Thursday, Jan. 23, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
The IRS got its share right off the top.
Next in line was James Toney's manager, Stan Hoffman.
What little was left all but went to the fighter.
Presto, $400,000 -- or was it $600,000? -- was gone without Toney's trainer, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, getting the $40,000 -- or was it $60,000? -- he was promised for the Las Vegan's Dec. 6 fight with Montell Griffin in Reno.
Mustafa, unable to obtain any satisfaction, has since split from Toney and said he'll file suit against Hoffman to get what's coming to him. Mustafa has received only $5,000 of what was promised.
"Hoffman flew to Las Vegas, guaranteed me 10 percent of the purse and we shook hands," Mustafa said. "But when it came time to get paid, he said it was already gone.
"I don't know if he thinks I'm stupid or if he's questioning my intelligence, but I'm mad about this. We're going to court."
Hoffman, reached at his New York home, admitted he owes Mustafa money but said none would be immediately forthcoming.
"Eddie's upset and rightfully so," Hoffman said. "Everybody's upset. It may sound like a conspiracy but it's not; I'm hoping we can pay him back a little bit at a time."
According to papers filed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Toney's purse for the fight with Griffin was $400,000. Less certain is training expense money that was advanced to the fighter by his promoter, Top Rank Boxing. Mustafa indicated it may have been as much as $200,000, while Hoffman -- without saying precisely what the dollar amount was -- said it was less.
As trainer, Mustafa was entitled to 10 percent.
Immediately following the fight, which Toney lost, the Internal Revenue Service took $200,000 to cover back taxes the fighter owed the government. Hoffman and Toney then took theirs, leaving Toney's mother to write a check for $5,000 to Mustafa.
"They gave me a job and I did that job," Mustafa said. "Stan's a liar if he says he doesn't owe me $60,000. He's being dishonest and he's going to pay for it."
Although Toney has a Feb. 22 fight in Connecticut with another Las Vegan, Mike McCallum, Mustafa won't be in his corner.
"I couldn't train him, I wouldn't do it," he said. "He called me and asked me to do it, but he's in his own element now. Actually, he could probably care less."
Although Toney fights at 175 pounds, Mustafa said they opened camp for the Griffin fight with Toney at an incredible 232.
"To say he was 'huge' wouldn't even begin to describe it," Mustafa said. "The only thing I could do was try and get that weight off him.
"We had no strategy for the fight because the only strategy in camp was to get the weight off."
Toney fell to 53-3-2 when he lost by decision for the second time to Griffin.
For the fight with McCallum, Hoffman said Toney's purse would be $75,000.
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