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James Toney sheds 58lbs, hunts interim belt tonight in Moscow

Phil D. Jay 
WBN Editor
‘Lights out’ meets Russian Lebedev

Four-weight world champion James ‘Lights Out’ Toney (73-6-3, 44 KO's) has boiled down to cruiserweight for the first time in eight years after he successfully made the 200lb limit for his bout with Russian Denis Lebedev in Moscow tonight.

Toney, 43, last fought in February when dominating heavyweight Damon Reed over ten rounds and weighing in at his heaviest ever weight of 257lbs. The American has been hard in training on and off over the past few months and stepped it up for his eight-week camp to shed a considerable amount to weigh in at 199lbs on the scales last night.

Opponent Lebedev (22-1, 17 KO's), who came in at 197.5lbs, is on the back of a career-best win over an aging Roy Jones Jr. and the 32 year-old is hoping to add another marquee name to his list as he attempts to win a rematch with WBO belt holder Marco Huck.

'Kaptn' Huck took a controversial points decision over the southpaw in December 2010 and could be targeted along with WBA champion Guillermo Jones by the victor for a challenge in 2012.

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