Denis Lebedev claimed the WBA's interim Cruiserweight title with a points win over a washed up James Toney in Moscow.
American barely lands a blow as he suffers embarrassing loss
Russian Denis Lebedev claimed the WBA's interim Cruiserweight title with a unanimous points win over a washed up James Toney in Moscow.
The home favourite dominated from the first bell through to the last to win by a landslide margin on the judges' scorecards at the Khodynka Ice Palace.
Toney - looking every one of his 43 years - never seemed capable of causing an upset on the road. In truth, he barely looked capable of landing a punch.
The American was wobbling around in the second round, though he did appear to suffer a leg injury in the early stages that prevented him from establishing a base to throw leather back.
But, even while he may possibly have been hurt, Toney looked out of condition, ponderous with his punches, at least those that he tried to land, and at times unable to keep his balance when simply moving around the ring.
Heavy lefts
Lebedev did sporadically threaten to cause a stoppage, landing several heavy lefts, the like of which had knocked out Roy Jones Jnr back in May.
His attempts to attack the body led to his beleagured opponent staggering backwards, though the 32-year-old seemed happy enough to go the distance.
Toney rather comically raised his hand at the end of the 12th to claim victory, though he can never in a million years believed he'd done enough.
He was quickly sat back down on a stool to hear the ridiciously obvious verdict, one that still didn't do justice to how one-sided the bout was.
For Toney it is an eighth defeat in an otherwise stellar professional career. The manner of the latest loss, however, suggests it could be time for the former world champion to turn the lights out on his time in the ring.
