James Toney vs John Ruiz tonight.

[H2O Man]

The fight, which takes place at Madison Square Garden, will be on HBO tonight. Toney is reportedly coming in over 230 lbs. Ruiz is perhaps the most boring fighter in the history of the sport. At least there are a number of good matches coming up in the next two months.

[AngryAmish]

1. Toney by decision

Remember when Roy Jr. beat Ruiz? This will be the same fight.

[H2O Man]

2. It likely will.

Roy knew that in his past three fights before their match, Ruiz averaged 20 punches a round. Roy simply moved around him, slapped him a few times, and John put his tail between his legs and accepted defeat.

Toney stays on the ropes. Last night on ESPN, they were saying Ruiz should try to get Toney off the ropes. Why?

I think you are right. Toney will sting Ruiz with some counter-punches, and Ruiz will likely accept defeat. John doesn't seem to have the mental ability to push himself in a big fight. If he did, an overweight Toney could have problems.

[AngryAmish]

6. Toney likes it on the ropes

He can rest and use the ropes to slip punches. Toney is an amazing counter-puncher. Both these guys are counter-punchers, so this has the opportunity to be a real snooze.

[H2O Man]

8. He is a master

at fighting off the ropes. The last guy who was at that level was Wilfred Benitez, when he fought at welterweight and jr. middleweight. And, of course, Ali could use the ropes, although I think he was much better when he was young and danced.

[DanCa]

3. Toney Tko round 8

Hey am surprised that there are as so many fight fans on this forum.

[H2O Man]

4. There are a few.

We've had some good discussions. I think boxing fans are looking forward to May 14, when Trinidad fights Wright, and Judah is on the undercard. That will be a good night for boxing!

[DanCa]

5. I agree

I may even eventually break down and pay for it. H2O man I love that pic. I have long been an admirer of Ali's especially now that were brother parkinsonian's. It's a shame that the man fought wars in the ring and never had the payday of a say tommy morrison.

[H2O Man]

7. Read Ali's book

"The Soul of a Butterfly," published last year. His mind works perfectly. He was the greatest heavyweight champion of all time; he is a far greater man.

[MrSlayer]

9. Terrible fight.

Boring as watching paint dry. And Ruiz now has the distinction of losing heavyweight title fights to two former middleweights.

[H2O Man]

10. I just saw "highlights" on ESPN.

I've always liked Toney, and I realize there aren't a lot of heavyweights who want to fight him. Let's hope he can put this behind him.

I think Ruiz is a nice man, but I would pay to not have to watch him fight.

[Lauri16]

11. Ruiz is a disgrace

What he does isn't boxing. All he does is grab & hang on. I'm just glad that he's calling it quits. Save us all from having to watch him anymore.

As for James Toney, I really like him as well. Depending on how Vladimir's recovery from surgery goes, he should be ready to take the fight. It might also go in James' favor to be the first fight for Vlad post-surgery. He's gonna be a little cautious for at least the first few rounds.

[H2O Man]

12. I haven't heard many details

about how Vladimir's surgery went. I haven't seen many athletes come back from any serious surgery and do anywhere near the level they had been pre-surgery. I believe his surgery was on his back.

Toney can hold his own against the current crop of heavyweights. On ESPN this past Friday (4-29) they had a good young heavyweight, who is 18 months away from being the top man for a few years.

[Lauri16]

13. I think Vlad's camp is holding it close

to the vest regarding his surgery. Yeah it was on his back. Roy Jones was talking about it with Jim during the fight, but they really didn't know much, either. Everything that i've read about just says that it was a success and he should be ready for his next bout.

Personally, i'd rather see Toney fight Brewster. I'm not too sure about how he'd handle Byrd. He'd definitely need to shape up more for that one. Byrd's a quick one.

[H2O Man]

14. Chris Byrd is so fun

to watch. I'd prefer he not fight the "supe" heavyweights. I was talking to my son Friday night about him and a couple of the young contenders. As good as he is, in his last couple fights, I think it is apparent his physical skills are beginning to fade. His style makes for a long career in the sense he doesn't get hit, but once the reflexes ebb, it's time to retire.

There's the old saying about seeing the punch coming, but being unable to get out of the way, or seeing the opening but not being able to get the punch off quick enough. Chris is reaching that place now.

Roy Jones reached that point. I always thought that when they were both good, Byrd ans Jones would have been a dream match. Not what the general public would want, but for the purists, a match made in heaven.

On back surgery, there are various types. Most prevent further deterioration. Good luck to him. It's a tough type of injury that requires back surgery.

[Awsi Dooger]

15. I won a small bet on Toney

They bet the odds down below 1/2 on Toney so I gave -1.85 at fight time. Primarily because I was having a losing day on the NBA playoffs.

Fairly routine win and somewhat boring, as others have already mentioned. Ruiz just can't hurt a legit big man. The knockdown was iffy because Toney stepped on Ruiz' right foot before landing the blow that put him down.

Toney never did anything for me and I'd love to see him get embarrassed again, especially with the sloppy upper body these days. I lost my voice cheering for Roy Jones vs. Toney live at the MGM in '94. I still can't believe I got Jones as an underdog in that fight, +1.15.

The bettors jumped all over the "will go the distance" in this fight. It reached nearly 1/3 favoritism, the highest I've ever seen the "will go" in a 12 or 15 round heavyweight bout.

[H2O Man]

16. Toney blamed his manager

for the loss to Jones. I guess someone must be at fault. (!) I won a small bet with my neighbor at the time, who thought Toney could not be defeated. Unfortunetly, Toney likewise had come to feel he couldn't be beaten, and had not trained as well as he should have for a couple fights. He had to drop weight at the last minute for Jones, rather than having been in shape early.

But, we still must thank him for having exposed Michael Nunn.

I think hat after Tyson has another fighter after the Irishman (should he win both) he should be matched with Toney.