Name just one fighter from the past decade more skilled than prime Toney

Wouldn't you say Toney came out ahead in the 3 fights they had? You are talking about fight one? Toney was rather inexperienced also if you want to talk about excuses or old or young. Mike did well against Curry and a somewhat overrated Milton McCrory. Lost to Kalambay. Beat him after Sumbu had a big loss. He was a very good fighter. Toney was very good. I don't think either are necessarily great.

 

That's why Nunn got walked down and KOed. It was a great fight but Toney's skills and understanding of how to attack a guy like Nunn got him the KO.

 

Not even Roy or Hopkins. We are talking pure skills here.Roy was the superior athlete,better hand and footspeed, unbelievable reflexes but not more skilled. Hopkins was a brilliant tacticien and hard worker but did not have more skills than Toney.

 

Lomachenko I would say, but it’s harder to measure the skills of these guys vs. Toney as he fought for so long at so many weights. We have a much bigger sample size with him.

Not like he didn’t have his struggles or things he couldn’t do though.

 

Skillful? You are right. Although you are trying to go down a very narrow corridor and saying because James did not have the speed or longevity of Hopkins, does anyone have his defensive skills which is what he was the best at. Sort of like asking, is there anyone in the 1980s who had a right hand like Thomas Hearns.

 

Talent doesn't mean much if you are lazy and eat yourself out of several divisions.

Anyway, Roy Jones and Floyd Mayweather were more talented than James Toney.

Toney was very well schooled obviously.

 

It depends on how you define "skilled."

I would certainly put reflexes and speed of hand and foot as a skill - natural skills.

To me, "skills" are obtained through a combination of talent, study and work.

James may have had better learned fundamentals, but, I believe Roy Jones and Floyd Mayweather were, overall, more skillful than James Toney.

 

Nunn was very special.

I’d put Wlad above Lennox.

 

Jones was NOT more skilled than James.

James’s skills didn’t shave years off of his life, unlike Roy’s.

Roy was supremely more gifted in an athletical sense than James. But skilled? Naw man.

 

Bowe was very easy to hit. Maybe only his first Holyfield fight showed impressive skil.
Plus Bowe never could outclass a decent or good tall fighter considering these things his talent is VASTLY overrated nowadays.

 

I see it the same way.And those athletic gifts erode faster with age.When Jones was getting knocked out in his late career, James was still going strong as a heavyweight.

 

Then again Toney only peaked as a super middle.Mike was also lucky to get a draw in the first fight.But they were both close in terms of skills.