By Ant Evans: Right now WBA heavyweight title challenger James Toney weighs 240lbs but trainer Freddie Roach insists Light's Out will train seven days a week until his April 30 challenge to John Ruiz. They clash at New York's Madison Square Garden in an intriguing and - if last week's press conference is any guide - ill tempered title fight but Roach believes the WBA belt is only the start.
Speaking after watching Toney spar eight hard rounds at the Wild Card gym in LA last Thursday, Roach said: "I was a little worried about the short notice but James is working hard and he always told me he'd unify the heavyweight title and this is the first step. He's had a pretty good few first days and we're working every single day until the fight. He'll be 226lbs, 227lbs and ready come April 30, don't worry about that."
And Roach, 45, believes the Garden party will be just the start of a Toney reign of terror. "I honestly don't think there's anyone in the division who can beat James, including Vitali Klitschko. Actually, we are hoping that Vitali fight can happen next. I've worked with Vitali in the past and I know he's big and powerful but James has too much skill for him, I believe. These big guys pull away (straight) and James catches them to the head and bangs them when the go on the outside to the body.
"Vitali doesn't have lasting power, he slows down and I believe James would get to him and stop him late on."
The other big money fight out there for Toney, should he beat Ruiz later this month, is a battle of the bad boys with Mike Tyson.
Roach trained Tyson last summer and was used as an intermediary for the pair's smack talk. "James said some things about Mike and Mike said some things about James," Roach recalled. "It would be a great fight."
Professionalism wouldn't allow the former featherweight contender turned trainer to pick a winner while he was training both but, now Tyson has moved on to Jeff Fenech in the wake of his fourth round defeat to Danny Williams last July, Roach wants the fight to happen.
"That fight is so marketable it probably has to happen," Roach said. "Both guys really don't like each other, I can tell you, and you'd probably be able to sell tickets to the press conferences even though somebody might get shot! But it'd be a very interesting fight but I think James has too much for Mike at this point. Maybe things would have been different 10 years ago but Mike is a puncher and James is probably one the very best defensive fighters in the world. I think my guy has too much for Mike at this stage."
Roach got Tyson to look like the monster of old for one and a half rounds v Williams but, abruptly, he started to tire and had no stomach to engage the Englander in a slugfest. Does Roach believe Team Tyson's story that he ripped his knee and that, more than anything, accounted for his loss?
"I won't say that's the reason Mike lost because that takes it away from Danny, who showed a lot of balls that night, took a lot of shots, came back and won," Roach said. "Danny took some great shots - Mike can still throw great punches. For two rounds Mike looked very good but, yes, the injury was real but Mike didn't complain about it in the fight it was that at the end (in the fourth) Mike's body was too tired to go on. But what happened, happened"
Back to the Ruiz fight, Roach believes his fighter has almost every advantage going in.
"Ruiz's style isn't as difficult as people think," Roach said. "And James has seen it all. I just think James is too cute for this guy. He's too slick to get tied up like that. Ruiz keeps winning these fights but they are all close calls and all he's doing is tying his opponents up and making a boring fight of it. You'd think (the judges) would reward the guys making a fight of it and going forward but Ruiz has been a little lucky with that. Hopefully, we can change that April 30."
Team Ruiz go ballistic when it is brought up, but his one-two, grab and hold, one-two, grab and hold tactic is borderline illegal. Indeed, Roach says he and promoter Dan Goossen will be lobbying hard for a no-nonsense referee for Madison Square Garden.
"That's something we're going to do, we need a good, fair referee because those tactics are illegal and points should be taken away if Ruiz uses them April 30. I've spoken to Dan about it and hopefully we'll get someone who can referee the fight fair. If not, maybe James has already pissed Johnny off so much that he will come to thrown punches."
The WBA heavyweight title shot has been a long time coming for Toney and Roach, who stuck by the former 160lbs and 168lbs champion even though most people in the sport believed Light's Out, overweight and under motivated, was finished.
"There was a time when we were fighting for $1000," Roach laughed. "But I knew he still had a lot. I've known James for a long time and I told him 'Get some wins together, and you can get a title again'. Maybe he just got tired of been broke, I don't know, but he made the decision to re-dedicate himself and at heavyweight he's happier than ever because he doesn't have to kill himself to make weight."
Toney has absolutely guaranteed he will defeat the two-time WBA title holder by stoppage and his trainer concurs that an inside the distance win is more than possible.
"James has told me he's knocking this guy out and when James tells me he's gonna knock someone else I believe him. The one time I didn't believe him was with Evander Holyfield and he proved me wrong.
"Against Evander we went hard and early to the body and Ruiz, well, he's a little soft around the middle and so he's susceptible to body shots."
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