I watched James Toney go through an intense workout at the M-1 Global training center in Chatsworth, Calif., a few weeks ago. Before I go into details of the visit, its fair to explain why Id focus a Gym Notes column on a 41-year-old veteran who hasnt scored a truly significant victory since he stopped Evander Holyfield (who was just a few days shy of turning 41) in 2003. Toneys next fight isnt even a boxing match. The former three-division titleholders next fight will be a five-round mixed martial arts heavyweight match against UFC legend Randy Couture in the co-main event in UFC 118 on Aug. 28 in Boston. So why am I writing about the 21-year veteran? Toneys a real fighter. Yes, hes a shadow of the marvelous middleweight who took on all comers in the early 1990s, but when he says hell fight anybody, anywhere, anytime -- even after 83 professional boxing matches -- you can believe that he means business. And when he says that hes going to beat Couture, a 5-to-1 betting favorite, you can at least believe that he believes what he says. And to be honest, Id rather write about Toney than spend any amount of time pontificating on or complaining about the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao negotiations. So what did I see when I visited M-1 Global (a gym that shares the name of the MMA promoter but isnt owned by it) on July 1? I saw Toney warming up in what looked like a Body Glove wetsuit. His upper body appeared solid, but the ample stomach and love handles that became as much his trademark in the last decade as his tough-guy attitude stuck out like a sore thumb. Looks can be deceiving with Toney, though. Ive observed him workout and spar since the late 1990s, and I can tell when hes really training or just going through the motions. He is in shape and he appears motivated to get into even better condition. James is deceptively strong and quick, said Vitaly Tony Kozlov, one of Toneys strength and conditioning coaches. People look at his midsection and think hes soft or out of conditioning. He is in good condition, and hell be in better shape in August. Thats our goal, not body sculpting. Toney never cared much how his body looked. He used to brag about the amount of food and drink and cigars and sex he indulged in to his sparring partners, especially the ones with lean physiques, as he beat them senseless in sparring sessions. Toney wasnt exaggerating about his gluttonous lifestyle, which begs the question of how good he could have been had he been more dedicated to the sport? Bob Arum and Freddie Roach believe he could have been an all-time great. Toneys former promoter and former trainer say he is one of the most-talented fighters theyve ever seen, which is saying something considering the fighters with whom theyve been affiliated. Perhaps the Sweet Science came too easily for Toney. Fighters are born, not made, claimed the boxing natural. Toneys last eight months of training have convinced him that hes a born boxer, not a born MMA fighter. Theres a big difference, Toney admitted. MMA is a different ballgame from boxing. It didnt take long for Toney to realize that he cant half-ass it in the octagon, especially against a decorated MMA veteran such as Couture. You have to be in great shape for MMA, Toney said. In boxing you can hold to catch a breath. You cant do that in the cage. What does Toney do in the cage? Lots of ground work on the day I was present. (You gotta figure hes got the striking part of his game down, right?) Toneys trainer, Trever Sherman, and manager, John Arthur, who has a background in martial arts, coached him on various maneuvers as the veteran boxer grappled with an amateur MMA fighter named Brian Alexander for five 5-minute rounds (the same number of rounds and combat time as a regulation UFC title bout). Toney made the kid tap out, but I didnt notice, which tells you how much I know about MMA technique. All I can report is that Toney is working on take downs in the middle of the octagon. Hes practicing what to do if hes taken down, how to crawl his way to the cage wall, what to do if hes pushed into the cage wall, how to tie up his opponent, how to use his knees with his back to the cage, and so on. I didnt see a lot of punches from Toney. His stand-up game focused mainly on countering Coutures favored kicks and attacks. I hate it when I read that James only has a punchers chance, Sherman said. Coutures only got a wrestlers chance. Toney wont even give his opponent that hope. MMA fans ask me, What about Randys takedown game? What about it? Toney said. He better be worried about what Im gonna do. Hes tailor made for me. All of his strengths will become his weaknesses. He can pick his poison. Whatever he brings, Im gonna counter it. It sounds like Toney doesnt respect Couture, but he does. If he didnt, he wouldnt bother training as hard as he is. When Toney first met with UFC president Dana White to discuss fighting in the billion-dollar MMA league, he made it clear that he didnt want any soft touches. White didnt want to give Toney any MMA patsies, which earned the future boxing hall of famers respect. I already liked Dana, Toney said. I met him in 1994, before I fought Roy Jones Jr. He was writing about boxing for one of the Boston papers back then. I was cool with him. Fast forward 16 years. Toney was not cool with comments the UFC bossman made about how professional boxers would fare in his sport. When he told the media that MMA fighters are better than boxers and called out Roy Jones and Floyd Mayweather, that pissed me off, Toney said. Not because White believes the best boxers would fall to even mediocre MMA