Shadow Boxing

It was the beginning of a busy lunch hour in Sherman Oaks. The intersection of Ventura and Sepulveda boulevards was bustling with well-dressed executives, sweaty parking attendants and the next challenger for the World Boxing Council heavyweight title.

James Toney wore a sleeveless wetsuit as he sparred in a hastily built ring outside a trendy Italian restaurant.

It was 10 days before his scheduled 12-round bout against world champion Hasim Rahman -- set for tonight at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Yet only a few dozen people bothered to stop and watch the Calabasas resident throw punches in the breezy shadows of the high-rise office buildings.

The sparse crowd was emblematic of today’s heavyweight division.

The glory days of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and Larry Holmes were replaced by the popular but tumultuous reign of Mike Tyson.

He was followed by a string of champions who struggled to fend off a Foreman comeback. Foreman, who stunned the boxing world in 1987 by coming out of retirement, eventually regained the title at age 45.

Toney and Rahman aren’t without struggles.

Toney, 37, tested positive for anabolic steroids after defeating John Ruiz for the World Boxing Assn. heavyweight title last April in New York. The result was changed to a “no decision,” and Toney was suspended for three months, fined $10,000 and forced to return the belt.

Toney and his handlers did not appeal. But they have maintained that the steroids were in medication prescribed for Toney’s injured arm, and because he fought Ruiz on short notice, the drugs were still in his system.

“It was something that was very innocent,” said Dan Goossen, a Sherman Oaks-based promoter who represents Toney.

Nevertheless, Toney (69-4-2, 43 knockouts) has the opportunity to become the oldest first-time heavyweight champion if he can beat Rahman (41-5-1, 33). Both sides hope the bout will give the heavyweight division a shot in the arm, particularly since it will be available during a free preview weekend on HBO.

Goossen and Bob Arum, who represents Rahman, said the fight is expected to have the largest available audience for a title bout since 1974, when Ali knocked out Foreman.

“Even though we could have made more money by doing it on pay-per-view, we took the tack of putting it on HBO,” said Arum, who promoted his first fight in 1966. “Particularly, to get this 4- or 5-million-home audience.”

He added: “If my guy wins, he’s now established himself as marquee before a huge audience. It’s akin to when the big fights were on network television for free, and that’s how the big stars were made.”

Rahman, 33, is a two-time heavyweight champion, having won the WBC interim title in August with a 12-round unanimous decision over Monte Barrett.

But it hasn’t gone perfectly.

He was originally set to fight former world champion Vitali Klitschko last April, but injuries to Klitschko twice delayed the match. The WBC then authorized the Rahman-Barrett bout and Klitschko would face the winner in November.

But by October, Rahman had filed for bankruptcy. Then Klitschko again was injured and the title match was canceled, costing Rahman a $4.2-million payday.

Klitschko subsequently retired, and Rahman will defend his title against Toney, who is ranked the WBC’s No. 1 heavyweight challenger.

Neither wasted any time trading verbal punches last week.

“I’m trying to expose James for the fraud he is,” Rahman said during a teleconference call from his training facilities in Rochester, N.Y. “He can talk, but he can’t back it up.”

Toney, who defeated former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield via a nine-round technical knockout in October 2003, is not lacking confidence.

“I’m ready to let everybody know I’m the top dog in the division,” said Toney, who has never been knocked out in his pro career.

But issues trail him. Steroid use is one of those.

Toney tested positive last spring for Nandrolone, one of the most powerful steroids on the market. But at last week’s public sparring session, Goossen said one look should show Toney isn’t a steroid abuser, pointing to the boxer’s less-than-sculpted physique.

“He’s a poor example if he’s supposed to be the poster boy for steroids,” Goossen said.

Maintaining enough weight has been another issue. At that same sparring session, Toney looked lighter than the listed 250 pounds.

When asked, he was quick to bob and weave: “It doesn’t matter if I come in at 250 pounds or 210 pounds. I can flat-out fight, period.”

On Friday, the issue was moot. He weighed in at 237, Rahman at 238.

Whether tonight’s fight renews interest in the heavyweight division is yet to be seen, but Arum knows the recipe ingredients for a good start.

“As long as it’s competitive,” Arum said, “that there are a lot of punches, that there a lot of punches with bad intentions, the public will be interested.”