“JAMES TONEY PUTS IT ALL ON THE LINE
TO BECOME CHAMP!”

On September 2nd, James “Lights Out” Toney will engage in a WBC elimination bout against one of boxing’s most feared fighters, Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter. The fight will be telecast on Showtime Championship Boxing. WBC President Jose Sulaiman has gone on record as saying that the winner of this fight will challenge the new WBC Heavyweight Champion, Oleg Maskaev, for his newly acquired title. To explain by example just what a competitive fighter James Toney is, he did not have to take this fight against Peter, as #1, he was automatically penciled as the next challenger for the WBC title. A lot of boxing people who are under the misapprehension of knowing what goes on in boxing, have criticized James for taking such a dangerous fight. What these people do not understand is that James Toney is a fighter, he makes his living fighting. If he does not think in his mind that he cannot beat a fighter in his division, he should not be fighting. If he believes he can win and he loses, it may well be boxing’s way of telling him it might be over, either way, it’s his call and no one else’s. In Samuel Peter, James will be facing a methodic, big, hard punching heavyweight who has been beaten only once, and that was by the current IBF champion, Wladimir Klitschko. James is my friend, I have backed him since the very beginning, I will naturally be pulling for my guy when he steps into the ring against “The Nightmare.” James has one of the best trainers in boxing going for him in Freddy Roach, Freddy is what I consider a throwback to the great trainers of yesteryear, and why not,? he was taught by the greatest trainer of them all, Eddie Futch. Eddie, I am sure passed on to Freddy all of the tricks of the trade used by the once, great trainers. Speaking as a former trainer, Freddy has got to have James in the best shape of his life, he has to come in at a quick and ready weight, not the 237 pounds he brought into the ring in his last fight against Hasim Rahman on March 18, 2006. James looked beautiful back on Oct. 4, 2003 when he weighed a suave 217 pounds as he totally dismantled Evander Holyfield, who by then had seen better days. I would like to see James come in at around 220-225 pounds when he goes toe to toe with Samuel. This is an interesting matchup in that both James and Samuel like to fight in close, they do not relish chasing an opponent. At a lighter weight, James, who is as crafty as they come, might be able to possibly outslick the heavier Peter inside and slip his punches on the outside. Body punches down the line would be a huge asset for James as they enter the championship rounds. Samuel, who stands at 6’1 and weighed 256/1/2 pounds in his last fight would be wise to come in ten or even fifteen pounds lighter himself. James will be giving away height and weight, the fight will most likely be fought at close quarters, both having the same reach of ‘77 inches. I would like to see James pick his spots before engaging Samuel in close…in close is where Samuel Peter lives. Everyone who saw their elimination bout, were aware how disconcerted Peter became when Wladimir Klitschko steadily took him apart from the outside. Freddy and James would be wise to study Wladimir’s blueprint of the fight. Samuel knows only one way to fight and that is getting into his opponent’s chest, in close is where he does his damage. James, who has a tenancy to disregard the other guy’s credentials, has to get it into his head that Samuel is a very hard puncher, he cannot trade shots with him. James Toney is one of boxing’s most skilled fighters, he has to completely be at the top of his game in order to beat this guy at his game. He has to know when to get in and when to get out. With his vast experience and at a lighter weight, plus with Freddy Roach going for him, he should be able to outthink and outmaneuver Peter. Wladimir Klitschko showed how it can be done, bust him up from the outside, get in and out then load up in the later rounds. In the twelfth round, we all saw how Wladimir was able to get Peter to do a little version of the “Funky Judah,” another round and Klitschko would have knocked Peter out. James has to be patient and careful not to allow Samuel to have his way, make no mistake about it, Samuel Peter is a very dangerous opponent as his 22 KO’s in 26 wins will attest. Take it to the bank that Samuel will be going forward at all times, he will want to make it a pier 8 brawl, that is where he is most effective, getting the other guy to stand in front of him, luring him in to trade punches. Peter has to apply and keep constant pressure on James, he has to hope that he can get to James’ bravado and make him fight his fight, and that is in close where he can put his weight advantage to good use. On August 24, twenty-two days after the fight, James will be 38 years of age, he will most assuredly have to put together everything he has learned in his many years of boxing if he is to upend the 26-year old Nightmare. By signing to fight Peter, James has shown that there is no one he fears in boxing, a few years ago before Mike Tyson started to slip and was later stopped twice by a couple of guys who at one time would have been blown out by Iron Mike, James sincerely sought a fight with the one time, self proclaimed, “Toughest Man On The Planet.”
Although he has no fear of Samuel Peter, he would do himself well to respect his punching power. As witnessed in the Klitschko fight, Samuel relies entirely too much on his vaulted power, it was obvious to me that he was never properly taught the fine rudiments of boxing, such as defense, how to slip punches and to be able to box when necessary. James can do so many things, he has to use his instinctive boxing skills to outthink, outhustle and outpunch the beast from Nigeria. He cannot let Peter muscle him by using his weight in an attempt to tire him. Peter has the big edge in punching power, but if James can land enough of his big shots, even Goliath can fall. Lest we forget what Mahummad Ali took before he was able to take out big, powerful George Foreman when his many punches added up in the end. It all comes down to an incredible night of boxing, brawn against brains, has James bitten off more than he can chew, will the “Nightmare” underestimate “Lights Out?” These are questions that will be answered on the night of September 2. There are not many fighters I have known in my many years of boxing who have had more confidence than James Toney going into a fight, he recently said this in an interview, “I’m always confident. I will win. First I must take out this slow, methodical “Nigerian Nightmare,” and then it’s on to the Russians. I’ll fight all three on the same night. I will answer all of your questions on September 2nd, just ‘Wait and See!” At the end of the interview, James proclaimed himself as, “America’s only hope!” It’s fine to be as confident as James is, just as long as he is not overconfident. Knowing James, it’s his way of letting the other guy know that come September 2, he won’t have to look for him. To reiterate, James Toney has to be in top physical shape, if not, it could be his undoing. It is his fight to win or lose, either way, James is my guy, win, lose or draw, I will be leaving the dance with him. For everyone who has followed the great career of James “Lights Out” Toney, let’s root him home…to bring it home!!!

