I got James Toney DVD recently and I must say hes become one of my favorites. I've been watching his fights non stop and I feel watching him has improved myself as a boxer. What a technician and his calmness and demeaner in the ring are unlike any others. I knew before hand that he was a great middleweight and super middleweight but was really impressed with his work at cruiserweight and even heavyweight. As a cruiserweight personally I think he was as good as any and early on as a heavyweight he looked to be the real deal. I thought he looked very good in the fight against Holyfield. Now I know Holyfield was way passed his prime and I've viewed his whole career as well so believe me I don't need to be lectured on the fact that Toney destroyed and shell of a prime Holyfield but honestly I feel in that fight Holyfield looked a lot better in the early going then he had in years and Toney completely took the play away from him. In that fight Toney was around 220 I believe and that was the best he looked as a heavyweight but I thought he still looked very good all the way up to his fight with Rahman where his gradual weight gain finally seemed to take its toll and you looked rather sluggish though I still thought he won that fight. It was clear in his second fight with Peter that he had finally slowed down enough to no longer be a contender as a heavyweight but when he first started campaigning as a heavyweight i feel he was amongst the best in the world and he proved that by capturing the world title winning a one sided bout over John Ruiz which is remarkable for a guy who was at his best at 160-168. I would like to here some of you're opinions on James Toney as a heavyweight and I would also like to here how you guys think he'd fair (at his best as a HW)against the following opponents. Vs David Haye vs Michael Moorer vs David Tua vs Old George Foreman
I think he beat Sam peter in the first match, but rightfully lost in the second. He was decent at heavyweight but was apparently using roids and not exactly taking on the best opposition, plus was past prime.. At middle and super middle however I agree that he was an excellent fighter in his prime. I grew up watching him as a kid. Saw his early fights with guys like Ron Andmunson, Sanderline Williams and a few others. Enjoyed the McCallum trilogy, though I think the body snatcher was entitled to one of those decisions. Great all around fighter, with good durability, power, boxing acumen, and defense. his manager was a good looking women too.
Had Toney fought Holyfield at cruiser or LHW, he'd have beaten him any way. Holyfield liked to throw punches and Toney liked to counter guys that liked to punch. Evander may have been 40, but Toney was 35 and a fat freaking middleweight. He handled Holyfield easy then and it would always have been that way.
They were both old but Holyfield was coming off severe shoulder surgery that he never seemed to come back from, his jab disappeared after that.
His jab first disappeared after he had a "heart attack" vs Moorer. He wasn't able to hit Toney because Toney is elusive. Holyfield said as much in the ring after the fight.
I think as long as Toney watched out for Tuas left hook, he had enough in him to win on decision, or at least last the distance. Toney would school old foreman, god this fight would stink. It would consist of Foreman 'running' around chasing the elusive Toney, who lands just enough punches (barely) to win the fight on the scorecards Haye would be very dangerous, because he has concussive power and very fast hands, no the sort of guy you want to stand in front of and try and counter. However, what happens if/when Haye gases later in the fight? As for Moorer, im unsure, Moorer had very good skill and Toney wasnt such a big puncher. Toney may sneak this purely on sneaky flash KDs that he may score against Moorer. There defo would be a rematch between these though.
After Toney got beaten to a pulp against Sam Peter in their 2nd fight , and got a gift draw against Oquendo you could have stick a fork in him.. Is this guy still active? Last time I heard him talking he sounded sick...
Yep he's still active had four fights last year, is on the road to 100 fights , he beat Oquendo by SD Follow him @realjamestoney on twitter and instagram
Toney was a surprisingly good HW early on. He defeated Holyfield rather handily and Ruiz almost as easily when they were both considered still top 10 heavies. Ruiz held a bElt at the time. However he did test positive for stanozolol after the Ruiz bout. The two peter matches were grueling for him. He was beaten up good in the second fight after go one another good performance in first fight that could of gone his way but was not a robbery. After that it was downhill. I think he would of fared well against the heavies you mentioned and been competitive. Haye's fast feet may have been trouble for him as haye could stand out of range and leap in with pot shots. Forman's jab and size may have nullified him too but he could certaintly have beaten Moorer and being that he has never been truly hurt or stopped I would give him chance of counter punching a decision from tua
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhHhn-bu8i0 Funny video , Toney's face at the end when he's looking at the guy who bleached his skin
