Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 19, 1994 TAG: 9411210068
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LAS VEGAS LENGTH: Medium
``His speed speaks for itself,'' Leonard said after watching Jones knock down Toney and pound out a one-sided, 12-round decision to win the IBF super middleweight boxing title Friday night.
``I knew my hands were so fast and my feet so quick, all I had to do was box,'' the unbeaten Jones said.
``I think he does things instinctively,'' said Leonard, who held world titles in five weight divisions and was the premier fighter of the 1980s. ``I don't like the way he holds his hands low, but he's so quick he can get away with it.''
He certainly got away with it against Toney, who was battered from long range to the head and body, counterpunched, knocked down and effectively tied up inside.
``He didn't have that look in his eyes,'' Leonard said of Toney. ``His punches were short. He was flat.''
Getting down to his official weight of 168 pounds from 207 in September might have affected Toney. But Marc Rattner, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, said Toney's fighting weight was 182. Jones weighed in at the class limit of 168 on Thursday but his weight at fight time was 178.
Judge Glen Hamada scored it 117-110, John Stewart had it 119-108 and Jerry Roth 118-109, all for the unbeaten Jones.
Jones not only threw rapid punches, he threw hard punches as he dominated from the first bell to the last before an estimated 7,000 at the MGM Grand Garden.
It wasn't a great fight, but it was a great show by a potentially great fighter.
In the third round, Jones made a mugging gesture to Toney. Toney made one back and, as he did, Jones leaped forward and caught Toney with a left hook that sent him reeling backwards and down.
He got up immediately and took a standing 8-count.
Jones was at his best in the seventh and eighth rounds.
In the seventh, he landed a five-punch combination featuring a left hook and a jarring right early in the round. Then he landed another hook, followed by two more and a right with 35 seconds remaining. Just before the bell, he connected with a left-right-left to the head.
At the bell, Toney fell into the ropes and staggered to his corner.
In the eighth round, Toney began bleeding from the mouth as Jones landed several smashing lefts and rights to the head and also connected with hard body shots. He landed with about 40 seconds left and had Toney in trouble again.
In the last four rounds, Jones was in control but didn't seem to have knockout on his mind.
Jones, 25, certainly laid a claim to being called the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Only Toney's toughness prevented Jones from scoring his 24th knockout in 27 fights.
According to ringside stats, Jones threw 614 punches and landed 285 while Toney threw 451 and landed 157 as his record fell to 44-1-2 with 29 knockouts.
In another title bout, Oscar De La Hoya knocked overmatched Carl Griffith down in the first round and again in the third before finally stopping him at 1:02 of the third to retain his WBO lightweight crown. It was the 14th knockout in 15 professional fights for De La Hoya, the 1992 Olympic champion.
by CNB