Boxing • The Scofflaws

Ruiz-Toney II: Courtroom Brawl

That’s right, John “The Litigious Man” Ruiz is suing James Toney for ‘roiding up before their fight last April. If you watched that fight on TV you might have wondered why half of your screen was filled with a slow-motion broadcast, but in fact that was Ruiz at full speed. He’ll no doubt claim that it was the juice that made Toney faster/stronger/tougher/meaner, but Toney looked like his usual Lights-Out self that night. As for Ruiz, well, he looked like Ruiz, which isn’t a bad thing, but it is a boring thing and a slow thing.

Toney was stripped of the title after testing positive, the decision changed to no contest, and the WBA restored Ruiz’s championship status. Good enough.

Ruiz is claiming that he was damaged financially, as he could have defeated a ‘roid-free Toney. No one’s clamoring for a rematch, but that might be the best way to settle this fiasco. A rematch with a twist: Toney has to fight clean, while Ruiz can inject his weight in steroids. I don’t think the outcome would be any different, but seeing Ruiz in a ‘roid rage might be the thing that finally wins the poor guy some fans.

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