if james toney is a blown up middleweight......

Blown up? I mean Bernard is definately a big middleweight. And at lt heavyweight should be considered smaller than average

Roy Jones at Heavy was a blown up light middle

 

Toney wasnt a big puncher at middleweight so yes, hes a blown up middleweight. The fact that he can fight guys like Sam peter and take their best shot tells you how amazing he is. Toney doesnt get the respect he deserves, because of his big mouth and lack of condition. If he had as much drive to keep his weight in check as he did to compete and fight, he would be one hell of a cruiserweight or heavyweight. When he fought Holyfield he was in pefect shape for him.

 

yeah lefthook you are right about toney. i still think the super heavies like wladimir are simply in another size catagory altogether and therefore too much for toney at any weight.

but if toney had truly trained hard and was around 210, all muscle and stamina, he would have given any average sized heavyweight hell and won most of the time. plus, he would have dominated cruiserweight more than holyfield did.

and this is coming from someone who doesn't like toney simply because the trashtalk has gotten too much. if it wasn't for the trashtalk i'd be a huge fan of his

:good but yes, ATG talent, but with the recent scandals and lack of desire to make weight in the past and be in good condiition for the heavyweight division means i dont consider him highly ranked in the ATG. hall of famer for sure but that's about it. shame really cause he is definately amazing in the ring

 

Toney's problems at heavyweight were laid in cement long before he even moved to the division.

You cannot be that small as a heavy while being so defensive with zero footwork. Alot of heavyweights could beat Toney by just implementing half the gameplan Sam Peter implemented in the rematch.

Chris Byrd fared so well as a heavy not because he's bigger than JT but because he invested alot in footwork early on. His footwork was very underrated and disappeared by the time he turned 35.

 

A big middleweight can still fight effectively at LHW, it is still within 15 lbs. Toney, Jones and Hopkins are all not considered blown up MW if they fight within LHW.

But Toney blown up MW fighting at HW. So is Jones.

 

Hopkins and Jones are much more comfortable and natural at light heavyweight than Toney is at heavyweight.

 

James Toney was never a natural middleweight, he had to fight to make weight. It is most likely that he is a natural lightheavy. The fact that he can compete with heavyweights despite his advanced age has more to do with the ineptitude of the current crop of heavies than anything else. Does anybody believe that a young George Foreman, Joe Louis or Jack Dempsey would go 24 rounds against Toney as did Sam Peter?

 

Toney might be a blown up middle, but his ability to roll with punches has kept him out of trouble when fighting heavies. If you listen too him talk he really believes he could beat anyone the heavywieght division, he has already beat top guys like Ruiz and Holyfield while giving Peter all he can handle in there first fight. Toney is a throwback to the old boxers of yester year, his record and accomplishments speak for themselves.

 

The difference is that Toney natural weight was much more. Even when he was a teenager he was with extra fat, the guy is big.

 

James Toney was a 205 pound quarterback in highschool, so he like Tyson was naturally bigger than most people for his hieght which is around 5'9

 

Maybe Im the only one who does this...but I always tend to consider a fighter at the weight in which they were most dominant/impressive/accomplished.

That would put Hopkins a MW. Jones a LHW. Toney a LHW/CW (tho you could say MW).

Its the same question you could pose thoughout the years...was Hearns a MW or a WW? Was Whitaker a LW or a WW or a MW?

Its all in your perception of the fighter I guess you could say.

 

All three are blown up middleweights, although some are larger men than others -fullstop-

 

Blown up? Bernard? He used hard work to go up in weight, Roy used hard work to go up in weight, Toney just ate himself into weight class after weight class, not that respectable.

 

You can blow up using many methods, mate. Some hard, others....

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