Rahman, Toney fight to a draw

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., March 19 (UPI) -- Hasim Rahman retained his WBC heavyweight belt Saturday night after a majority draw in his bout against James Toney in Atlantic City, N.J. Rahman (41-5-2) was named WBC champion in November after the sudden retirement of Vitali Klitschko because of injury. He suffered a cut above his left eye after a head butt. In the middle rounds, Rahman used using his jab to keep Toney at bay. After becoming un-balanced in the eighth round, Toney (69-4-3) recovered and used his own jab to influence the fight's judges. The scoring indicates his strategy worked. Judge John Stewart scored the 12-round fight in favor of Rahman, 117-111, but Tom Kaczmarek and Nobuaki Uratani each had a score of 114-114. Toney, whose professional career began in 1988, failed in his attempt to win in a third weight class. He has held recognized world championships at 160, 168 and 190 pounds.