Toney

By David A. Avila 

HIGHLAND-IBA heavyweight titleholder James “Lights Out” Toney handily beat Damon Reed after 10 rounds of a non-title bout on Thursday at San Manuel Casino and a winless fighter beat an undefeated fighter in a middleweight match. 

The multi-division world champion Toney (73-6, 44 KOs) was forced to chase a reluctant Reed (45-15, 32 KOs) throughout the fight much to the chagrin of the audience. But in the end, the multi-skilled Toney used his experience and knowledge to win easily by unanimous decision despite arriving at his heaviest weight. 

“Thanks everybody for your support,” said Toney who was not surprised by Reed’s constant running. 

Reed used the first three rounds to entice Toney to trail him as he scooted around the ring seldom firing punches. The champion scored with some blows to the body as Reed frantically moved away from getting to close. Toney motioned to Reed several times to engage as the crowd booed the lack of action. 

The fight slipped into another gear in the fifth round as Reed stopped moving. Toney fired several combinations that landed through Reed’s gloves and four body blows that all connected. 

Reed finally struck back with a strong counter right that connected flush in the seventh, but he absorbed several left hooks and overhand rights during a busier round. The eighth was a carbon copy of the seventh with Reed landing some rights in close and moving out of range. 

Toney, who weighed in a plus-250, advanced forward in the ninth but Reed seemed unwilling to trade with the champion. Moving side to side and occasionally moving in for a jab was all the Kansas heavyweight seemed willing to do. 

In the 10^th and final round Reed opened up with some combinations with 10 seconds left in the fight and it was the only aggressive action he administered. Toney smiled at the effort but was disheartened at Reed’s lack of heat. All three judges scored it 100-90 for Toney. 

Toney said it’s just the beginning for a run at winning the other heavyweight world titles. 

“I want all of the titles,” Toney said. 

The IBA champ hinted he’s looking toward enticing former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver in a heavyweight bout. Tarver is currently working with Showtime as an analyst. 

Other bouts 

In fight that looked lopsided on paper a fighter with no wins beat an undefeated fighter when Alfredo Rivera (1-7) took a majority decision from San Diego’s favored Angel Estrada (5-1) after four rounds of a see-saw junior welterweight clash. Right from the opening bell Rivera bored in with heavy blows that seemed to catch Estrada by surprise. He never could gain momentum against Rivera who never stopped winging big blows. One judge scored it 38-38 but the other judges had it 39-37 for Rivera. It was his first pro win after eight tries in five years. 

Rivera had lost to several very talented fighters including Cleotis “Mookie” Pendarvis. Matchmaker Ray Alcorta lobbied heavily to pair the winless Rivera against the undefeated Estrada. The outcome proved his argument was correct as Rivera plowed through Estrada all four rounds. It was the “fight of the night” and fans roared their approval even before Rivera was announced the winner. 

Fresno’s Mike Ruiz (7-0-1) out-hustled Tijuana’s Daniel Modad (2-4_ after four rounds of a featherweight bout between southpaws. Ruiz was shorter but quicker and fought most of the fight inside where Modad”s longer arms were not effective. 

Heavyweight Enrique Lobatos (2-2-1) of Bell used two looping left hands to drop debuting Granson Clark (0-1) at 55 seconds of the second round. Lobatos and Clark exchanged feverishly in the first round but those left hands proved too much for the Fresno fighter who was counted out by referee Jack Reiss. 

Despite dominating for three rounds Edther Arvizu (1-1) loss by disqualification after he and Shawn Wate (1-5) tangled up and was tossed to the floor. Wate could not continue and referee Tony Crebs called the fight off at 27 seconds of the fourth round. The referee had warned Arvizu twice for holding. Wate was taken by stretcher for further evaluation. 

New York City’s Jorge Teron (25-2-1, 17 KOs) scored a technical knockout win over Mexico’s Jose Soto Karass (19-16, 17 KOs) in a lightweight bout. Teron opened up a cut of Soto Karass’s left eye and it became worse by the second round. After a ringside physician evaluated the eye the fight was called off by referee Jack Reiss at the end of the second round. Soto Karass was unable to see out of the injured eye. It's Teron's second consecutive win after losing by knockout to Brandon Rios.