James "lights Out" Toney

Anyone who knows even a little about boxing has to respect the skills Toney has/had......He was and is one of my all time favorites

 

I love watching Toney fight and his press conferences

 

ruined it all on steroids, piece of crap cheater like bonds and all the rest that put a black eye on their respected sport

 

Great post, Ice, I agree completely. But, I will say, why aren't more trainers teaching the old techniques? Staying in the pocket, rolling the shoulder, countering, the way Bill Miller taught Toney. You hardly ever see guys do that anymore.

Is it just that old school trainers have died off without passing on the knowledge? Maybe Bill Miller has gone the way of the music of Charlie Parker that he loved, genius stuff, but nobody even tries to play jazz like that anymore.

 

I'd like to see him in his prime, what fight would you recommend? like his 5 best fights? Thank you

 

Toney vs. Michael Nunn

 

He's definitely great, though I could be considered a "hater" when it comes to Toney but I'm always the first to tune-in when he fights. The man is entertaining with serious skills, no one can deny that.

 

Best Damn Boxer.any Of Y'all Boxing Fans Have Seen.

 

The Charles Williams fight is underrated. They fought forehead to forehead the entire fight, Toney put on a short-punching infighting clinic, culminated by the improbably sensational knockout.

 

Toney is a true legend IMO, one of my favorite fighters



Never before have i seen a fighter so calm, relax and at home in the ring


He was blessed with a phenomenal chin, decent power, and well educted in old school fighting techniques (ie, the shoulder roll) and is one of the few fighters IMO that truly would have fought any fighter, anywhere and at any time. The man truly seems to love to fight!



Having said that though his own achilles heel was essentially, himself! His failure over the years to keep in decent shape or to show up to a fight in a respectable physical condition has really harmed is accomplishments somewhat.

Personally, I think he did that because he was able to get away with winning for so long. Then of course there was the Roy Jones fight.............Now in retrospect one would have thought Toney would have used this fight as a wake up call to stay in shape rather then cutting weight at the last minute. Sadly, as we all well know, he did not.

And that is unfortunate for his legacy, very unfortunate


But as john scully said, in terms of longevity, accomplishments and resume, he will be first ballot hall of fame.



If Toney had of just stayed in shape IMO, he could have potentially been top 10 P4P of all time. His skills combined with his willingness to fight all comers and natural physical gifts can and did make him a force to be reckon with.



A great career, but honestly, a bit of a waste too









Sage

 

Very good post Ice. Toney is an underappreciated great, because people look at his sometimes abysmal conditioning in his later career and overlook his amazing abilities. Toney is certainly one of the best P4P I've seen since I started following the sport 30 years ago.