James Toney may face Devin Vargas (18-1) or Sherman Williams (34-11-2) in his next bout. Toney made clear that he wants to stay busier this year. Regarding his extremely poor performance last night, one has to take into account that Toney took the fight on 4 weeks notice and was not training boxing properly for the last 18 months. He also has boxed just 14 rounds in the last 2 years. Staying busy and stepping up gradually the opponent level may eventually lead to a big fight this year. This is the route to take, and staying away from this MMA stuff of course. I don't excuse his poor showing last night but I don't count out the fatman yet.
don't count out the fatman yet.[/quote Agree, this is Toney's Year! People gonna give him a hard time over his weight but he still has potential with a weak division .
I'm sure Toney looked bad last night (I haven't seen it yet), but I mean, he did win 100-90 on all 3 cards, against a guy who had something of a pulse. I'm pretty sure we've seen worse, from a inactive 41yo that went on to have one last great fight in him. Hopefully, he will stay busy, go for a title shot if he can, and when/if he loses again, maybe(I hope) that will help him accept that it's time to retire. As long as Toney is in the ring, I will root for him personally. Not saying I want him in the ring anymore, just that I'll root for him.
He should beat Vargas unless Vargas is hugely improved from jhis no mas ear shot against Kevin Johnson. He may beat Sherman Williams if he shows up in shape. That one is not a give me for Toney at this stage in his career.
The stationary and slow Williams should be an easy style matchup for the counterpunching Toney though. The former Olympian Vargas is relatively young and has a decent record. Toney needs to take him more serious.
I may be wrong but I don't think that Toney will have a busy schedule this year. James hasn't been busy for years now and Thursday's fight certainly didn't improve his chances for future paydays. A busy schedule would also force Toney to remain in training in between fights but I lost faith in seeing Toney in decent shape again... Let's wait and see...
