Toney, Upset Winner Over Nunn, to Defend Title for First Time

LAS VEGAS —  James Toney will defend his International Boxing Federation middleweight championship for the first time today at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel.

Toney was a 17-1 underdog May 10 when he knocked out champion Michael Nunn in a baseball park at Davenport, Iowa.

Toney’s first defense will be against Reggie Johnson of Long Beach, a Forum regular who spent most of the last 18 months hoping for a fight with Nunn.

Toney, of Ann Arbor, Mich., is 26-0-1. He has one of the sport’s few female managers, Jackie Kallen, one-time publicist for Thomas Hearns.

Johnson fought his way out of Houston’s Fifth Ward neighborhood, which he calls “very poor, worse than Watts, and very, very tough.” Johnson had management troubles after turning professional in Houston in 1984. He moved to Long Beach three years ago and signed with the Carl Dame Boxing Club.

Since then, fighting regularly at the Forum, Johnson has built a 29-1-1 record and is ranked No. 5 by Boxing Illustrated magazine. He has won 22 consecutive bouts since a six-round draw in 1985.