National Conference Call Transcript: James Toney’s Trainer Freddie Roach

Photo: Tom Casino/Showtime

19.09 - Roach participated in a conference call to discuss current International Boxing Federation (IBF) Cruiserweight Champion James Toney’s 12-round heavyweight showdown against four-time world champion Evander Holyfield on Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Highlighting the undercard will be a 12-round IBF title eliminator featuring two of boxing’s most talented fighters, former 130-pound world champions Diego Corrales and Joel Casamayor. Both fights will air live on pay per view beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Goossen Tutor Promotions will present the event, which will be distributed by SHOWTIME Pay Per View and carries a suggested retail price of $44.95. Tickets are priced at $650, $500, $300, $150 and $75, and are on sale now at the Mandalay Bay Box Office and all TicketMaster outlets. To order tickets by phone, call (702) 632-7580.

Question: What is Toney’s goal after the Holyfield fight? Is he motivated, and was he unmotivated after the Roy Jones Jr. fight?

Roach: Toney was very unmotivated after the Jones fight. He has been floundering for the past six years, actually. Finally, he woke up and was trying to get a title fight, or a big fight. Nobody would deliver, and then Dan Goossen delivered the Vassiliy Jirov fight. Toney got motivated for it, trained really hard and brought himself back.

Holyfield is going to go down as one of the greatest fighters of all time. Look at what he has done in the history of boxing. He is still a dangerous guy out there. A win over Holyfield will open up a lot of doors for Toney to fight other heavyweights like Mike Tyson or those types of guys.

Question: Would Toney like to have a rematch against Roy Jones?

Roach: He (Toney) would love to have a rematch with Jones. I do not know if it will ever happen, or if Jones will come to the table. I would love to do the rematch at cruiserweight. Toney kind of lives for that rematch. He wants to get that (the loss) off of his back. He (Toney) has to hear about Roy Jones every day of his life. That is the guy that beat him. It pisses him off. Toney will fight Jones at any weight.

Question: Are you concerned that the promotion is being lost in the aftermath of the Oscar De La Hoya-Shane Mosley fight?

Roach: I was at that fight. A lot of people told me De La Hoya won. A lot of people thought that Mosley won. It was a close fight. I think it will blow over pretty quickly now. What are they going to do? We have all protested fights before, but it never does anything. It never changes anything.

Dan Goossen: We have our momentum going now. We will keep it going regardless of what any other fights in front of us or behind us have or will do.

Question: Do you like the fact that you have two fighters who are going to fight in Toney and Holyfield? Will that help attract interest to the fight as well?

Roach: There is a lot of interest in this fight. A lot of people want to see what Holyfield has to bring, and a lot of people want to see what Toney has to bring. These are two of the toughest guys in the world. It is going to be a great fight. I think we would all guarantee that.

Question: Does it work in your favor that people are talking about boxing because of the De La Hoya-Mosley fight last week?

Roach: I am sure that could work in our favor. This will go away soon (aftermath of De La Hoya-Mosley) because people have short memories. They want to look forward to the next great fight out there, and that is Toney and Holyfield.

Goossen: De La Hoya-Mosley was great. We will ride the momentum from that because we have a great promotion also. We are excited, and are going to ride the momentum that we have had since we announced this fight.

Question: How is Toney a different fighter from when he fought at lighter weight classes?

Roach: Toney is naturally getting bigger. He had so much trouble making middleweight and light heavyweight. Toney graduated high school weighing 240 pounds from playing football. He has always been a bigger guy. Heavyweight is a better weight (class) for him. He does not have to struggle to lose a lot of weight, and it is not weakening him at all. He has become a better puncher. Toney was never a big puncher at middleweight, but he is a much better puncher at cruiserweight and as a small heavyweight. He still has middleweight speed. He is really putting it together nicely.

Question: How does Toney become a stronger puncher with more weight?

Roach: You do not see that happen too often. Toney is more comfortable. He is not suffering to make weight. He knocked two guys out in sparring a couple of days ago. I was surprised that he knocked these guys out. Toney’s punching power is getting better at the higher weight. The strength training he is doing is helping out.

Question: Do you think Toney can win a toe-to-toe, slugfest-type of fight?

Roach: I think Toney can win that type of a fight, but we are working on boxing Holyfield also. We know that Holyfield is a tough guy. Toney will fight off the ropes somewhat, but he will not stay there as long as he did in the Jirov fight. I am sure Holyfield has his plans also. It depends which Holyfield shows up. He (Holyfield) is a very good boxer too. Usually, once Holyfield gets hit, the fight is on. I expect that to happen. Toney will be ready for whatever Holyfield brings. We are just working on different styles. We have Michael Sims here, a speed guy and a cruiserweight. We also have a stronger guy here from Arkansas who is 18-0 and is banging Toney around on the ropes as much as he can. I know that is going to happen in the fight. I just have to get Toney prepared for whatever Holyfield shows up.

Question: What is Toney’s version of why he missed his plane to New York on Sunday?

Goossen: Toney had an expired license. With the tight security at the airport, they would not let him on the plane. He had a temporary expired license that he just got back in Michigan, and he never received the replacement.

Question: Have you told everyone on the call that Toney is going to knock out Holyfield?

Roach: I did not tell them (the media) yet, but that is what Toney told me. Holyfield is such a tough guy. The way Toney has been punching and breaking people down in the gym, I would not be surprised at all if he takes Holyfield out late in the fight. That would definitely be a bonus because you cannot expect that when fighting Holyfield. Holyfield is a very durable guy, but he is getting a little older. Wear and tear is going to take its toll. Toney has the combinations of speed and power to do it (knock Holyfield out). Toney assures me he is going to knock Holyfield out.

Question: What fights are you watching to prepare for this fight?

Roach: We watched Holyfield’s fight against Byrd. Byrd fought a very good fight, and showed that Holyfield has trouble with speed. Byrd and Toney are two different fighters. Toney is not a mover like Byrd is. Toney has quick hands, and slips punches well. We are looking at Holyfield’s last four fights. Holyfield sucks it up a lot of times. We have counted him out many times before. We are not taking Holyfield lightly. You would be a fool to do that. When Holyfield fought Mike Tyson, I thought he (Holyfield) was going to get killed. That was how many years ago? Holyfield keeps coming back. I am not worried about what Holyfield is doing because I am going to get Toney to be sharp and at his best. When Toney is sharp, he will deal with anyone. Holyfield waits until the last 30 seconds to steal the round. He is a crafty guy and knows the game. He is physical guy, and you have to watch out for the head butts and low blows. That is part of the game. Toney will not complain about it. He will take care of things himself.

Question: Toney is very quotable with the media, and is known as a guy who speaks his mind. Is Toney like that privately when you train him, or is that his media personality?

Roach: That is just James. In the gym, he talks the whole workout. He is very clever and comes up with the funniest things sometimes. He is very quick with his mind and smart. The funny thing about it is that when he gets in a fight, he does not talk at all. I do not know how he can separate the two. In sparring, these guys are getting beat up and verbally abused also.

Question: Have there been any Toney quotes from training camp that stand out?

Roach: Toney is pretty much down on West Coast fighters, because (according to Toney) all West Coast fighters are (expletive that refers to felines). That has been coming out everyday because Toney has been working with some West Coast guys, and they have been having a tough time with him. James is James.