Though Toney came into the fight as the slight favorite, he struggled to get down to the required weight of 168 pounds and, as a result, appeared sluggish throughout the match. Jones dominated nearly the entire fight and won a unanimous decision. Only one official knockdown occurred during the fight, a left hook from Jones which sent Toney stumbling back into a corner. He nearly fell down, though he was able to keep his balance with the help of the ropes and remained on his feet. Nevertheless, referee Richard Steele ruled it a knockdown, and Toney was forced to take a standing eight count. It was only the second time that Toney had been knocked down. In his previous 46 fights, only Reggie Johnson had scored a knockdown over Toney. After the knockdown, Jones would continue to dictate the pace of the fight, constantly using his speed to land combinations and avoid Toney’s offense. When the fight ended and went to the judges’ scorecards, all three had different scores, all with Jones ahead. Jones won the unanimous decision victory with scores of 119–108, 118–109, and 117–110.
James Toney- “I think that Roy had a great career and I’m happy for him. I think that Roy had a great career and he beat James Toney which is the highlight of his career. I wish him the best. My opinion is that I am the only guy that he was truly terrified of. He never gave me a rematch. I do have to apologize to the people because I wasn’t in shape like I should have been. If I was in shape I promise you that nobody would have heard about Roy Jones Jr. again.”