The James Toney vs. Hasim Rahman title bout was everything the boxing world has come to expect. A draw was only another trash bag in the dumpster we call the Heavyweight Division.

James Toney showed that he truly has no respect for the sport by coming in at a career-high 237 pounds the night of his biggest fight. Toney might be able to catch Butterbean by the end of the year at the pace he is on. Hasim came to the weigh-in looking like he was in the best shape of his career, but as usual his plodding style made for a boring fight. I am not trying to say this was the worst performance of either fighter's career, but it was close.

Toney is especially disappointing and his trainer Freddie Roach must take the blame for his grotesque figure. James looked like he belonged in a Sumo wrestling match, not a fight for the Heavyweight championship of the world. The two men seemed willing to engage, but both were too sloppy to land anything other than an occasional shot.

HBO should have put this fight on an undercard to something at least a little tantalizing because just Rahman vs. Toney without any pre-fights is a waste of a Saturday night. I was equally disappointed with HBO's showing on Sunday, the second episode of long awaited The Sopranos season six. The fight took place mostly in Tony Soprano's dream world, which I can fully understand as I went into the same mode watching the two helpless heavyweights flail away at each other.

I figured that The Sopranos could make up for it, but creator David Chase really dropped the ball, even in comparison with Bob Arum's ugly display of a sporting event. Although the fight was declared a draw, Rahman seemed to outwork Toney and win the fight by three or four rounds in my eyes. Toney was able to land the sharper, prettier shots but mostly he literally laid on the ropes.

Edison Miranda (25-0, 22 KOs) takes on Brit Howard Eastman (40-3, 34 KOs) this Friday on ESPN2 in an IBF Middleweight eliminator. Miranda has shown the potential makings of a star and Eastman always comes to fight. This may be the most entertaining card ESPN2 has had all year, if not, it is definitely the most important. The winner will not only receive a title shot, but have a legitimate shot at winning. Eastman is coming off of two Unanimous Decision losses but those were to undefeated Arthur Abraham and legend Bernard Hopkins, so those obviously must be discounted. The Bigfoot looking Brit will be fighting for his status as a contender, if not to regain respect.

April 1 WBO Heavyweight champion Lamon Brewster (33-2, 29 KOs) defends against Russian Sergui Lyakhovich (22-1, 14 KOs). Brewster probably is the best Heavyweight currently, but Lyakhovich definitely is a legitimate opponent. He has a couple of decent wins as of late and his style is very reminiscent of ex-Cruiserweight champion Vassily Jirov. He is rugged and comes forward which should make for an action packed fight. Brewster does have that touch of vulnerability all the current Heavies have, so this might be able to make up for the boredom of Toney and Rahman last weekend. Our team at Doc's will be giving away a free pick for this fight and as soon as odds are posted we will analyze the best proposition bet as well.

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