Ex-champion Toney has eyes on Jones rematch

Dean Juipe

Thursday, June 20, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

There was a time when James Toney was a big man in boxing. Later, he was simply a big man.

Toney, a two-time former world champion, was riding high prior to facing Roy Jones Nov. 18, 1994, in Las Vegas. He came into the fight with only one loss -- a fluke loss many felt -- and with a tough-guy image that belied a somewhat softer side away from the public eye.

Toney lost that night to Jones, lost badly, barely putting up a fight and dropping every round. It wasn't long before he left the 168-pound division behind, saying he could no longer make the weight.

Undisciplined, he ballooned to something around 215 pounds.

Now he's back in Las Vegas, this time as a resident having purchased a home at Spanish Trail, and back to 175 pounds with an eye on returning to 168 if it means getting another shot at Jones.

He also has a new trainer, the disciplined-minded Eddie Mustafa Muhammad.

"We had a little talk before I took the job," Mustafa said. "I made sure we were going to see eye to eye and not have any discrepancies. The product reflects the teacher, and I'm not going to let him slide."

Buoyed by Mustafa, Toney has won his last seven fights to raise his record to 51-2-2 with 34 knockouts. He looked sharp his last time out, stopping Earl Butler in the third round in Phoenix last month, and he has a July 2 date with the unsung Charles Oliver in St. Charles, Mo., in a fight to be televised by the USA cable network.

"When James is on, in my opinion, he can be the best fighter in the world," Mustafa said. "I may have to go out on a limb to say that, but I'll say it."

Working out daily at the Top Rank gym, Mustafa is grooming Toney not only for a possible -- and lucrative -- rematch with Jones, but for potential fights with light heavyweights like Virgil Hill, Mike McCallum and Montell Griffin.

That's a different set of names than Toney was considering when he fought as a heavyweight less than a year ago.

"You have to give an athlete some room," Mustafa explained. "James fought once (against Richard Mason) as a heavyweight and I didn't have any problem with that, but James is not a heavyweight. I mean, he looked terrific in that fight and he can beat some of the lesser heavyweights, but that's not his weight. He moved Mason, but we talked and I said 'Imagine having to move Riddick Bowe or Lennox Lewis or one of those guys.' He just couldn't do it."

Toney agreed and began getting his weight problem under control.

"He knows how to make the weight now," Mustafa said. "We all know he's always gone up (in weight) between fights, but by the time he fought Jones I don't think anybody cared about his health. I saw what he was going through, taking shots to urinate and things like that. Everything he was doing to lose weight was bad. It was a wonder he didn't have a heart attack."

Now, if anything, Toney will have a heart attack due to excitement if a rematch with the undefeated Jones can be arranged. Talks on that very subject are going on in Miami this week, although Jones hasn't shown much interest in it.

"James knows deep down inside that he can beat Jones," Mustafa said. "We talk about it all the time. We talked about it Saturday when we were watching Jones (defeat no-name Eric Lucas) on TV at James' house."

The plan is to continue showcasing Toney in USA-level fights, even if the opposition is somewhat inferior. Oliver, for example, is only 16-5-1.

"As long as James keeps looking good, a fight with Jones is marketable," Mustafa said.

Around the ring

* TYSON-SELDON: Heavyweights Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon clash July 13 at the MGM in Las Vegas, and each was sparring Wednesday. Seldon held an open workout in Philadelphia, while Tyson worked out in seclusion at the Golden Gloves Gym in Las Vegas. Afterward, however, he stood calmly outside the gym and signed autographs for a small crowd that had been waiting. It was said he's not only working out five days a week, but that he worked out six days last week. As for Seldon, he issued a warning of sorts. "Like a thoroughbred racehorse or a cheetah going after its prey, you know he's going to slow down eventually," Seldon told the Associated Press. "When he slows down, I'll be there." Seldon also reiterated that he'll be nothing like Tyson's first two comeback opponents, Peter McNeeley and Frank Bruno, who lasted only a combined 16 minutes and 51 seconds. "They were stand-still fighters," Seldon said. "With my ability to move, it'll test myself but it'll also show what he has." Tyson is 44-1, Seldon 33-3. Seldon has at least one prominent supporter of sorts in ex-champ Riddick Bowe, who said Wednesday that he has written a letter to Tyson and offered him a bet. "I'd like to bet you $100,000 that you can't finish off Seldon in less time than I did," Bowe wrote to Tyson, according to an Associated Press story out of New Orleans. Bowe needed only 1:48 of the first round to handle Seldon in a 1991 fight in Atlantic City. Bowe is in New Orleans training for a July 11 bout in New York against Andrew Golota.

* ALADDIN CARD: The next local card, June 29 at the Aladdin, is taking shape and will offer cruiserweights Johnny McClain, 22-4, and Elisier Castillo, 5-0, in the 10-round main event. An eight-round lightweight bout between Ramon LaDon, 5-0-1, and David Sample, 19-3, is the primary support. Local fighters Ray McElroy, Leroy Owens, B.J. Bonkavich and Yvon LaDon are also pencilled in for the Nugget Promotions card that will open at 7:30. Tickets are $15 to $75.

* NEW JERSEY CARD: They'll be turning back the clock Saturday in Atlantic City when fading legends Roberto Duran and Hector Camacho tangle in the main event and heavyweight warhorse Buster Douglas returns after a lengthy absence to face a questionable opponent. The pay-per-view card features the 44-year-old Duran and the 34-year-old Camacho fighting at 160 pounds; Duran had to lose weight for the fight, while Camacho was looking to put some on. Duran is 97-11 with 67 KOs, Camacho 58-3-1 with 28 KOs. Camacho is the betting favorite in Las Vegas simply because critics of the fight believe he will simply keep moving and never do more than land scoring taps on Duran. As for Douglas -- the man who knocked out Mike Tyson but then let himself go into the 400-pound range -- he's in against Tony LaRosa. Douglas is 30-5-1, LaRosa 24-5. Douglas, 36, expects to come in at about 250 pounds for what will be his first fight in six years, or since he accepted $19 million for a poor performance and a third-round knockout loss to Evander Holyfield at The Mirage in Las Vegas.

* LAST CHANCE: Former heavyweight contender Thad Spencer has had his "Last Chance" boxing program accepted by the Clark County Commission. The idea is to put juvenile defenders into a daily boxing regimen designed to add discipline and purpose to the young man's life. "It's a start," Spencer said after the commission agreed to finance the program on a limited basis. Four young men currently on probation will initiate the program Monday at Barry's Gym. "Boxing used to be in every juvenile home," Spencer said. "It took me five years, but at least now it's in one in Las Vegas."

* QUICK HITS: Heavyweight James Tillis, who has been training in Las Vegas, continues his comeback with a Friday fight in Vancouver against Carlos Monroe. ... Local amateurs Daniel Felix, 125 pounds, and Arnold Soriano, 178, leave this weekend for national Junior Olympics competition in Marquette, Mich. ... Local Golden Gloves coordinator Hal Miller is looking for a casino to host a November Las Vegas vs. London (England) amateur card. ... A number of locally based pros are scheduled to appear at the grand opening of a memorabilia store Saturday. Knockout Sports will have its ribbon cutting ceremony at 11:30 a.m. at its site at 2600 W. Sahara (across from the Palace Station). Call 363-3372 for more information.