Toney Defeats McCallum Again, Keeps Title : Boxing: He wins by majority decision, then announces he will move up in weight class.

RENO — James Toney scored a majority decision victory over Mike McCallum before 3,653 at the Reno/Sparks Convention Center on Saturday night and retained his International Boxing Federation middleweight championship.

The rematch between the two seemed to lack the intensity of their first match, last December in Atlantic City, N.J. That one ended in a draw.

One judge Saturday night called it 114-114, but two others had Toney a clear winner, 118-110 and 117-110. The Times card had Toney winning, 116-111.

Toney (32-0-2) seemed to win the early rounds, but McCallum (43-2-1) carried some late rounds with his body punching.

Toney, who earned $700,000, said afterward that the match was his last as a middleweight. Citing continuing difficulty making 160 pounds, he said he now wants to move up to super-middleweight--168--and fight Iran Barkley.

Said McCallum, who suffered his first loss since a 1988 decision loss to Sumbu Kalambay: “I’m so disappointed. . . . It’s one thing to fight your best and lose fairly. But who can say I (lopsidedly) lost that fight? That’s ridiculous. He’s a good fighter, but I thought I won.”

Why did this bout lack the excitement of December’s?

“He was stepping away from my power, and that slowed the fight down,” Toney said. “And I was in much better shape this time--I picked off most of his shots and he held on for most of the bout.”

Toney is 6-0 in middleweight title bouts since he knocked out Michael Nunn in May of 1991.

Over the first three rounds, McCallum spent much of his time prowling about, waiting to counter over Toney’s jabs. Trouble was, many of Toney’s jabs were landing solidly, preventing McCallum from getting off clean counters.

Toney rocked McCallum with a half-hook, half-jab as the bell ended the second round. The first solid shot to land in the fight was a long right by Toney, 20 seconds into the third.

McCallum escaped serious harm from that punch and all others that would follow. Toney, too, was never seriously hurt, despite absorbing solid blows. There were no knockdowns.

McCallum lost a point during the eighth for what referee Joe Cortez indicated was a “behind the back” blow, but other ringsiders saw it as a low blow.

The only round that resembled the first fight was the fourth, when both scored with solid punches. McCallum started one exchange during the fourth with a solid right to Toney’s ribs, but Toney finished it off with a right to McCallum’s head. A left-right by McCallum near the end seemed to win the round for him, his first.

But Toney, 24, seemed to be in command in rounds five through seven, scoring most often at close range with left hooks to the head or straight rights. His quick, powerful jab was effective in nearly every round.

McCallum, 35, got busy and worked hard to Toney’s body in rounds eight through eleven. All three judges gave McCallum the 12th.

During the other title bout on the card, for the International Boxing Federation lightweight championship vacated by Pernell Whitaker, there was an accidental head butt late in the second round and Fred Pendleton came out of it with a cut slicing through his right eyebrow. Ringside physician James McLennan immediately ordered the bout stopped.

Because Pendleton and Tracy Spann they did not complete six rounds, it was ruled a technical draw.