Where do you rank him all time? Is he higher on ATG lists, or in a H2H sense? SMW isn't a particularly talent heavy division and is pretty new to boot. So just how high can Toney be ranked there? He seemed to have his **** together better at that weight then middle when he was bouncing between the two. Within the span of a few years he had a SD win against Reggie Johnson at MW where he was legitmately decked, and then the extremely controversial fight with Tiberi. And when he was at SMW right before and after those fights he put on a masterclass against Charles William's, put on a even better performance against Barkley, took Littles. Can't praise his SMW showing against Jones, nor rank him above Jones at that weight. So, thoughts?
Toney is HIGHLY overrated IMO. Yeah, the shoulder rolls looked good against crude swingers like Barkley, but he was thoroughly dominated by a relatively green Jones. Toney's always been all excuses. Tiberi, Johnson, Griffin x2, were all close fights that modern ATGs simply should not have, and I don't buy the "weight drained" excuse for the Jones fight. That was a masterclass by Jones, pure and simple. Becoming a fatass 225 in his later thirties does not mean that he was drained at 160-175 in his twenties. Ability-wise, yeah, he's good, but I think his style makes him look a lot better than he really is when he's matched up against certain fighters. Waste of talent. I rank him near Archie Moore in an H2H sense and well below the Mongoose in a legacy/resume sense.
In my opinion, James Toney was weak at 160 pounds in a physical sense.... James Toney only made pit stops at weights 160 thru 175 pounds............ Still, the James Toney that butchered Iran Barkley to pieces at 168 pounds in 1993, was indeed great and capable of holding his own against any other great within that weight range of 160 to 175 pounds from 1887 onward up to 1993....... James Toney was also on top of his game against Charles Williams in the summer of 1994.... After that, James Toney no longer could safely make 168 pounds anymore...... The '94 bout with Roy Jones was a fiasco...... James Toney was very ill prepared, and thus, the fight stunk on PPV..... Peace... MR.BILL
Toney did struggle a lot to make the 160 lb weight class. He still appeared physically stronger at middleweight, his stamina was sometimes questionable. Toney was a bit of a puncher at middleweight. Michael Nunn found that out, and Toney's power was the difference in his fights with McCallum. Toney vs. McCallum I was officially a draw, but Toney was clearly the winner to most everyone else. Toney has some good wins at 160, but not enough to considered great there on his accomplishments. Toney can be argued to be the 3rd best 168 lber ever, behind Jones and Calzaghe. Toney does not have a lot of competition for this spot, as Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, and Chong-Pal Park are probably his biggest rivals. Leonard and Hearns are there pretty much on reputation, and Park was the first champion at 168 with a string of defenses. Toney has some good wins at super middle over Barkley, Thornton, Littles, and Williams. Barkley had recently defeated Van Horn for the super middleweight title, then Hearns for the light heavyweight strap. Hearns was coming of an impressive win over Virgil Hill. Thornton and Littles were decent contenders. Williams was a former 175 lb champion moving down in weight. Jones was his best at 168. His speed, accuracy, and timing are one of a kind. Toney's biggest techical flaw is wanting to be heavy on his feet. He doesn't like to run, and doesn't like to chase. Jones was a stylistic nightmare for Toney. Toney needed to pressure Jones in order to win, and that really isn't his game.
Toney at 168 looked mighty, mighty good pre Jones, indeed I never saw him recover that form, he was quite brilliant, particuraly regal against the Prince.
