Boxing: Sam Peter and the Road to the Title
For Sam Peter, 25, this is a dream that is sure to come true. He faced a minor setback just a year ago with a close loss to Wladimir Klitschko in Atlantic City, NJ. Klitschko, a 6 foot 6 supremely talented heavyweight, thoroughly outclassed a persistent but exhausted Sam Peter inside of 12 rounds. After two low-key fights, 1 by decision and the other by KO, the idea was thought of for Peter to face James Toney.
Within the meantime, Vitali Klitschko had retired as of late 2005, relinquishing his title to #1 contender Hasim Rahman. Then, just this past March, James Toney and Hasim Rahman fought to a draw in a lackluster 12 round matchup. The draw allowed Rahman to keep his WBC heavyweight title. And THEN, Rahman defended his WBC championship against Oleg Maskaev and was stopped in the final round. Now Oleg Maskaev holds the WBC championship and Peter is the #1 mandatory for it.
James “Lights out” Toney was thought of as the favorite in his contest with Sam Peter. As elusive and defensively sound as he is, he would slip Sam Peter’s punches and counter with his own. Toney did just that, however, he didn’t have the heavyweight power to keep Sam Peter honest. As a result, Sam walked through virtually everything that Toney threw. Peter landed his fair share of punches, wide rights and measuring left jabs that at times would stop James in his tracks. It was a close matchup that many thought James won, but Peter came out the winner. “Everybody knows I wont that fight,” Toney complained. “I was slipping and dodging his punches, I won that fight!” James continued to dispute the decision and even stated that he would have the decision appealed. Toney now falls to (69-5-3 43 KOs) at the age of 38. Many wonder what exactly does James Toney have left in the tank at this point.
Road map and a close look at Sam Peter
The road ahead lies through Oleg Maskaev now. Although Maskaev carries the most prestigious portion of the heavyweight title, Maskaev isn’t exactly the roaring beast that some may make him out to be. Infact, Sam Peter may be capable of defeating Maskaev simply because of his brute strength and power. There isn’t a single heavyweight on the map that can afford to trade punches with Sam Peter. He is without a doubt one of the hardest hitting punchers since Mike Tyson’s reign.
Unfortunately, Samuel doesn’t exactly have the defensive prowess, footwork or head movement that would make him much more of a threat. He tends to plod along at times and fire heavy punches from weird angles. Nevertheless, if he catches you flush at any moment in the fight, kiss a win a goodbye.
The only heavyweights that will really give Peter trouble are those of highly superb boxing and technical ability. Wladimir Klitschko may be the only serious threat, because of his height, reach, skill and punching power. Other heavyweights within the division may present trouble as well, but as of now are less likely to survive under the wrath of Samuel Peter.
This young heavyweight has a brilliant future ahead of him, but there are a few things that must come under development as he moves up in competition. One must imagine that other fighters are indeed watching and trying to develop a system against you. You must be able to switch and show your opponent you can be versatile.
* Sam must learn to develop better head movement and footwork; at times he does plod along and throw one punch at a time. His main objective seems geared at just landing the overhand right.
* Without a doubt Sam Peter has a stone for a chin, but taking punches isn’t what wins heavyweight titles. He’s got to sharpen his defensive skills a little better. Maybe a little side-to-side movement and keeping the guard a bit higher may do the trick.
* If he’s going to play the puncher’s role, he has to learn how to cut the ring off properly.
* Stamina may also be an issue; at times he gets winded in his fights and doesn’t seem to have the energy to continue. He has to work on his stamina so he can be as fully charged as a bull.
Despite what many believe, Sam Peter is capable of defeating a many heavyweights within the division. If he could just develop those fundamentals, I am almost certain he’ll dominate the division.
What’s the deal for James Toney?
James is a former three-division champion. He captured titles at middleweight, super middleweight and cruiserweight. He’s been all around the board and back for one more spin, many wonder what’s left for the Ann Arbor, Michigan born fighter. At age 38, James isn’t getting any younger, just older and maybe moving just a bit slower then before. When asked what was next for him he said, “Go home, spend some time with my wife and kids, wait and see what happens. But this ain’t over.”
Toney has offered boxing his all; talented showcasing of excellence in the ring at both offensive and defensive methods. At age 38, and with close to 80 professional encounters in his career, we wish James Toney the best in whatever he chooses to do from this point.
