Toney deserves credit for fighting with injured knee

Toney's injury was legitimate imo. You could visibly see he had a problem with it. Hopkins wasn't imo.

I remarked to my girlfriend in the very first round how Toney's balance didn't look right, that he was throwing punches from out of range, which was very unlike Toney.

 

Toney is not a perfect man. He has made mistakes in his life and in his career. But he is a true fighter. That we can say.

 

Mad respect for not quiting.

He is a true old school warrior.

 

All I hear is how old he is. No reflexes, No stamina, still fat (even he lost 60 pounds). I think those comments made people who didn't even watch that fight, or at least didn't pay attention how bad that knee injury was. after second it was one legged Toney fighting.

 

When hasn't "lights out" made an excuse after losing ?

 

Toney is a tough, tough warrior. There is no quit in him. He could have taken the easy way out, but he rather took his beating like a man.

That said, I think it's now time for Toney to retire. That injury is a sign that his body can't take it no more... 43 years old, 20+ years of a pro career, 80+ pro fights, many many wars, and he didn't even take care of his body. He's an ATG and bonafide future HOFer and he has nothing left to prove.
I also think he would have lost to Lebedev even if the injury hadn't occured. He would have made it more competitive, but he probably would've lost. Even in that first round, before the injury occured, he looked rusty, weak and weight drained.

 

An injury is an injury. Nobody is competitive while fighting on a single leg. Neither The Blade nor myself, both of us were onsite sitting at ringside, are saying that Toney would have won without the injury.

 

Even as a Hopkins fan, this incident clearly shows the difference in mentality between a fearless ******* like Toney and a more calculating fighter like Bernard. Toney would rather be defiant until the final bell even if he has to absorb punishment, whereas Bernard would not fight on with such an injury. Both great fighters, but James is the more "old school" in my opinion.

 

It's a well documented injury, not an excuse. And Toney didn't make any excuses, no, he apologized to his fans instead for letting them down.
Toney could have quit, citing his bad knee as an excuse, but instead he hung in there and took a beating. How is that making excuses? It's the opposite!

 

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I knew Toney wasn't going to tap out easily when Couture got him in that choke hold, as that is the kind of person Toney is.

Toney might act like a bad ass, and he might say some people are taught to fight, some people are born to fight, referring to himself, but its true. Toney is a true fighter.