aided in conditioning a multitude of Hollywood celebrities and superstar athletes as Shaquille O’Neil, Magic Johnson, Bruce Jenner, Wayne Gretzky and Sugar Ray Leonard -- the training and fitness programs he has designed for Toney include a mixture of speed and power training, cardio, hand/eye coordination and agility drills and, naturally, some Tae Bo®.
 
“James is a tremendous athlete already.  My job is to make him a better conditioned athlete which will raise the level of his boxing performance,” Blanks explained.  “He’s up to 335 pounds on the bench press.  He is really strong and a very hard worker.  I’ll put him up against anybody when it comes to his work ethic.”
 
Another critical area in which Blanks and Arthur are monitoring Toney is in his diet, as they try to tighten up his midsection and help his endurance.  But Arthur cautions against expectations of seeing a slimmer, lighter Toney.
 
“Sam Peter is a big man at around 270 pounds,” Arthur observed.  “You’re not going to be able to withstand his power and size giving up 50 pounds.  I told Billy that I’m not too worried about how he looks physically as long as he performs to his maximum capability.  We have him on a special diet now and are watching his intake.   That is most important.  James really doesn’t eat a whole lot.  It’s just not the right stuff that he orders.  We now have him on a good regimen.”
 
For his part, Toney couldn’t be happier with the way things are going with his new conditioning program and his relationship with Blanks.
 
“Man, Billy Blanks and me are like animals, we’re really working,” Toney said.  “He likes doing things that I like doing.  We both like weights.  We both like conditioning.  And that’s the most important thing right there.”
 
As for improvements he has noticed, Toney says that “My legs are stronger.  My whole body has changed.  I feel tighter in the middle.  He’s got me doing things I never did before and I never liked to do.  Now I’m doing them and I know they will pay off.”
 
For his part, promoter Dan Goossen is extremely supportive of the addition of Billy Blanks to Team Toney and the potential results that may be attained.
“We’ve seen success stories before in boxing with the added presence of conditioning experts,” Goossen pointed out.  “With Billy, you’ve got a no-nonsense experienced coach that demands perfection.  I believe the only thing that has prevented James from achieving the greatest of success in the heavyweight division has been his conditioning and not his boxing ability.  Preparing properly, as he is doing with Billy, will now allow James to showcase his great boxing talents during the entire course of the fight.”
 
Toney, who will work with Blanks right up until the fight, pulls no punches as usual in assessing the culmination of his efforts on January 6 in Florida.
 
“The first time I beat Peter up and humiliated him,” Toney insisted.  “This time I will be both stronger and faster than him.  I’ve already shown I can go the distance.  For sure this time I’m gonna put his lights out.”
 
These ‘blanks’ will be full of power.