Boxing

National Conference Call Transcript: James Toney

10.10 - Toney participated in a conference call to discuss his convincing victory over four-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield last Saturday on SHOWTIME Pay-Per-View from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Holyfield vs. Toney and Joel Casamayor vs. Diego Corrales will be shown in their entirety on SHOWTIME, Saturday, Oct. 11, at 10 pm ET/PT.

Question: Whom do you want to fight next?

Toney: I know I can beat anybody. My skill level is better than anyone else out there. I am ready for anybody, anywhere. It does not matter. It does no good to call out names because they will just turn and go the other way.

Question: Why do you think you were able to dominate the fight with Holyfield after the fourth round?

Toney: I think I gave Holyfield the first round. I always lose the first round because that is my feeling out process. After that, I exploded on him and broke him down. I went to the head, then the body and back to the head. I broke him down and stopped him. Like I told everyone before the fight, Holyfield has never seen anybody like me before. He is a great fighter. Everybody said he was bigger and stronger than me, but that was not the case. I broke him down.

Question: Do you think it is time for Holyfield to retire?

Toney: It is not for me to say that. Maybe he should consider retirement, but that is up to him.

Question: Could you have stepped up your performance if Holyfield had fought a better fight?

Toney: I would have been able to meet any challenge. I fought a world-class heavyweight. Despite what everyone said, he came in there to fight. In the first round, he looked pretty good. He tried to take my head off, but I just broke him down. I would have done that to anybody, no matter if they were young or old.

Question: Is there going to be a time when you change your style and brawl more?

Toney: What fight were you looking at? This is boxing. I can keep going. I can punch you, just like I did on Saturday night. I am a complete fighter. I can do it all. You do not see anybody do what I do. When Roy Jones fought John Ruiz, did you think Jones fought a great fight? You did, didn’t you? The son of a bitch (Jones) ran for 12 rounds. How are you going to call that a great performance? I stood there in front of a real heavyweight and made him miss me. You compare the two fights. My focus is way better than Jones.’ I am not scared. I am not a chicken. That is what you want. You do not want anyone to run around for 12 rounds unless you are in the ballet. You want to see blood and guts, and that is what I gave you Saturday night.

Question: Do you still plan to defend your cruiserweight title?

Toney: I am leaving everything open to whatever Dan Goossen can line up. Goossen is like me. He is unpredictable. You never know what he is going to do. Right now, we are playing chess and deciding what we are going to do next.

Question: Would you like to defend the title?

Toney: Where ever the money is. I am chasing money. The belt does not make the fighter, the fighter makes the belt.

Question: Why are the best heavyweight fighters getting smaller?

Toney: Those other guys are fat and out of shape. They do not want to run or do anything. I have real skills. I can fight these guys. Chris Byrd ran from Holyfield, and I did not. I am going to fight the big guys. I am going to beat these guys up. Then, they are going to call their mommas. I am going to break them in half and make them bleed. I am trying to bring the heavyweight division back to the 1960s and 70s when everyone was beating each other up. Not running around the ring hugging and giving kisses to each other.

Question: Would you still want to fight a guy like Jones who will probably run when he fights you?

Toney: Why not? Why wouldn’t I want to fight Jones? He is not anybody. I will put him to sleep. He knows that.

Question: Do you think Jones would run from you?

Toney: Everybody runs from me. I watched the tape of the fight from the other night. I was the one tracking Holyfield down, and I am the smaller guy. I am always going to be the most dominant man in the ring. I am going to get you. I fought the best runner in the world, Michael Nunn, and I caught him and knocked him out. I will do the same with Jones. I was not right the first time against Jones. He took advantage of it and won the fight. Bring his ass on now. Bring anybody. (Lennox) Lewis, (Vitali) Klitschko, (Mike) Tyson, Jones, their mommas. I will knock them all out.

Question: How do you think you would do against Tyson?

Toney: I would put a tattoo on the other side of his (Tyson’s) face. That is the kind of fighter I like. I like fighting inside. That is my game. I like having someone stand in front of me. If you think you are bigger and stronger than me, prove it. Knock me on my ass if you can. The opportunity will be there if you can hit me.

Question: How much would it mean to you to fight Jones again?

Toney: We do not know how long it will be before that fight happens because Jones wants to fight firemen, policemen and nurses. If we do fight again, I see me stopping him in the eighth or ninth round. If it happens, it happens.

