Dave was, without a doubt, a world-class fighter, but when he fought for the middle-weight title against James Toney, a guy who was nearly invincible, no one gave him much of a chance. Dave, I can tell you with absolute certainty, trained like a mad man, because I trained with the same trainer, Mike Ashley. I know Dave was so ready for Toney. Toney was the best in the world at the time, in any weight class, but Dave came in and blew Toney away. If Toney won two rounds, it was a gift, in my opinion. Obviously, the judges did not see it that way. To this day, it was the worst decision I’ve ever seen. A lot of people thought Dave would fight a rematch, make a bazillion dollars and be set for life, regardless of the outcome. But Dave wouldn’t do that. He stood by his principles and said, “I’m going to fight this in court and through the Senate.” He would have given Toney one hell of a fight. I give him an amazing amount of credit for trying to clean up a sport he believed in. It says volumes about his character. Now he runs TNT Productions, and we serve on the board of the Elsmere Boxing Club together. I can tell you, Dave does a lot for kids. It’s been his life’s work. Dave Tiberi is all about everyone else.
Dave Tiberi, pro boxing star
