Sven Ottke vs James Toney

Curious what folks think about who would win this one. To me, this is a classic example of styles make fights and a horrible matchup for Toney.

Don't get me wrong, Toney had the more impressive career IMO and is a lock for the hall of fame while Ottke will probably never get in. All that said, I feel like Toney would struggle with the movement/footwork of Ottke and would have difficulty landed his legendary right hand counter against a guy that simply would be there to be hit.

For all the criticism that Ottke deserves as a fighter, he was ncredibly smart and would have had a game plan against Toney that would have neutralized his strengths which was as a counter puncher. I would expect that this would not be the most exciting fight but an interesting matchup between to fighters that were strong in different ways.

 

All excellent points but none of those guys were really counterpuncher though. Ried, Brewer and Johnson were all aggressive fighters that pushed the pace. Toney thrived against those types but struggled against movers like Reggie Johnson and Montell Griffith.

Not saying Toney wouldn't win but if anyone had a great chance at beating Toney it would be an out boxer like Ottke.

 

Toney absolutely is better than Reid. That's not the point. Stylistically, Ottke is a tough matchup for Toney in the same way that Montel Griffith or Reggie Johnson were. Toney would likely have destroyed Reid had they ever met.

My point of the thread is not who was the greater fighter but who had the stylistic advantage.

 

Again, I agree that Toney is a much better fighter than Robin Reid. Reid is an attacking fighter while Toney is a counter puncher. Toney struggled with movement and Ottke was a very good outside fighter. Without question Toney is more accomplished as a professional than Ottke but Ottke had the kind of style that was problematic for Toney. There is a reason Toney never fought a faster fighter than himself after Montel Griffith. Toney perfered to fight Bangers that came right at him.

 

Not doubt Ottke got some decisions in fights that he should have lost. I thought Reid and Brewer both should have had wins over him. Ottke's fight with Glen Johnson was close but I did score it for Ottke.

 

I did watch the Reid fight and thought Reid won the fight. I honestly do not see many similarities between Toney and Reid. You may very well be right and Toney certainly had the ability to run Ottke over. I am not going to say you are wrong at all. I just think Ottke has the perfect style to beat him. Also, regarding the Reid fight. Ottke was at the tale end of his career and nowhere near as good as he was when he first turned pro. You can make an argument that his best years were probably as an amauter when he was beating guys like Tarver, Juan Carlos Gomez, Zsolt Ederi and Michael Moorer.