TONEY PERFORMANCE: James "Lights Out" Toney of Ann Arbor, MI, holds up his WBC belt after he defeated Rydell Booker of Detroit by a unanimous decision in their 12-round WBC and IBA heavyweight bout at the Pachanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, CA. Toney, 36, having won his 10th-straight fight, consistently rocked Booker, 23, with right uppercuts that had him wobbling several times. Despite taking a pounding, Booker (22-1, 12 KOs) was able to finish the bout. Toney said he injured his left tricep in the first round. "I felt I would have taken him out except for that," Toney said about not knocking Booker out. Toney, whose last fight was a ninth-round knockout of Evander Holyfield on Oct. 5, 2003, has held three belts in lower weight classes and wants a shot at a heavyweight title. He ran his record to 68-4-2, with 43 knockouts.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group