NEW YORK, NY - If James Toney's agenda was to send John Ruiz into retirement. Mission accomplished.
Toney dominated Ruiz at Madison Square Garden to win the WBA heavyweight title via unanimous decision with scores of 116-111, 116-111 and 115-112.
From the moment Toney walked in the ring the crowd was on his side. The 9,169 in attendance forced the few Ruiz supporters to run and hide.
When Ruiz, 41-6-2 (28 KOs) entered the ring the fans showered him with boos. Ruiz known for is non-pleasing punch and hold style would not disappoint as he held Toney five seconds into the bout.
However in defense of the ‘Quiet man’ he did throw more punches than previously predicted (563 punches). However despite the surprising punch output, it was clear Ruiz couldn't seriously hurt the much-smaller Toney.
Toney, 69-4-2 (43 KOs) did whatever he wanted and set the pace throughout. When he chose to box from the outside, he did. When he wanted to punch to the body on the inside, he did. Unfortunately when Toney opted to rest, Ruiz won the round.
Had Toney been in shape, ringsiders believe he would have eventually stopped Ruiz in the later rounds. Toney threw 495 punches and landed 195 Ruiz's 139. Toney's punches also did the most damage.
With the win, Toney became just the third former middleweight to capture the heavyweight title. He became the second former middleweight to take the WBA heavyweight crown from Ruiz.
The first round saw Ruiz land a stiff right hand to start the fight and then shortly thereafter connect with a shot to the body. Neither punch had any effect on Toney, who countered with a overhand right that stung Ruiz.
When the round ended, Toney was on his way to becoming heavyweight champion. He walked back to his corner with a smirk on his face.
Toney followed up the effective first round with a lackadaisical second where he threw token jabs and allowed Ruiz to get off first. Ruiz won the round. And this pattern continued. Rounds Toney would give away ended up being the rounds the judges gave to Ruiz.
Fortunately for Toney, he won more than he gave away.
"I only had four weeks to prepare for this fight," Toney said. "But I do what I do. I didn't expect much from John because he's an average fighter. John Ruiz is stupid. He can't change his style. He only knows how to fight one way."
Toney picked up the pace after the third round, but it was in the seventh when he decided he had had toyed with Ruiz enough.
He landed a solid overhand right that caught a leaning Ruiz flush on the chin. Making matters worse for Ruiz was that Toney had stepped on his left foot as he landed the punch. Ruiz fell to the canvas and the fight was most likely over from there on as Toney continued to land hard right hands to until the end of the match.
Now, Toney turns his attention to bigger fights. He says he wants to unify the heavyweight championship.
"I'll fight anybody, anytime, anywhere," Toney said. "I want to fight (WBC Champion) Vitali Klitschko."
In a WBA super featherweight bout, Vicente Mosquera lifted the title from Yodsanan '3-K Battery' Nanthachai with a unanimous decision. The judges scored it 116-111, 115-112, 118-102.
The fight got off to a tremendous pace. Mosquera wasted no time putting Nanthachai on notice by dropping the champion with a right that had the crowd on its feet. Nanthachai answered with hard shots of his own, but the challenger answered each time.
There were no knockdowns in the second round, but the action didn't cease. Each landed telling blows that had the crowd screaming. The second, however, was just an appetizer for what was about to occur.
In a bout that already proved to be worth the price of admission, the fighters picked up the intensity and each would visit the canvas. Mosquera went down first after Nanthachai landed a left.
Mosquera took control in the fifth by using his superior boxing skills. He hit Nanthachai repeatedly using an in-and-out style. The approach frustrated Nanthachai, who had no answer.
In the 11th it was clear Nanthachai needed a knockout to hold on to his title but he failed to get it.
With the win, Mosquera improves to 21-1-1 (10 KOs). Nanthachai falls to 44-3-1 (36 KOs).
IBF junior bantamweight weight champion Luis Perez retained his title with a sixth-round KO of Luis Bolano. Perez improved to 23-1-0 (14 KOs). Bolano fell to 38-3-0.
In a heavyweight bout, DaVarryl Williamson stopped Derrick Jefferson in a war that came to conclusion at 2:41 of the second round. With the win, Williamson, now the NABO and WBC Continental Americas champion, improves to 22-3 (18 KOs). Jefferson falls to 28-4 (21 KOs).
Larry Donald, fresh off his decisive victory over Evander Holyfield last year, fought to a disappointing draw with Ray Austin. Scores were 115-113 for Donald and 114-114 twice.
Frank Santiago
New Jersey Correspondent
Information from other publications and wire services was used in the compilation of this report.
