Yes, the above headline is correct, it’s not a typo or a mistake. James Toney, soon to turn 55, will indeed face 59 year old Donovan “Razor” Ruddock in November, the event to go out on Triller. But don’t be too alarmed – it will be an exhibition, not a real fight. Still, there could be some raised eyebrows with this one all the same, real fight or not.
As per a report from The Gleaner in Jamaica, the two greats (Razor was a genuinely great puncher, “Lights Out” is an all-time great) will box for a good cause, that of a school that needs funds to complete its ‘Gloves over Guns’ youth development programme. The school in question, Good Hope Primary School, in St Catherine, was attended by Ruddock himself, and he says he is coming back to the ring to help raise cash for the school.
Toney, who retired from the ring in 2017, says he is “excited to return to the ring and dance with another heavyweight great, Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock.”
The bout is set for November 11, in Kingston, Jamaica (scene of course of the epic George Foreman-Joe Frazier annihilation). Who knows what we will see when Ruddock and Toney get in there?
“My whole reason for coming out of retirement and getting back into the ring is to assist my primary school in the Red Ground district,” Ruddock said. “Jamaica needs assistance with fighting the crime monster.”
Ruddock, 40-6-1(30) actually made a for-real comeback back in 2015, when aged 51. Ruddock scored a couple of wins but was then stopped by Dillon Carman. That, we thought, would be the last we saw of the man Mike Tyson once said, “punches like a f*****g mule kick.” But no, here comes Razor again.
It’s crazy to think that, when Ruddock was warring with Tyson, James Toney was a middleweight! Toney, 77-10-3(47) still talks about taking certain fights today, even at his advanced age, yet in the exhibition bout with Ruddock he shouldn’t come to any harm. It remains to be seen if the two veterans will don headguards, as it is to be announced how many rounds the two will box. Will Toney turn up in good physical shape? Will Ruddock? Have one or both guys been in the gym recently?
It seems this scheduled exhibition featuring big names shows again how the adage, “once a fighter, always a fighter” really does ring true.