Unorthodox

John Ruiz vs. James "Lights Out" Toney

Some call Ruiz's boxing style unorthodox, I say what style? However; last night he surprised me with what looked something like a more real boxing style (even though he looks drunk with the head bob and weave). Ruiz refused to match his previous bouts by clinching after every other jab. I felt like Ruiz respected Toney's power and his ability to fight on the inside by trying to keep Toney at arms length. I can't believe that I'm going to say this, but I liked Ruiz's approach and overall fight.

Toney on the other hand is probably my favorite current heavyweight. I think that Toney has the skills, chin, and punch to beat any heavyweight on the scene today. I'm keeping my fingers crossed in hopes of Toney reaching the heights of "CHAMP". As far as the fight goes, Toney came to the fight at 233 lbs. He looked really big/overweight! I was really surprised at how well he endured throughout the fight. He looked really tired in the 10th but came back in the last two rounds to finish strong. What really impressed me was that I never saw him sucking air. He kept his mouth closed throughout the rounds and kept his hands up in defense.

The fight went the distance with Toney winning the decision (rightfully so). The scoring was accurate, except for a Toney knockdown over Ruiz which should have not been ruled a knockdown. The replay showed Toney stepping on Ruiz's foot causing him to topple. Toney won the fight with superior hand speed, landing numerous right hand counter shots. Toney also contributed some body work to Ruiz which appeared to take effect in the later rounds.

Hats off to Toney for taking the WBA title and hats off to Ruiz for not fighting a totally unorthodox boring fight that we have seen in the past.