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John
Ruiz: juiceless Toney a different fighter
LAS VEGAS (March 21, 2006) – Team Ruiz collectively feels that James
Toney's listless performance last Saturday night against Hasim Rahman
strengthen
former two-time world heavyweight champion John "The Quietman" Ruiz'
lawsuit against Toney.
"Toney looked sluggish against Rahman," Ruiz said. "He didn't have the
same energy he did against me, but that's what steroids do. Toney had a
lot of energy right through the last round in our fight. If I fought
that Toney
(last Saturday versus Rahman), I guarantee it would have been a
completely different fight. He had to cheat to beat me."
Last November, Ruiz' attorneys filed a lawsuit based on Toney's use of
illegal performance-enhancing steroids in advance of the Ruiz-Toney
April 30, 2005 title fight. In the lawsuit, Ruiz claimed that Toney's
use of
Nandrolone, one of the most powerful performance-enhancing substances
available, dramatically enhanced Toney's ability to fight by
artificially augmenting his strength, speed and power.
Ruiz believes he lost that fight as a direct result of Toney's doping.
The judges' decision in favor of Toney on April 30 was overturned by the
World Boxing Association and ruled a "no contest" after Toney's drug
test subsequently came back positive for illegal steroids.
Several days after the April 30 fight, Toney's mandatory drug test came
back with a positive result, reflecting the presence of Nandrolone in
Toney's bloodstream. Use of Nandrolone is illegal under federal law, and
Nandrolone
is classified as a Schedule II drug under federal laws. On May 16, 2005,
the WBA sanctioned Toney for his illegal use of steroids, precluding him
from fighting for a WBA title for two years. The New York State Athletic
Commission also levied their maximum applicable sanction against Toney,
which included a $10,000 fine.
"A videotape of Toney's fight against Rahman will be presented as
Exhibit B," Ruiz' legal advisor Atty. Anthony Cardinale explained.
"Exhibit A is a tape of Ruiz-Toney. Toney had less than six weeks to
prepare for his fight against Johnny, yet, he showed a lot more energy,
especially late in the fight, than he did at any point against Rahman. I
wouldn't be surprised if
Toney was drug tested during training camp for last Saturday's fight. He
was calm at the weigh-in and press conferences, unlike his outrageous
steroid rage outbursts leading up to his fight against Johnny."
Since his fight against Toney, Ruiz has called for boxing organizations
to improve their standards, testing protocols and penalties to prevent
and deter the use of anabolic steroids and other banned performance
enhancing substances.
Ruiz is the first and only world heavyweight champion of Hispanic
heritage. He has beaten former world champions Evander Holyfield, Hasim
Rahman, and
Tony Tucker, as well as top 10 contenders Andrew Golota, Fres Oquendo
and Kirk Johnson.