Question: What was the turning point of the fight against Holyfield?

Toney: The turning point was when Holyfield landed a right hand on me when I was looking at Vernon Forrest in the crowd. It did not hurt or anything, but I thought, now it is on. Now, you (Holyfield) are going to feel my power. He was telling everyone that I did not hit hard enough, but obviously I did because he was busted up pretty bad. Whenever a fighter signs a contract, he belongs to me. I live for this sport.

Question: Do you have a preferred weight at which you like to fight?

Toney: Each fight, I come in at a different weight. I do it fight by fight. If I fight (Vitali) Klitschko, I will come in at 300 pounds.

Question: Do you think Jones has been absent from the scene for a while?

Toney: Jones is jealous. I am bigger than him now. I am getting more of the spotlight. You call this guy the greatest pound-for-pound fighter. That is bull. If he is the greatest, fight the top guys out there. That is what Goossen has enabled me to do. If Jones wants to fight me now, he can come see me. I am not going to chase him. My business hours are Monday-Friday, 9-5. Goossen’s business hours are 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Whatever Goossen wants to do, we will do it. We are on top of the world. Goossen takes care of me outside of the ring. He is one of the top promoters in the business. Don King is going out of business and Bob Arum has one leg in the ground. He has to lose weight.

Question: How long until you get back in the ring?

Toney: I want to fight next month, but Goossen says realistically it will be early February or late April. I want to fight as soon as possible.

Question: At what point do you have to decide on fighting at cruiserweight?

Toney: Whatever Boss Hog says. I will do whatever Goossen says. If I do not defend my title and lose it, so be it. I would rather stay a heavyweight if that is what Goossen thinks is best. You need some excitement in the heavyweight division because there is none. Lennox Lewis is the worst heavyweight champion of all time. He is boring and ugly. He has those dreadlocks that need to be cut off his head. Byrd is the same way. Nobody knows who he is. I am not even the heavyweight champion and I am more known than he is.

Question: Do you think Holyfield punches like a heavyweight?

Toney: It felt good to get hit by a heavyweight. It excites me. It does not matter. I am a warrior. A punch is a punch. Ask other fighters how I punch and they will tell you differently. I was focused against Holyfield. I do not feel anything.

Question: Have you ever been hit hard enough by an opponent to stop you in your tracks?

Toney: No. I have never been hit like that. You have seen it. When Holyfield hit me on Saturday night, did you see me stop in my tracks? I was so focused on what I had to do that nothing was going to stop me. I felt great. I felt like I was at the circus.

Question: Do you think it was fatigue or the one body shot that stopped Holyfield?

Toney: It was a combination of a whole lot of punches and then the one big shot to the body that got him. All during training camp, I was knocking out my sparring partners with body shots. I have been making them go to the bathroom on themselves with how hard I have been hitting them.

Question: Dan, why would you want to hold Toney back a few months before his next fight?

Goossen: We do not want to hold Toney back. We want to get him in a big fight, and big fights are not made every two months. From a big fight basis, we are dealing with it right now. We want to fight in January. The reality is it could be past January.

Question: If a fight with Jones happened, at what weight would you prefer to fight?

Toney: It does not matter. I will do what ever it takes. One thing I will not do is take the short end of the money.

Question: Obviously, you do not have respect for the current heavyweights. Are there any older heavyweights you admire?

Toney: I admire Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Ken Norton. That whole crop of heavyweights was devastating. Everybody fought each other. It is not like that now. Today, fighters get scared. Managers get scared. It is ridiculous.

Question: Dan, since it seems no top fighters want to fight Toney, can we look forward to him fighting him a top name?

Goossen: Toney will fight anybody. We cannot make guys get into the ring with Toney. These questions have to be put to Lewis and other fighters. Decisions have to be made by fighters like Jones, Tyson and Lewis. If you allow them to fight weak opponents and the media covers it like a big fight, what gives them incentive to fight a tough opponent? Prove it in the ring. There will be guys that want to fight Toney, but we are looking for the best opponents.

Question: Where would you rank yourself with the great fighters from the 1960s and 70s?

Toney: I would put myself with them since I will fight anybody.

Question: What fight meant more to you, beating Vassiliy Jirov or Holyfield?

Toney: Holyfield because no one said I could take it to him like I did.

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