Lowblow from the ESB forum was also there. We must have been about the only two Toney fans in the entire arena which was not sold out (about 2/3 of the arena was filled with Russians). Toney did not look good. His punches were slow, not crisp, his output low. Even for his standards, Toney was way too stationary . After the second round,we knew Toney was in for a very tough night. But I must say that it was clear from ringside that Toney did NOT take a beating in this fight unlike some of the fighters on the udnercard who just took a lot of flush hard shots. After rewatching the fight on youtube, it seems quite obvious that Toney injured his left knee. That explains why he always put all of his weight on the right foot.I just know that without this injury, Toney would have been a lot more competitive (he may not have won though). Now, Toney should keep his weight down and fight about two more times as a cruiserweight before taking another title shot.
Yeah in the second round you could see he did something to his knee. Sadly you could also see how the fight was going to progress, no footwork due to his knee. A pawing jab followed by a shoulder roll and a counter right cross that never landed as it was slow and off balance. Either he got old or his knee was giving him that much trouble it affected his game plan. Props to you Blade for getting out to the fight!:good
After watching the fight second time I notest that knee really did bother him. I wonder how much better, that match would have go without injury
I knew it!!!I knew there was a reason he lost!!Lets get that knee in order,James.Then we can finally see Hopkins-Toney!!
:rofl:rofl Toney fans are still delusional even after Lebedev beat the **** out of him, what a surprise :nut
Obviously Toney had problems with his left foot/leg from round two on. I think the long years as a pro finally catch up to James - plus he didn't really care about his body, like a Bernard Hopkins does. Losing about 60lbs in a few months at age 42/43 certainly does not help either.. Toney looked somehat half-decent in the first round, it was the only close round (Lbedev still took it), but that said, I think he would have lost this fight regardless, even without injury. He seemed weight-drained to me, like in the Roy Jones fight, no power, no energy, no speed.. Maybe he would have won a couple rounds, but not the fight. Props to Toney for not quitting though, when he could just have taken the easy way out. He stayed in the fight with a bad knee for 11 rounds against a younger, bigger, stronger opponent. There is no quit in Toney and he is a tough son of a b*tch. Lebedev was not able to take him out. I think Toney should listen to his body now and finally retire. He's an ATG and there's nothing more to prove. He's slurring his speech too (more than ever).
Just get the knee in order and beat up on journeyman for a few years. TOney has earnt the right to do that and earn a bit of money