The WBC Heavyweight Elimination Bout, “No Risk, No Reward,” between James Toney and Samuel Peter is co-promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions, Don King Promotions and Duva Boxing.

This Saturday night, August 19th, HBO BOXING AFTER DARK/HBO LATINO will present an entertaining night of boxing at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada. First on the agenda will be a replay of a great heavyweight title fight between former WBC Heavyweight Champion Hasim Rahman and his conqueror, the newly crowned champion, Oleg Maskaev. I will not expound on the fight, I want you who did not see it, to witness the very competitive fight for yourselves. Following the replay, an interesting matchup between undefeated welterweight, Paul “The Punisher” Williams who stands 6’1 with a reach of 79 inches, he will be opposed by former WBA jr. welterweight champion and former IBF Interim jr. welterweight champion Sharma “Little Big Man,” Mitchell. At 5’7, Sharma will be giving away six inches in height and seven inches in reach. If that were not enough, the Punisher brings a record of 30 wins, no losses and 22 by way of knockout. Sharmba will be fighting in only his fourth welterweight contest while Paul has fought his whole career at the welterweight limit, ten of his early bouts were fought at the middleweight level. On paper, Williams seems to have everything in his favor. Sharmba may be in over his head if The Punisher stats are credible. They will be fighting for the WBO NABO welterweight crown as well as the WBC USNBC title. Either way, the curiosity factor makes it worth watching.

PATH TO GLORY SOLD OUT AGAIN!
BRADLEY AND LOPEZ TO BE FEATURED FRIDAY NIGHT

Orange, CA - This coming Friday, August 18, Thompson Boxing Promotions will feature another sold out event from Omega Products International in Corona, CA.

