Jim Lampley Thinks “???” Will Win Saturday Night
By Michael Woods March 17th, 2006The HBO play-by-play man, Jim Lampley, was in Turin doing Olympics coverage for NBC but he kept one eye peeled for the latest boxing developments. He’ll be back in the fold with Larry Merchant and Emanuel Steward calling the James Toney/Hasim Rahman bout from Atlantic City (10 PM EST).
“The pressure is on Rahman to get on top of Toney early with the jab, and use the jab liberally, land it and make it a factor in the fight,” Lampley says. “If he can test the questionable conditioning of Toney and test his ability to take a big punch, that will work, but if Rahman is just trying to land the big punch and doesn’t box properly as he did against Lewis in South Africa, then he will be in a world of hurt.”
“It comes down to how disciplined Rahman is, how committed he is, how intent he is to using the jab, setting things up for Toney to be taken out by the bigger man. But if he just wants the kayo, it’s not going to happen. He’s capable of doing it, with his relatively fast hands and athletic body.”
“At the end of the day, I have a hunch that a well-conditioned, focused Hasim Rahman is too big for James Toney. We shall see.”
March 18th, 2006 at 8:30 am
If Rahman stays behind the jab and forces Toney to come to him and use his legs, he’ll win the fight. But I don’t think he’s disciplined enough to do this, Toney W12.
March 18th, 2006 at 9:12 am
I have learnt never to bet against james toney. The man physically looks like he cant go three rounds let alone 12 but I can visualize him conserving energy whilst on the backfoot and whipping in those counters on the ropes ala vassily jirov. I just dont see rahman stopping him - the man has a great chin and watch this - he actually believes he is the best fighter in the world !! I am not sure rahman has the same self belief in himself, at least he has not shown it so far! It will be competitive in the early rounds with rahman attemting to impose himself on the fight but toney will start to take him to school in the later rounds and win by late stoppage or decision.
March 18th, 2006 at 9:00 pm
What Jim Lampley is describing is the strategy used by Lennox Lewis to spank Mike Tyson. However, the big difference is that Tyson was a shot fighter while Toney can still bring it. He’s got a lot of heart and will not be frustrated like Tyson was with Lewis’ jab. Besides, Rahman’s jab is nowhere near as good as Lewis and his balance is poor after big right hands. I see Toney putting on a clinic at times, resting at times, and avoiding a few dangerous situations to eventually accumulate enough punishment to stop Rahman late.