fighters, but because he didnt call out Toney. I contacted his people and told them Roy and Floyd are not real fighters, theyre runners, Toney said. Call out a real warrior like me. White started tweeting stuff about me and the relationship just rolled on from there. I met him at one of his shows in Memphis last year to let him know that I was serious about his challenge. Then I saw him and the Fertitta brothers [who own the UFC] in Vegas in December. One of the brothers brought up Kimbo Slice as an opponent. I told him that would be like taking candy from a baby. I wanted [UFC heavyweight champ] Brock Lesnar or [former light heavyweight champ] Chuck Liddell. But Lesnar was sick at the time. I heard Couture was talking mess on the internet about how he would baptize me to the sport, and I liked that. He became my first MMA opponent. Hes better than Liddell. If I knocked out Liddell, MMA fans would say Oh, hes done anyway. Couture is 47, but the former five-time UFC champ (two light heavyweight titles and three at heavyweight) is far from done as evidenced by his last two fights -- a three-round decision over Brandon Vera last November and a second-round submission (via rear-naked choke) of Mark Coleman in February in the light heavyweight division (205-pound limit). Even Coutures last loss, a three-round decision to former PRIDE heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira last August, was competitive. Hardcore MMA fans and diehard boxing fans dont see eye-to-eye on much, but most agree that Toneys probably in for a humiliating beating against Couture, a former world-class Greco-Roman wrestler whose ground-and-pound technique is legendary. Many view the Couture-Toney matchup, the co-feature to the showdown between lightweight champ Frankie Edgar and veteran BJ Penn, as a sideshow. Sherman doesnt agree with that perspective. Dana White is not the kind of guy to sign someone just because of his name in another sport, he said. He wouldnt sign Herschel Walker, who certainly has a name from football. He wouldnt sign Bobby Lashley, who has a name from pro wrestling. He took a chance on Brock Lesnar because Lesnar had real wrestling credentials before his pro wrestling career. Dana is one of the most-brilliant sports minds out there. He doesnt play games and he doesnt make mistakes. He doesnt buy into hype, so nobody should look at this fight as a hoax or a joke. He wouldnt have signed James if he didnt think James had a shot. I dont care what he says on record, I think he knows that James is going to knock Couture out. Randy has been caught and dropped in four of his last five fights. Every time hes clipped, he goes down. Watch the tapes of his fights with Vera, Nogueira and Lesnar. Youll see. I watched highlights of those bouts on YouTube.com. Shermans got a point. However, boxing and MMA are two very different sports. Toneys never tried to clock a guy who was allowed to kick at him or tackle him to the canvas. And what the hell will he do if Couture gets him in an arm bar, or an arm triangle choke, or worse, a rear-naked choke (I dont even like saying that phrase)? All Toney says is wait and see. Im gonna be ready, he said. I trained six months with Juanito Ibarra (who once trained former UFC heavyweight champ Quinton Jackson), just going over the basics. Come back in a few weeks and youll see me kick the asses of pro MMA fighters the same way I use to kick heavyweights asses at the Wild Card [Boxing Club]. Im putting in the work for this fight. It was hard for a about a month when I first started training, there were a lot of aches and pains. I thought maybe I was too old for this s__t, but I grew stronger ,and Ive gained a new kind of stamina. I can feel my quickness, agility and power coming back. I wish I had this training 10 years ago, I would have been the undisputed heavyweight champ. I dont care what sport you do, football, basketball, whatever, this s__t will get you ready. In less than five weeks, Toney will get into a cage with a man who has trained like this at least since 1997, the year he made his MMA debut.
Good article. I'm curious to see how it plays out. Toney is right, Kimbo or Chuck would have been a walk in the park for him.
i just hope he doesn't get too damaged, he shouldn't be allowed to fight anymore he can't talk right and he's given us enough. Damn shame, it is a sideshow for sure, another chance for mma to drive some nails into boxing's coffin
Don't really understand the title of the thread. So apparently Toney is still insanely fat? And then you post a Doug Fischer article that clearly states that while Toney looks flabby, he is in fact in serious condition. A bit misleading to me, i thought it was gonna be a thread that bashed Toney.
The thing about Toney is, even when flabby, he is still in pretty good condition, if that makse sense.
Oh... its more that i have been hearing that Toney has shed heaps of weight so this was a bit disappointing to me.
perhaps he has (I mean, the scale already says he has) but at the weight he was at he could drop heaps and heaps of MORE fat and still be... fat. :good
I'm pretty excited, i would love to see Toney win and shut all of the MMA fans who are always like "oh well a boxer wouldn't have a chance against a UFC fighter"s mouths.. However i do believe that Cotoure will outclass him by miles if it stays on the floor, only one way to find out though..
Well, if you've been seriously fat like toney your skin stretches and it's always gonna look a little flabby i guess. Toney did weigh 217.5 for his last boxing match, which was his lowest weight in 6 years, so the weight loss is legit.