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Toney
grasping one last time for brass ring
SANDWICH, Massachusetts (May , 2007) - Veteran light heavyweight Rodney
Toney has a famous last name, several disappointing outcomes against
world-class opponents, and a master's degree in boxing experience from
his 14-year pro career. Friday night in a rematch against Anthony "The
Rowdy One" Russell, Toney starts what will likely be his final run
towards a high-profile fight and lucrative payday.
Undefeated USBA super bantamweight champion "Machine Gun" Mike Oliver
headlines "Battle Zone 3" in a 10-round non-title fight against Vernie
Torres on Friday evening (May 4) at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville,
Connecticut.
"Battle Zone 3," promoted by Alpha Omega Entertainment Group in
association with Sprint, Mohegan Sun and NESN, will be taped live and
shown on NESN on Thursday, May 24th at 8:00 PM/ET.
The 10-round co-feature is a rematch between 39-year-old Toney, cousin
of future Hall of Fame boxer James Toney, and former Canadian Under-19
amateur champion Russell for the vacant IBA Americas light heavyweight
title belt. Boston-native Toney (29-5-5, 17 KOs), rated No. 36 by the
WBC, won a unanimous 10-round decision from the Canadian-born Russell
(15-2-1, 4 KOs) last October.
"I didn't really know who Rodney was, in or out of the ring, until he
fought on our last show (vs. Russell)," Toney's new promoter Hank Tuohy
(Tuohy Sports & Entertainment) explained. "I was impressed by his boxing
ability and he still has a lot of punch left him in. We're going to
maximize all his years of experience and make at run at getting him a
title shot. Friday night, the IBA Americas title will be the first
step."
Back in 1994, Toney upset future IBF super middleweight title-holder
Charles "The Hatchet" Brewer (23-4) by 10-round split decision, setting
up Rodney's first title fight on January 1, 1995 in Las Vegas against
NABF middleweight champion Quincy Taylor (23-3), who won by 12-round
technical knockout.
After a pair of tune-up wins, Rodney ran into some bad luck in a few
tough 1995-96 fights, 12-round draws with future WBA middleweight champ,
William Joppy (19-0), for the NABF middleweight title belt in Las Vegas,
and future WBA light heavyweight title-holder, Silvio Branco (27-2-1),
for the WBU super middleweight championship in Italy. Toney's career was
derailed when he lost a 12-round decision by majority decision in
another NABF title fight to Otis Grant, who won the WBO middleweight
crown the following year. Toney has won his last seven fights dating
back to 1998.
Oliver (18-0, 7 KOs), fighting out of Harford, presently is rated No. 8
by the International Boxing Federation. He captured the USBA title last
October with a 12-round unanimous decision against Adam Carrera at
Mohegan Sun and is coming off of a close title-defense 12-round decision
victory against Gary Stark, Jr. on February 16 in Oklahoma.
Torres (27-9, 15 KOs), a Philippine southpaw now fighting out of
Pensacola (FL), is the former USBA and WBO super flyweight champion, as
well as IBA bantamweight title holder.
Unbeaten heavyweight prospect Tony Grano (8-0-1, 7 KOs), the 2005 U.S.
Nationals amateur champion from Hebron (CT), heads the undercard versus
tough Jay Sweetman (7-5, 3 KOs) in a six-round bout.
Also scheduled to fight on "Battle Zone 3" is exciting Stoughton (MA)
cruiserweight Chris McInerney (7-0-1, 4 KOs), whose 2005 draw with
Anterio Vines earned ESPN2 Fight of the Year honors, against veteran
John Battle (14-18-1, 7 KOs) in a six-round match; Vietnamese
featherweight Dat "Be Dat" Nguyen (8-0, 5 KOs) tangles with Cuban-born
Jorge Ruiz (5-1-1) in another six-rounder; Boston light welterweight
Anthony LaMonica (3-0, 2 KOs) meets Ken Yon Kellum (0-1) in a four-round
match. All bouts and fighters are subject to change.
"Battle Zone 3" is sponsored in part by Mohegan Sun, Everlast,
DavidoffMadison.com, Sprint/Nextel (Data Link Communications),
KitchenSales.com and SearchHelp.com. |
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