By Dr. Peter Edwards and Sammy Rozenberg

The following is a segment on the site where two of BoxingScene's writers with a difference of opinion go head to head on an upcoming fight. The fight in the middle of this article's debate is the upcoming heavyweight showdown between the WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz and challenger James Toney.

Edwards' View

There is one thing that defeated John Ruiz more then anything else in his two biggest losses and that my friend is something called speed. Sure Tua may have had a sledgehammer punch, but it was the speed of Tua that caught Ruiz off guard and allowed Tua to land the initial big shot. Toney may have lost a few steps as he moved up in weight but he is still much faster with his hands then Ruiz. Toney is fast enough to hit Ruiz and slip any punches in return.

James Toney may not punch like a heavyweight, but he may be able to punch hard enough to get the respect of Ruiz. Roy Jones gained the respect of Ruiz in the 4th round of their battle when he landed a big shot right on the button and buckled the legs of Ruiz. The shot was hard enough that it forced him to grab Jones and hold on until the round ended.

Toney has all the tools to win this fight, he can only lose this fight is he forgets the fight plan. Toney said that if Ruiz grabs him, he is going right to the body. Toney has broken down many opponents over the years with hard bodyshots, including former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield. No fighter has gone to the body of Ruiz and Toney is more then ready to test Ruiz's body.

The defense of Toney is a big plus, especially at close range. Ruiz likes to back opponents into the ropes to smother them and Toney likes opponents to come to him at close range. Jirov tried to smother Toney against the ropes and Toney laid back against the ropes countering Jirov. Expect to see a similiar defensive display on the part of Toney when Ruiz backs him into a corner.

I see Toney winning a unanimous decision after slowly breaking Ruiz down over twelve rounds.

Rozenberg's View 

John Ruiz will finally close the big mouth of James Toney. Toney is custom built for the style of John Ruiz, Ruiz will exploit the heavyweight shortcomings of Toney in a big way. You need power to beat a guy like John Ruiz or you need superior speed like Roy Jones. Even Jones had some help from Jay Nady who would not allow Ruiz to use his hug and hit style. If Nady was not the ref for the Ruiz-Jones fight, who knows what the result would of been.

Toney's body has been breaking apart from all the added weight and muscle, he cant seem to stay healthy. Inactivity will come into play with respect this fight in a big way. Toney has barely been fighting due to injuries and Ruiz has been fighting top level opponents for years.

I dont think Toney has enough pop in his punches to make Ruiz respect him. Once Toney lands a big shot and Johnny eats the punch, the fight is over. Ruiz will just jump on Toney and use the same fight tactics that keep his opponents from winning.

If Golota, Holyfield, Oquendo and Rahman were not able to keep Ruiz from hugging them to death, neither will Toney. Some of the fighters named are much bigger and stronger then James Toney, they all fell to the fighting style of Ruiz. Ruiz clamps on to an opponent like a leech, you cant do anything but wait for the ref to get him off. Toney wont be able to do anything to get Ruiz off. Ruiz will lean on Toney and use every trick to tire Toney down the stretch. Toney has not shown me anything in his last two fights that make me believe he can be the kryptonite to the fighting style of Ruiz.

Toney will have his moments but in the end Ruiz will win a unanimous decision. I wont even go into the hard facts of how Toney had to work his behind off in the gym to lose all the fat in a few short weeks. Toney appeared like a butterball a few weeks ago and now looks much slimmer while Ruiz has looked the same.

Ruiz by unanimous decision and I think it will be a much easier fight then most expect for Johnny.