02.10.05 – By Kevin Kincade: “The age 40 is not a death sentence”; apparently Big George knew what he was talking about. Who would have thought we’d still be watching James Toney fight in main events, much less at heavyweight? No, Toney’s not 40, not yet; but he’s closing in…..and not slowing down. However, realistically, does James Toney have a future in the heavyweight division or is he just going to end up being somebody’s stepping stone?
James Toney is 37 years old and started his professional career at middleweight……MIDDLEWEIGHT; THAT’S 160 Lbs.! And he was a damn good middleweight beating the likes of Michael Nunn, Mike McCallum, Iran Barkley, Reggie Johnson, and “Prince” Charles Williams. As a Light-Heavyweight, he had mixed success beating Anthony Hembrick twice and losing twice to Montell Griffin and once to Drake Thadzi.
After taking some time off, Toney came back at cruiserweight with a reenergized approach and more success; In 2003, “Lights Out” was recognized by Ring Magazine as Fighter of the Year for taking Vassiliy Jirov’s IBF Cruiserweight belt and becoming only the second man to ever stop former Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield.
The stoppage of Holyfield put Toney in the position to challenge WBA Heavyweight titlist, John Ruiz, whom he easily defeated before the decision was overturned due to the presence of an illegal substance in his blood stream after the fight. Now, James has completely dominated a younger, naturally larger man in Dominick Guinn and has, once again, put himself in Heavyweight Title contention. All of this being said; Toney’s heavyweight crusade is not without its detractors and legitimate skepticism.
The naysayers have extremely strong arguments concerning Toney’s heavyweight legitimacy, primarily focusing on the quality of his opposition. At the time he defeated Evander Holyfield by TKO, “The Real Deal” was not only long past his prime; but legitimately shot as a fighter. Also, out-boxing John Ruiz was no great feat as Roy Jones Jr. had already taken “The Quiet Man” to school previously and, quite frankly, nobody is really all that impressed with “Jawnny” as a fighter, anyway. Add to that list of detraction the fact that Dominick Guinn, thus far, has been a bust as a professional and you have a legitimate point concerning James Toney’s latest accomplishments. BUT TONEY IS A FORMER MIDDLEWEIGHT!! He should not have been THIS successful fighting the Big Boys of Boxing…….or should he?
Heavyweights, by and large, are the least skilled of all the weight classes, relying more so on their power and size to get the job done. Former three division champion, James Toney, is one of the most technically superior pugilists of the last three or four decades, so he has got a HUGE advantage in knowledge and performance in the “art/science” of boxing over just about any man north of 200 Lbs. In addition to that technical advantage, Toney was a 190 lb quarterback in High School, so fighting at heavyweight is not as big of a physical stretch for him as it would have been for Marvin Hagler or Bernard Hopkins. That being said, how would Toney do against the division’s “elite”?
Sam Peter: Peter showed his defensive ineptness against Wladimir Klitschko recently and confirmed what many believed about him. He’s tough as nails, slow as molasses, punches like a wrecking ball, and has a chin of iron. If, and I mean IF Peter didn’t land one of those TNT-charged haymakers of his, Toney would whup him like he was his Daddy. This fight would be a case of the bad student taking on the award-winning professor. Power and only Power would save Peter from a humiliating defeat at the hands of the smaller Toney. The distance in skill-level between these two is light-years apart and Peter doesn’t have enough time to close that skill gap. Only if he catches Toney with the big one does he win this one. Toney wouldn’t hurt him with anything, not being a power-puncher at heavyweight; but he would hit him often enough and slip enough of those amateurish swings to win an easy decision.
Wladimir Klitshko: The size-difference between the two men would make you want to adjust the vertical hold on your television set; but Larry Donald just proved what men have been saying for years: size isn’t everything. Though Donald lost the decision against the towering 7-foot 330 Lb Nicolay Valuev, from all accounts, the decision was an out and out robbery. Would Toney be able to similarly outbox the taller Klitschko? Well, there are two things wrong with the comparison: 1) Wlad is a much better boxer than Valuev and 2) Toney doesn’t fight like Donald. That being said, a Toney decision is not impossible. He’s slick enough to make Wladimir miss many of those long punches from outside and he is undoubtedly a better inside fighter than “Dr. Steel Hammer”. So, in short, a Toney victory over the 6′ 7” Ukrainian is not out of the question.
Chris Byrd: This, by far, is the easiest fight on the list for Toney. Chris is a former middleweight, himself, so the size disparity is minimal. However, Chris is also a slickster in his own right; but he’s been exercising those skills against the primarily under skilled, so he would be at a disadvantage against Toney, who is, if not better, at least is on an equal level with “Rapid Fire”. Speed, also, would not be a factor in this fight as both men are on roughly the same page and Toney has faced faster men and therefore, would not be confounded by Chris’ hand speed. Add to that, the probability that Byrd would have less of a chance of hurting Toney than anyone Toney had fought in the heavyweight division so far and what you’ve got is a Toney who is supremely confident, especially given Byrd’s recent decline…..Byrd is on the downside of his career, where James has found some kind of second wind. Toney would beat Byrd.
Lamon Brewster: Ah, here’s a hard one. On the surface, it looks similar to Toney-Peter; but “Relentless”, though not a technical wiz, is more skilled than the “Nigerian Nighmare”. This is one I can’t see Toney winning, though it’s far from impossible. Toney has the capacity to frustrate any heavyweight; but Brewster has shown a tendency to live up to his nickname against Wladimir Klitshko and more recently Luan Krasniqi. I can easily see Toney building up a huge lead against Lamon only to fall prey to a late round surge by the bigger man.
Vitali Klitschko: This one I see going in similar fashion as the one with Vitali’s bruzzer. Rightfully so, “Dr. Iron Fist” should be favoured in this match-up; but I really think he’s too slow to get a kayo. On the other hand, Vitali is an awkward fighter which could give James questions to answer that he hasn’t faced in a long time, if ever. I can see either fighter winning this one. Toney could steal a decision with effective counter-punching and infighting or Vitali could just as easily win a decision, depending upon how he fights his smaller, crafty foe.
The fact of the matter is James Toney stands a chance to beat any of the current heavyweight crop based on his skill and toughness. He’s one of those rare fighters in the class with an Archie Moore, Jack Johnson, and Charley Burley who have the toughness and guile to overcome the odds by outsmarting their opponents. When will the James Toney show close the final curtain? At this rate, if he chooses, Toney could probably fight well into his 40’s as Moore did in his heyday. The old cliché is no one can defeat Father Time and that may be true; but right now the shadowy figure with the scythe is behind on points and Toney’s pulling away heading into the championship rounds, talking smack all the way.
Questions or Comments: kevin.kincade@citcomm.com