This will be Thompson’s seventh standing-room-only event of the year and it will feature two of its best prospects in co-main events.

In the first eight round bout of the night, Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. (14-0, 8 KOs), from Palm Springs, CA, will face Martin Ramirez (10-15-2, 5 KOs) from Hermosillo, Mexico, in a jr. welterweight bout. Bradley is coming off a spectacular third round knock out victory over Arturo Urena who previously went the distance with fighters such as Henry Bruseles, Juan Diaz, Hector Camacho Jr., Omar Weis and Ricky Quiles. Bradley’s impressive performance touted him as a possible opponent for Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. but negotiations never took place for a possible welterweight clash.

“Chavez Jr. is probably afraid and interested in keeping his record intact,” said Bradley from his training camp. “I will be waiting for him and sooner or later he will have to come to the table and negotiate. In the meantime, I will be perfecting my craft and sharpening my fangs,” concluded Bradley, who vacated the WBC Youth Welterweight title and recently won the jr. welterweight championship.

In a lightweight battle, Jose Lopez (16-2-1ND, 9 KOs) from Riverside, CA, will face Anthony Martinez (21-23-3, 9 KOs) from Los Angeles, CA. Lopez last bout ended in a no-decision after a head butt put a halt to his return to the ring. His opponent, Sammy Ventura, collided with Lopez only 26 second into their WBC Continental Americas title bout on July 14 at the same Corona venue.

“I had prepared very hard for that fight and that freak accident happened,” said Lopez. “I basically extended my training camp for another month and my promoter is giving me another chance to perform in front of my home crowd,” said the nearby Riverside native Lopez.

Also on the sold out event will be flyweight prospect Manuel Roman (8-0-1, 5 KOs) against Jesus Valadez (4-4) and lightweights Angel Flores (5-1) against Jessie Rivas (2-1-2, 1 KO) both fights are scheduled to go six rounds. In addition, pro debutant Jesus Hernandez will face Domingo Mendoza (0-4-1) in a featherweight four round fight.

Omega Products International, the host of this event, is located on 1681 California Ave., Corona, CA. Off the 15 freeway, exit Magnolia Ave. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., first bell will be at 7:45 p.m.
Press release by Alex Camponovo
Contact:
Alex Camponovo TBP 714.935.0900

The following day, Saturday, August 19, 2006, our very own Alex Camponovo will be inducted into the California State Hall of Fame along with the World Boxing Hall of Fame past presidents, Joe Noriega and Norm Cote. The event will be held at the Sportman’s Lodge in Studio City, California. The event will include Boxer, Expanded and Posthumous Categories. I would like to add that Dr. Joe Noriega and Norm Cote have also been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame, this will be Thompson Boxing Promotions Matchmaker Alex Camponovo’s first induction into a Hall of Fame, what Alex has accomplished in the past several years makes him a more than worthy inductee. Their will be many other accolades bestowed on this hard-working young man before his day in boxing is done. He is Ken Thompson’s right hand man in the fast rising Thompson Boxing Promotions, they together have put a string of seven sold out events since the beginning of this year. Speaking of Kenneth Thompson, he too, is a past President of the World Boxing Hall of Fame. He can also lay claim to having been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame, the California Hall of Fame and the Golden State Boxing Hall of Fame. With these outstanding credentials, it is very comprehendible why Thompson Boxing Promotions is emerging as one of the top promotional groups in boxing.

UNTIL THE NEXT ROUND…PEACE AND GOD BLESS!

JOHNNY ORTIZ IS A MEMBER OF THE WORLD BOXING HALL OF FAME BOARD OF DIRECTORS

JOHNNY ORTIZ IS A MEMBER OF THE GOLDEN STATE BOXERS ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

JOHNNY ORTIZ IS A MEDIA ADVISOR FOR THOMPSON BOXING PROMOTIONS

JOHNNY ORTIZ IS A FORMER CO-OWNER OF THE LEGENDARY, WORLD FAMOUS MAIN ST. GYM

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