Can we talk about the longest duck in boxing history: Hopkins ducking Toney?

Hopkins is brave in his old age wanting to fight Golovkin and facing Kovalev when Stevenson opted out, but maybe his last fight should be against the man he ducked since 1994, James "Lights Out" Toney.

They have since been slandering and calling out each other in the media but a fight never materialized, but now is the chance.
Hopkins is in need of a final dance partner and Toney is still fighting up in Canada, maybe now they should settle things once and for all.

Pretty much 50/50 (literally) and on an even playing field all they have to do is book it.:think

 

Hopkins would now easily beat toney.

Prime for prime I'd back James.

 

Not a bad call.

Certainly more competitive than a Golovkin fight. No need for grandpa Hopkins to get messed up on his farewell. Two old guys going at it can sometimes make for great bouts :good

 

If JT got in hakf decent fight shape just be able to go strong for 6,7 rounds be wins by dokmnimating fashiong **** 7 to 4 with highly probable srollage adtee 6.

Talent gap is attricuius, and if jr doesnt collaose from exhaustion, it's a high mismatch.


180/185 jt murders goos

 

Toney shouldn't be licensed to fight anymore. He's literally a wreck.

 

I've said many times that the guy who fought Tarver, Dawson, Calzaghe and Kovakev etc, did not exist until 2006.

I have to give Bernard a huge amount of credit for taking those fights, but in my honest opinion, he only took them when he was in a position where he had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Before he lost twice to Taylor and there was nothing left for him at lMW, he wasn't interested in fighting the biggest fights out there at the higher weights.

Just before he fought he Calzaghe in 2008, he said he could have moved to LHW around 6 years earlier had he have wanted to.

He was never going to fight Roy in 2002 or Toney in 2003.


Regarding a fight between him and Toney at this stage, I wouldn't want to see it. I think Toney's more shot than Roy.

 

The fight was never viable when either were middleweights as by the time Hopkins won a title Toney was a light heavyweight and seen as damaged goods.

The one time it almost happened was it Aug 2003 when both were riding high, Toney had just beaten Jirov and was once again for the first time seen as a good fighter and Hopkins was undisputed middleweight champion.

Both signed to fight but Don King scuppered the fight by back tracking on their guaranteed purses. Hopkins was contractually guaranteed $3.5 million and King wanted to cut his purse by a million, so he wanted Hopkins to jump up not 1, not 2 but 3 divisions and face Toney at cruiser for just $2.5 million. Suffice to say Hopkins thought he was being ripped off and under paid.

Fact is Hopkins/Toney had a very small window of opportunity to happen, I wouldn't say either ducked the other.

 

When James was at 168, or 199?

 

Since 94 when were they even in the same division?

You're talking nonsense.

 

Calzaghe, Benn, Watson and Eubank Sr and Jr all pick them both apart.

 

Irrelevant.

 

Hopkins and Toney were supposed to fight a catchweight bout in 2003, around the same time Roy Jones was looking for someone to defend his heavyweight title against that he won from John Ruiz.

Jones began negotiations with Holyfield ... and Toney tried to make a fight with Hopkins ... but Jones and Hopkins wanted too much money and weren't willing to give much to Toney or Holyfield ... so Toney and Holyfield decided to fight each other instead.

It's too bad.

I think Toney probably would've beaten Hopkins at that time, and I think Jones probably could've decisioned Holyfield.

Instead, Jones moved back down to light heavy, which proved disastrous. And Hopkins was left with William Joppy. And we saw what Toney did to Evander.

But I don't want to see any of those old men fight now. Toney is probably in worse shape (physically and neurologically) than all of them. Thirteen years ago, Toney probably could've beaten all of them. But I can't understand a word he says anymore.

 

Did they have to be? Toney had just moved up to SMW and Hopkins was on this quest to keep draining down to 160 to beat up on no hopers until welter weights moved up to save his career (Oscar, Felix).

They could have met at 168 or in between. Hopkins did it for Pavlik when he got old.

 

168

 

This.


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