04.01.07 – By Scoop Malinowski: Living legend James Toney has a tremendous world-wide fanbase who appreciate the talents and accomplishments of the sure-to-be, first-ballot Hall of Famer. Among them is American footballer Dominic Rhodes, the starting running back for the Indianapolis Colts.
Rhodes, who will also be in athletic action this Saturday – in the NFL playoffs against the Kansas City Chiefs, is an avid boxing supporter and cited the man from Ann Arbor as his favorite ring gladiator. “Aw man, there’s so many (boxers) I like…But I like watching James Toney. He’s the one, James Toney.”
A bit of a surprising answer considering the wealth of talented and more acclaimed boxers on the scene today. When asked why he favored Toney, Rhodes responded, “He can box. He’s a true boxer. He can do everything. He can counter. He can do anything you want him to do out there. He doesn’t get hit. He’s just nice with it. And he talks trash. And I like that [smiles].”
Like Toney, Rhodes is an undersized performer in a domain ruled by behemoths like Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher, Jason Taylor, to name a few. Rhodes stands 5-9 and weighs 203 pounds but gained 641 yards on 187 carries, including five touchdowns. He is also a threat as a receiver for quarterback Peyton Manning – 36 catches for 251 yards attest to that.
As an undrafted rookie free agent in 2001 out of Midwestern State University, Rhodes etched his name into the NFL history books. Stepping in for the injured Edgerrin James, Rhodes started the final ten games of the season and gained 1,104 rushing yards, which still stands today as the most ever by an undrafted rookie running back.
Perhaps Toney, like his admirer Dominic Rhodes, is on the way to making boxing history, if he can defeat Peter on Saturday night.
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