Toney's honesty refreshing
Friday, March 10, 2006
By KEITH IDEC
HERALD NEWS
NEW YORK -- Barry Bonds basically ignored questions about his alleged steroid use this week, a hot topic again after a scathing Sports Illustrated story hit newsstands.
Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa have been equally evasive about steroids in recent years, and their combined ambiguity made most baseball fans assume their silence is a sure sign of guilt.
When James Toney was asked this week about the positive steroids test that cost him a heavyweight title 10 months ago, the brash boxer couldn't hold his tongue. His honesty about the situation symbolized one of the rare times boxing fans could be proud that their sometimes-shady sport provided evidence to other athletes about how to handle wrongdoing. If only Bonds, McGwire, Palmeiro and Sosa showed Toney's candor, their legacies might not be weakened by complete public mistrust.
The talented, trash-talking Toney tested positive for nandrolone after his convincing decision defeat of then-World Boxing Association champ John Ruiz on April 30 at Madison Square Garden. The New York State Athletic Commission suspended Toney for 90 days and fined him $10,000, while the WBA returned its title to Ruiz, who lost it in his following fight. Toney maintains that nandrolone remained in his system from prescribed medication he had taken during rehabilitation from biceps and triceps surgery performed in the fall of 2004.
"The (Ruiz) fight was originally scheduled for June," Toney said. "But once again, the so-called people's champion, (Vitali) Klitschko, pulled out again (against Hasim Rahman), faked an injury, so the thing came available sooner. On record, (promoter) Dan (Goossen) asked me, 'Are you sure you're going to be ready?' I said, 'Dan, take the fight. Take the date,' not thinking I'm still in rehab, with the medication and everything in my system. It was an honest mistake."
Toney has basically been forgiven for his transgression because he has repeatedly addressed the career-altering mistake publicly.
"I didn't hide the whole deal from reporters, like them (cowardly) baseball players did," Toney said. "I didn't run from the situation. I fought it head-on, so I don't regret anything. I feel the people who saw me fight John Ruiz with one arm, which anybody else wouldn't have done ... But I went ahead with the fight. I took it, I suffered the consequences afterwards, dealt with it. It's over and now we're moving on."
Toney (69-4-2, 43 KOs, 1 NC) easily won his only fight since defeating the rugged Ruiz (41-6-1, 28 KOs, 1 NC). That unanimous decision victory over onetime contender Dominick Guinn (25-3-1, 18 KOs) on Oct. 2 helped him land another fight against Rahman (41-5-1, 33 KOs), the World Boxing Council champion, on March 18 in Atlantic City. As per New Jersey State Athletic Control Board regulations, Toney must submit a post-fight urine sample, but nothing more than other licensed boxers.
Those that represent New Jersey's boxing regulatory agency aren't any more concerned about Toney than they are about other boxers, either. Nicholas Lembo, the SACB's general counsel, said urinalysis usually detects marijuana and cocaine use among boxers much more often than steroid abuse. Though a state statute prevents the SACB from publicly identifying steroids offenders, Lembo acknowledged that steroid abuse among boxers hasn't been a significant problem in New Jersey.
"I do believe James Toney, because steroids are so passe now," said Lembo, a Paterson native and former Haledon resident. "If you really wanted to enhance your performance, you would take growth hormones. There are undetectable growth hormones these days that require elaborate blood testing that commissions can't afford."
Frome Doghouseboxing
hahaha toney ist immernoch das gleiche dumme, fette schwein was er immer war. selten haben ich einem boxer so sher einen knockout gewünscht. GO ROCK, GO ROCK.
