While James Toney spoke of his IBF cruiser championship win over Vasily Jirov during Saturday’s post fight press conference, WBC cruiser champ Wayne Braithwaite sat quietly, without emotion, as he focused on Toney - like a predator eying his prey.
Last February, the two fighters almost came to blows when Toney showed up during a press conference for Braithwaite’s fight against Ravea Springs in Miami. It was a stark contrast as Toney said nothing to Braithwaite and seemed not to notice him sitting less than 10 feet away. Fightnews spoke to Braithwaite and he stated : “I was being quiet because I do my talking in the ring. I let my hands do all of my talking for me. Toney talked a bunch of b.s. the last time. All he does is talk b.s.! He should get in the ring with me and we’ll see how much b.s. he talks. I’m a silent threat.
I’m going to keep being silent until I get in the ring and take Toney’s head off!” Regarding Toney’s performance against Jirov, the 27 year old Braithwaite adds “I give Toney props.
He did a good job against Vasily. But, Jirov made things easy for Toney because he kept coming straight forward and didn’t move his head. If I were in there with either one of those guys, it would have been an easy night. I would have boxed them and shown off my skills. Neither of them did that. Toney is too slow. He’s an old man now.
“Before the fight, I gave Jirov the edge. Toney is a slick fighter and he proved that he is still ONE of the best cruiser weights in the game. But, he hasn’t fought me. IF Toney beats me, THEN he’ll be the best in the game.”
Braithwaite (19-0; 16 KO’s) begins light training this week as he prepares for his rematch against (#2) Vincenzo Cantatore of Rome, Italy (28-3; 27 KO’s) sometime in June for his (WBC ordered) mandatory title defense - rather than currently ranked #1, O’Neill Bell.
As the venue has yet to be decided, the fight will once again.... be held in Italy.
Last October, Braithwaite finally faced Cantatore (#2) after nearly a years worth of countless postponements (and no money for training expenses).
Originally the fight was to be held in Rome but was changed at the last minute to Como, a small town outside the Italian border and located in the Alps of Switzerland - 3,000 feet above sea level. The fight was held at Campione d’Italia casino, in front of a select (dining) crowd of 500 people and televised on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights.
While Cantatore stayed at the casino, Team Braithwaite was given lodging in a town called Lecco that was 90 miles away from the venue with a round trip travel time of over four hours. Throughout their daily treks to and from the casino (for press conferences, weigh-in, etc.), Braithwaite incurred horrendous traffic and endless problems with border guards.
On fight night, Cantatore chose not to fight and looked to the referee for assistance throughout the duration. The bout was eventually waved off in the 10th round when (southpaw) Braithwaite staggered Cantatore with a right cross to the chin.
Following Braithwaite’s victory, the raucous crowd threw food, glass and tableware at the newly crowned champ. Team Braithwaite had to be escorted from the ring by four hulking guards for protection.
Braithwaite offers “They put me through so much shit in the last fight and now I have to go back to Italy and fight him again?! I’m going to KILL Cantatore this time! In our last fight, I was playing around too much with him. Now that I’m a champ, I’m taking my title defenses very seriously. This time, I have training expense money for a real camp and I’ll be more focused. I’ll finish him early this time. I just hope he doesn’t whine like a little girl - like he did before.
“I don’t know why I have to waste my time fighting Cantatore again. O’Neill Bell is the one that is ranked #1. I should be fighting him next and move on to better things. For them to make Cantatore my mandatory, it’s all bullshit! It’s the politics of boxing. But, I’ll do whatever I have to, to get to Toney.
Braithwaite concluded “I’m ready to fight Toney right now! But first, I have to get rid of Cantatore and then Bell. When they’re gone, that’s when I’ll be concentrating on Toney - and his IBF belt.” (Fightnews)