James Toney verses Sam Peter is going to be an interesting bout to witness. First off the question on everyone's mind is how much is James Toney going to weigh? And what kind of shape is James Toney going to be in? Is he going to enter the ring looking like the Michelin Man? Or is he going to step into the ring looking like a top contender instead of a hot dog eating champion?

The weight issue with Toney is just one aspect of this fight. Anyone who has followed boxing in the last 15 years knows about James Toney and knows he can fight. The general boxing public knows that Toney is one of the most capable guys of winning a heavyweight title and yet he hasn't won a Heavyweight Championship.

Many experts speculate that his draw with Rahman last year was due to his conditioning; had Toney been in better shape he'd be a title holder at Heavyweight, but as the fight progressed with Rahman, Toney slowed down and was looking like his weight was zapping his mojo. From recent press conferences James Toney has had nothing but contempt for the sporting press, where as he has been subjected to everyone questioning his training and condition for his upcoming bout against Peter.

Every reporter and interviewer has been asking Toney about his weight and it has come to the point that Toney won't even discuss it at all. Since everyone is asking, I think that everyone has a level of concern about his weight and how it will affect him in this fight, Sam Peter isn't the nicest guy inside the ring.

Peter comes to knock your head off your shoulders and kick it, if he could. He has massive natural knockout powers. The guy has furious raw knockout energy, and tries to use it every minute of every round. Peter isn't the prettiest fighter in the world to watch, with his bully type tactics and his bull rushes. The factor that I see with Peter fighting Toney is that he is going to have a hard time landing a real clean shot on the wily veteran. Toney is known for his defensive skills and ring generalship; it's like the rookie stepping in with the master. As far as skill level is concerned, Toney has got Peter beat by a landslide, but in the power category it's the opposite.

Toney is going to have to be in great shape to keep up with Peter's constant pressure. Samuel has never once moved backwards in a fight, even when he got caught by Wlad Klitschko's left hook. He regained control of himself real fast and still was pressing the action. Toney and Peter might be weighing the same come fight time but Peter is naturally a heavyweight whereas Toney is as big as he is due to very poor eating habits and lack of any kind of weight management.

Peter's strategy will be to push Toney around the ring just by laying on him and walking forward. This kind of fight tactic plays into Toney's game because he is pure boxer and a great counter puncher. If Peter is going to come in without a jab he is going to give him everything he needs to rip shots on him all night long. When Peter comes in with a big looping punch James is going to see it coming and take evasive action.

This match-up is just a battle through and through. Toney needs to win to be considered serious in the heavyweight division and Peter needs to win to be considered a contender instead of a hyped marketing machine. I think if Toney comes to fight in good solid fighting shape he will school Sam Peter with a boxing lesson, but if James Toney comes in sluggish and overweight he's flirting with getting stopped for the first time in his career.