James Toney 2 sport world Champion!!

Toney must have a bit of a chance, the odds for him aren't that large. If Couture was boxing with Toney he'd be 100/1.

He might only need to crack him with one good shot on the way in with those gloves. I know this guy must have good skills to get past that and take him down but still. One shot...could be all it needs

 

It will be all he needs IMO, however, the chances of Couture not using his superior wrestling experience to negate Toney hitting him is slim to none: there's a reason MMA 'boxers' do not utilise the same movements as our boys, and that's because there's so much else to defend against.

Les not forget though that Toney has been training for this; who knows what he has learned? Might just be enough to heat a veteran like Couture.

There are some weird occurences in MMA. For instance, Ray Mercer stopped former UFC Heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia in the first round, yet lost in the same round to KIMBO SLICE

This is why this is a super interesting fight, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Since it was firt mooted, I've braced myself for the result: Couture W1.

 

I saw both the Mercer fights Flea and he beat Sylvia because Sylvia thinks he's a good striker (which he is to MMA standards) and thought he could stand up with Mercer. He got flattened in double quick time, Slice took Mercer down quickly and beat Mercer pretty easily.

IMHO as long as the MMA guy isn't stupid and takes it to the ground or against the fence ASAP then I'd fancy him to win against a boxer in most cases.

 

True. Sylvia tried the same thing with Fedor and got annihilated.

Kimbo did take Mercer down but is hardly a skilled MMA fighter. I do think that Couture, a great one will employ exactly the same tactics rather than try and out-do Toney, which as you rightly pointed out, Sylvia tried to do with Mercer.

 

James Toney does have some background in wrestling doesn't he? Not remotely suggesting he'll compete on that level but he's better prepared than Mercer and is a class above Mercer as a boxer.

I can see that guy coming in low and taking Toney down though. Toney is probably used to having time to think in heavyweights.

 

He's not far off Couture in size either, Couture has either been a light heavy (just over our Cruiser limit) or a relatively small Heavy (in accordance with the 265 limit anyway) and Toney is fast enough, and with his punchig technique coupled with MMA gloves, more than capable of finishing the job quickly.

I just doubt he has the required mix to compete. He'll be better prepared than Mercer no doubt, but anyone who has seen Matthew Saad Muhammad taken down and choked out within ten or so seconds can only have bad thoughts about the match-up Tobey is a bad ass and natural fighter, can't see him being intimidated, likely thing is it'll be over before he's had a chance to think about it.

 

Yep, but the point was that the Mercers chances in those fights were entirely dependant on what the MMA guy decided to do. If the MMA is stupid and stands up he has a great chance, if it goes to the ground he's ****ed.

If he's not allowed to be a boxer during the fight then it doesn't matter how good Toney is. I'm not sure about Toneys wrestling but I think he has High School experience where I think Coulture made the USA Olympic team (or was an alternate). Its like asking some ABA novice entrant to box pro world champ.

 

You wait. Toney is going to suplex that fool to the mat and choke him. Then when he really gets mad he'll grab the steel chair :fire

 

I believe Couture was injured when training for the Olympics.

 

It's kinda mad Toney is only 9/2 against a good MMA fighter

Imagine if one of their 'decent' heavyweights with good stand up skills comes to box. Keeping in mind Toney is noway near his best or the best in his division. Klitschko or David Haye vs one of their guys in a boxing match...they wouldn't even be worth pricing up

 

I will say that some MMA fighters are affiliated with Pro Wrestling because the previous way of thinking was that there wasn't a lot if money to be made from 'shoot fights', and Vince McMahon prefers his wrestlers to have legitimate fighting backgrounds, hence easy money for the likes of Ken Shamrock and Lesnar (college wrestling standout) and the likes of Severn having 'competed' in the WWF. Ogawa is a good example of a Japanese fighter mixing in pro wrestling.

 

I guess Couture isnt the best anymore. But the point remains. If the same calibre of fighters do this in boxing it doesn't even have a price worth punting on the MMA guy. Da Silva got sparked by a bum and he's supposed to have good hands

Just shows that thing is a glorified street fight, there are a lot of ways you can win. Boxing is more of an artform that takes years upon years of specialized work.

 

Let's take Lesnar as an example. He was fairly tentative early against Carwin, and got twatted shooting for a takedown and nearly ended up getting sparked. His stand-up game ain't great.

So, let's say he's as wary of Hayes 'striking' as he is Carwins. Stands up too long and gets sparked, right?

Possibly.

Or, knowing Haye hasn't got the wrestling ability of Carwin, goes straight for the take down ends it quickly.

Of course, there's the chance Haye just catches him coming in as Carwin did and due to his superior punching technique tales him out. But I doubt there's any boxer i'd give more than a slim chance of getting that chance, and certainly nt one I'd consider backing at the odds Toney is getting.

 

No argument, my only points are on a boxers chances in a MMA fight.

I'm not getting into that!

 

To a degree. But what of those that employ several disciplines well, and what if the fact you've got to prepare for so many different styles?

Anderson Silva clearly loses a huge amour of his stand-up game when you tale his kicks away from him. Doesn't make him a lesser fighter. I think t just cements the fact they're such different sports.

For me, there is a huge amount of skill involved for both sports. You take certain things away from some people and they can't compete, it takes a boxers mindset to apply the techniques they are able to employ.

I'm stoned as **** and rambling: in short, both sports require maximum concentration, which is why you've got to respect both. The whole 'Boxing Vs MMA' rivalry would be null and void if fans didn't try and compare the two. It's like saying 'what's better: golf or cycling'?