Toney using new tactics in shaping up for rematch with Peter
It's a given that many people will gain weight over the holidays. But not this holiday season for, of all people, James "Lights Out" Toney.
Despite his past battles of the bulge, Toney's resolution is to be in the best shape of his career for his Jan.6 heavyweight rematch (Showtime, 10p.m. ET) against Samuel "The Nigerian Nightmare" Peter.
"I love training during the holidays," Toney says. "This will give me a good time to start my New Year fresh."
Toney's vow isn't just blubber, conditioning expert Billy Blanks says. The Tae Bo inventor has implemented a fitness regimen exclusively designed to transform to a fat-free Toney.
"I have him on a diet where he is eating 1,500 calories a day, burning fat to get his body to look the way he wanted it to look and perform the way he wants it to perform," Blanks says.
"I have somebody cooking for him, and he eats five meals a day, drinking a lot of water, which he has never done as much as he is doing now. He is cleaning his body out. His body is going to look like it has never looked before, and his performance is going to even be better."
Toney (69-5-3, 43 KOs) is coming off a loss by majority decision to Peter (27-1, 22 KOs) in their Sept.2 fight. The loss was his first since 1997, and Toney maintains he was robbed and credits his promoter Dan Goossen with getting him the quick rematch.
Toney, 38, also praises Blanks for his help in the gym.
"Billy is like me, a Virgo," he says. "When we are determined to do something, we are going to get it done. ... Everybody says we do Tae Bo. We do not do Tae Bo. We go to war. Billy used to be a fighter himself. Before, I guess, I was not training too hard because when I went home, I would not be sleepy. But believe me, now I go home every night sleepy. I am in great shape, and I am ready to go."
Peter, 26, is equally confident entering the rematch at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. The bout will determine the mandatory challenger for WBC champion Oleg Maskaev. Peter, whose lone loss is to IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko, is still one of the division's most feared sluggers and predicts that Toney, despite his newfound emphasis on conditioning, won't be any slicker or tougher to hit than the first fight.
"He's a great champion. I take nothing from him. But Billy Blanks will not be inside the ring," Peter says. "When I hit him, everything that Billy Blanks told him, he is going to forget. He is going to fight James Toney's style, and that is what I know. James Toney will not change at all.."
In the co-feature, Jose Antonio Rivera (38-4-1, 24 KOs) will make the initial defense of his WBA 154-pound title against unbeaten Travis Simms (24-0, 18 KOs).
Fighter kudos: For the second consecutive year, Miguel Cotto of Caguas, Puerto Rico, was named the Boxer of the Year at the Premios Fox Sports, which honors the top Latino fighter as voted by fans around the world. The other nominees for the award were Antonio Margarito, Carlos Baldomir, Marco Antonio Barrera and Israel Vazquez. Cotto, 28-0 with 23 knockouts, won the WBA welterweight title this month in Atlantic City with a sensational fifth-round stoppage of his countryman Carlos Quintana. ... Super middleweight Joe Calzaghe (42-0, 31 KOs) celebrated his ninth year as a world champion by being named the 2006 Sports Journalists' Association Sportsman of the Year. Calzaghe, 34, is boxing's longest-reigning world champion. He won the vacant WBO title in October 1997 with a decision against Chris Eubank. The Welshman was honored with the SJA trophy, now its 58th year and voted by members of the British press, after his dominating title unification victory against IBF champion Jeff Lacy in March. Calzaghe's next defense is April7 against Peter Manfredo Jr. (26-3, 12 KOs) at the Millennium Arena in Cardiff, Wales.
It's a given that many people will gain weight over the holidays. But not this holiday season for, of all people, James "Lights Out" Toney.
Despite his past battles of the bulge, Toney's resolution is to be in the best shape of his career for his Jan.6 heavyweight rematch (Showtime, 10p.m. ET) against Samuel "The Nigerian Nightmare" Peter.
"I love training during the holidays," Toney says. "This will give me a good time to start my New Year fresh."
Toney's vow isn't just blubber, conditioning expert Billy Blanks says. The Tae Bo inventor has implemented a fitness regimen exclusively designed to transform to a fat-free Toney.
"I have him on a diet where he is eating 1,500 calories a day, burning fat to get his body to look the way he wanted it to look and perform the way he wants it to perform," Blanks says.
"I have somebody cooking for him, and he eats five meals a day, drinking a lot of water, which he has never done as much as he is doing now. He is cleaning his body out. His body is going to look like it has never looked before, and his performance is going to even be better."
Toney (69-5-3, 43 KOs) is coming off a loss by majority decision to Peter (27-1, 22 KOs) in their Sept.2 fight. The loss was his first since 1997, and Toney maintains he was robbed and credits his promoter Dan Goossen with getting him the quick rematch.
Toney, 38, also praises Blanks for his help in the gym.
"Billy is like me, a Virgo," he says. "When we are determined to do something, we are going to get it done. ... Everybody says we do Tae Bo. We do not do Tae Bo. We go to war. Billy used to be a fighter himself. Before, I guess, I was not training too hard because when I went home, I would not be sleepy. But believe me, now I go home every night sleepy. I am in great shape, and I am ready to go."
Peter, 26, is equally confident entering the rematch at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. The bout will determine the mandatory challenger for WBC champion Oleg Maskaev. Peter, whose lone loss is to IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko, is still one of the division's most feared sluggers and predicts that Toney, despite his newfound emphasis on conditioning, won't be any slicker or tougher to hit than the first fight.
"He's a great champion. I take nothing from him. But Billy Blanks will not be inside the ring," Peter says. "When I hit him, everything that Billy Blanks told him, he is going to forget. He is going to fight James Toney's style, and that is what I know. James Toney will not change at all.."
In the co-feature, Jose Antonio Rivera (38-4-1, 24 KOs) will make the initial defense of his WBA 154-pound title against unbeaten Travis Simms (24-0, 18 KOs).
Fighter kudos: For the second consecutive year, Miguel Cotto of Caguas, Puerto Rico, was named the Boxer of the Year at the Premios Fox Sports, which honors the top Latino fighter as voted by fans around the world. The other nominees for the award were Antonio Margarito, Carlos Baldomir, Marco Antonio Barrera and Israel Vazquez. Cotto, 28-0 with 23 knockouts, won the WBA welterweight title this month in Atlantic City with a sensational fifth-round stoppage of his countryman Carlos Quintana. ... Super middleweight Joe Calzaghe (42-0, 31 KOs) celebrated his ninth year as a world champion by being named the 2006 Sports Journalists' Association Sportsman of the Year. Calzaghe, 34, is boxing's longest-reigning world champion. He won the vacant WBO title in October 1997 with a decision against Chris Eubank. The Welshman was honored with the SJA trophy, now its 58th year and voted by members of the British press, after his dominating title unification victory against IBF champion Jeff Lacy in March. Calzaghe's next defense is April7 against Peter Manfredo Jr. (26-3, 12 KOs) at the Millennium Arena in Cardiff, Wales.
