By James Slater: James “Lights Out” Toney is not a guy you want mad at you! Remember, years ago, after he’d lost widely on points to Roy Jones Junior, Toney was so angry at his female manager Jackie Kallen that he reportedly threatened to go after her with a knife (today, Kallen says it was actually a gun the fighter threatened her with, thankfully not going through with the threat)?
Well, Toney is currently hopping mad at ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael. Speaking, once again with Elie Seckbach on video, the 43-year-old launched into the top scribe. Clearly annoyed at how Rafael, speaking the truth (Rafael says he is genuinely a fan of Toney and is saddened to see him fight, or to try and fight on, with diminished skills and slurred speech), said there is no way Toney should still be fighting much less against the Tomasz Adamek’s of the sport (thankfully, that fight is now off), Toney said how he’d come and “put something on” Rafael when he sees him next..
“Dan Rafael, you’re so fat, you’re so disgraceful,” Toney bellowed. “So before you even talk about me, and say a word about me, when I see you, I promise you, I will put something on you. So be careful what you say about me, when I see you, you and me are gonna have problems. I promise you.
“You’ve probably never had a fight in your life …. You’re saying I slur my speech and all that shit, man, you are full of shit! Don’t think I won’t come to ESPN to find your ass!”
Has Rafael, a fine and knowledgeable boxing writer, ever been threatened by a fighter in such a manner? Not that I can recall. Sure, we can put Toney’s rant down to hot air, a bad temper and nothing more, but is the former middleweight, super-middleweight and cruiserweight ruler unhinged enough to actually make good on his threat?
Toney IS slurring his words these days (he has been for at least a couple of years), yet he constantly insists he will fight the Klitschko brothers if he gets the chance (the “Bitschko sisters,” as he refers to Wladimir and Vitali) and the scary thing is, he means it! If that’s not a sure sign of just how crazy Toney can be, then what is?
All in all, this is a very sad turn of events. Toney was once a sublime boxing talent, he was articulate, even funny, and he had a pretty good relationship with boxing writers. But today? Dan Rafael would be well advised to stay as far away from James Toney as he possibly can.