Classic fights revisit edition 4: James Toney vs Dave Tiberi

Tiberi 8-4 win on my card. He really outworked Toney big time and took everything JT could throw back and kept chugging along.

Disgraceful verdict.

 

I'd have to rewatch it. I can't remember the specifics of how I scored each round. It may even be my score will change.

 

I remember that match very well, I saw it several times and I always thought the same thing, that it was a robbery and that Tiberi was clearly won the fight.

Even Toney a few years ago admitted to having lost that match, I appreciated his honesty.

 

I've always had a contrary view of this fight - I felt Toney landed more of the cleaner headshots despite being driven backward most of the fight, while most of Tiberi's punches were pushing/chopping-type arm punches.

 

@dmt i did a scorecard awhile ago.

@bolo specialist i agree with you.


James Toney vs Dave Tiberi

1 Toney
2 Tiberi
3 Tiberi
4 Tiberi
5 Tiberi
6 Toney 10-8 point deduction
7 Toney
8 Tiberi
9 Tiberi
10 Toney
11 Toney
12 Tiberi

114-113 Tiberi

Toney had a very good 1st round and almost knocked down Tiberi at the end of the round, after that Toney looked surprisingly flat like he had no energy and Tiberi outworked Toney to win rounds 2-5.

Toney got a 2 point round in the 6th round and had another decent 7th round to close the gap.

Tiberi then outworked Toney again to win rounds 8-9.

But surprisingly i thought Toney won majority of the championship rounds with the much more cleaner effective punches to make it close down the stretch.

A poor performance from Toney he looked flat after the 1st round but it's still a close fight especially with the point deduction IMO not quite the flat out robbery everyone says.

But i still think Tiberi should've been given the nod.

 

Never actually watched this fight think its the only Toney fight that i never scored guess it's time to dig in and see if it's truly a robbery

 

"You are not obligated to score the fight. However, if you do decide to score the fight, please wait till Sunday, 1st June 2025 to post your scorecards so we can do this collectively."

 

It's an old scorecard I thought I'd share i may go back and rewatch the fight.

 

Bump

 

James Toney vs Dave Tiberi​

Rounds Won
Toney - 1,6
Tiberi - 3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11,12
Even - 2

Notes
- A point was deducted from Tiberi for a low blow in Round 6. 10-8 (I felt Toney won the round even without the point deduction).
- Toney is announced the winner via SD (DT 117-111, JT 115-112, 115-111).
- I scored it 9-2-1, (117-111) due to the unnecessary point deduction.

Scorecard
(JT)111 - 117(DT)
Winner: Tiberi (117-11)
Actual Winner: Toney via SD​

Review​

First of all. What a fight! Both fighters came out guns blazing from. Toney with his crisp punches & countershots, Tiberi with with come-forward pressure & work-rate. Toney got the better of the exchanges in the opening round, managing to rock & nearly send Tiberi to the canvas with a perfect left-hook, but he managed to stay up. In the 2nd round, Toney's work-rate & punching accuracy decreased dramatically as Tiberi's only grew. However, Toney was still able to land more than enough of his signature punches & countershots to make it a competitive stalemate.

It was in the 3rd round that things dramatically started to change (& would remain that way for the rest of the bout). Tiberi was now backing Toney up almost at will, as Toney (who clearly hadn't trained for this fight) was being pushed about & outworked. In the last minute of the round Toney staggered after throwing a right hand that missed. He wasn't hurt, but his stamina & balance were shot. This marked the end of Toney being effective in the bout. Toney had gassed out after 3 rounds.

From there on, it was all Tiberi. He crowded, outworked, outhustled & outboxed Toney. He applied educated pressure, a good jab, set up his shots from angles Toney couldn't fully anticipate, & was creative with his punches. He also had good defense, speed, footwork & balance. The only thing he lacked was power, but that didn't matter as he was still bothering Toney with his work-rate. Toney made a mini-comeback in Round 6 (along with the unnecessary point deduction), but nothing truly ground-breaking to turn things around drastically (which is what he needed).

After 12 rounds, Tiberi raised his hands & was lifted up by his corner - rightfully believing they had won the bout. Unfortunately, they were met with disappointment of two of the judges (who were later exposed as not being licensed) that ruled the fight in favour of Toney in a clear cut robbery. During the post-fight interview, Toney was in denial after the fight saying he believed he won. Tiberi was visibly upset & disappointed said he believed he won & did everything he could to win. In what could have been one of the greatest Cinderalla stories in boxing history, only turned out to be another miserable tale of corrupt robbery that has stained boxing for far too long.

 

He might’ve lost to Tiberi but it’s remarkable that expert posters here think he’d beat Foreman he was an incredible fighter in the wrong weight division.