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James Toney, John Ruiz to battle

Challenger James ``Lights Out'' Toney speaks with the media at a press conference to promote his fight with World Boxing Heavyweight Champion John ``The Quietman'' Ruiz, at Madison Square Garden in New York on Tuesday. PHOTO: EPA

To generate some notice for their title fight, James Toney and John Ruiz did what boxers do to stir things up. Push a little, shove a little and shout at each other and their trainers.

With the help, of course, of Don King, who had the appropriate line to end Tuesday's promotional news conference/faux altercation: "We ain't gonna have a fight tonight for free."

The actual fight will take place on April 30 at Madison Square Garden when Ruiz, the WBA heavyweight champion, defends his title against Toney, who has held middleweight, super middleweight and cruiserweight titles.

It was cobbled together to replace Vitali Klitschko's WBC heavyweight title defense against Hasim Rahman, which was supposed to be held that night but was called off because Klitschko pulled a thigh muscle.

That fight probably will be rescheduled for June 18.

So the Garden finally agreed to take Toney and Ruiz on the cheap -- so little money is on the table that the fight is being shown without pay-per-view, almost unheard of for a heavyweight "championship."

"These guys aren't making any money for this," King said. "It's for the honor of being able to start unifying the heavyweight title."

The shoving came after a tape summarizing all the names, faces and fights that King has been involved with, and speeches from all involved.

It came when Toney and Ruiz's trainer, Norman Stone, exchanged words across the podium, and the fighter began approaching Stone. Stone isn't new at this -- on Nov. 13, when Ruiz beat Andrew Golota, he threw a punch at Golota's trainer and then was ejected for throwing tape at the referee.

King, naturally, played the referee, getting himself between the two. Ron Scott Stevens, New York's boxing commissioner, stepped to the microphone and said such doings would not be tolerated in his state.

King returned to pump up the fight, which demonstrates the low esteem to which the heavyweight division has fallen.

Suspended heavyweight Joe Mesi plans to attend a hearing next month to determine whether he can resume fighting a year after sustaining a head injury.

Mesi (29-0), formerly the WBC's top-ranked contender, has been suspended indefinitely pending a review of his medical records since bleeding on the brain during a victory by unanimous decision over Vassiliy Jirov in Las Vegas in March 2004.
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