Issue 066
September 2010
James ‘Lights Out’ Toney: the first major exponent of the noble art to enter the Octagon. Can he beat Randy Couture this summer? He certainly thinks so – but is it just another example of boxing’s bluster?
The gladiator in me made me cross over into MMA,” explains James Toney, the former three-weight world boxing champion, who is bathed in a filmy perspiration in a California gym as he prepares for an assault on MMA superhero Randy Couture in the co-main event at UFC 118: Edgar vs Penn II in Boston on August 28th. No warm-up fight for Toney, who prised open the door into the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster with online appeals to UFC president Dana White.
Toney is now 41 years old. He has fought the best, held a clutch of titles, including the current IBA heavyweight belt, and been awarded the coveted Ring magazine Fighter of the Year accolade twice (1991 and 2003). Celebrity trivia fans might also note that he co-starred as Joe Frazier opposite Will Smith in the 2001 film Ali.
Boxing’s most revered trainer, Freddie Roach, told me two months ago that Toney was “the most gifted and explosive” fighter he has ever worked with. Roach has worked with 27 world champions, among them Mike Tyson, and currently Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao. Anderson Silva, Dan Hardy and latterly Georges St-Pierre have all sought the services of the Hollywood-based trainer at his renowned Wild Card Boxing Club, a short drive from Eddie Bravo’s Legends gym.
Trash tumbles out of Toney’s mouth like a torrent. He is, after all, from Grand Rapids, Michigan – the street he lived in as a boy is known as ‘fighters’ row’. It’s the same street where boxing greats Floyd Mayweather and Mike ‘The Bodysnatcher’ McCallum also grew up.
“People have been saying my boxing career is over – it ain’t over. The problem in the boxing game is that everyone is scared to fight me right now. That David Haye is a bum; that other British heavyweight, Audley Harrison, is a bum. Then you have the Klitschko sisters. They are phoneys, bums… I’m still the holder of a heavyweight title belt.”
Toney is telling the truth. About the belt, that is. But it is the IBA title, one of the lesser-regarded baubles in the alphabet soup of boxing’s governing bodies. Yet there was no question, across a decade, mainly in the ‘90s, that Toney was one of the most fearsome opponents across the middle, super-middle and cruiserweight divisions.
Those around Toney point out that MMA fans writing him off shouldn’t be fooled by the size of the boxer who was around 250 pounds before he entered training camp. But by moving into MMA, is Toney dreaming the impossible? Can he really compete with a mixed martial artist like Couture, who has made it into his fifth decade and remains a top-level exponent of the sport?
Bill Caplan, the Boxing Hall of Fame publicist who has worked with Toney for almost twenty years – he also handled PR for George Foreman, protagonist in The Rumble in the Jungle with Muhammad Ali in Zaire, 1974 – relays to Fighters Only that he hasn’t seen the big man so driven for a very long time.
“Listen, he’s been going to the gym on a daily basis since the deal was struck with the UFC. He’s enjoying it, the impetus is something new, something he hasn’t been doing forever, and his trainer is doing a terrific job.”
Although Toney has had expert advice ahead of his MMA debut from Juanito Ibarra, once Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s coach, and has rolled with ‘Mo’ Lawal for grappling experience, his principal MMA coach in his California camp is Trever Sherman.
“How many boxers from Toney’s level are there in MMA? He is very, very dangerous with two 4oz gloves. He punches like a rhino with laser accuracy, and the worst analysis I’ve heard is that James has got a puncher’s chance against Randy Couture. More likely is that Randy has a grappler’s chance of holding James off.
“We’ve introduced James to grappling, we are planning for Randy, strategizing as to what he will try to do, and within that, we have worked out a way for James to use these incredible weapons. James has a warrior's heart. He is not into just winning fights, he’s into beating an opponent up,” says Sherman. “He could punch Randy’s shoulder and do more damage than he has ever had in the cage. I’ve seen glancing blows put Randy down or rock him in recent fights, and they are not from world-class punchers. Randy is an incredible fighter, a wonderful man, and a legend in MMA, but we are going to give him plenty of time to be with his family after this fight.”
If the five-fight deal with the UFC holds out, it could be a roller-coaster ride for the fighter who was an accomplished athlete and high-school quarterback.
Toney certainly has a devastating knockout record. When he started his career in 1983 as an amateur he fought as a light middleweight and ended 29 of his 33 non-paid fights by knockout. That is unusual by any standards in boxing. He’s not known as ‘Lights Out’ for nothing. He’s a boxer who eviscerates opponents.
His list of opponents is a genuine group of great boxers through the ‘90s. In Toney’s professional career, he has won 44 of his 72 scalps by knockout, fought Roy Jones Jr, and, in the heavier divisions, went the distance with Hasim Rahman twice (one a majority draw, the other a no contest), had John Ruiz down in the 7th (though that was ruled a no contest because Toney later tested positive for a banned substance) and lost twice over the distance on points to Samuel Peter. Rahman was one of only two men to defeat Lennox Lewis. Toney also stopped aging legend Evander Holyfield seven years ago in the ninth round of a non-title fight. Toney was, at various times, a world champion in the middle, super middle, and heavyweight divisions.
Toney has always been a good learner in the gym environment, insists Caplan. “This is obviously something James hasn’t been doing forever, but the trainer has done a terrific job with him. He is working so hard, eating like a horse. His skills were never in question, what was questioned was that he was too far out of shape. I’ll add that he is taking it seriously, and he doesn’t want to be embarrassed in any shape or form. Normally, if you sign a new guy, certainly in boxing, you get a warm-up fight. They are throwing him right in the lions’ den, to prove the MMA guy will beat a boxer.”
Toney’s inception into the UFC came by dint of a very public calling out of Dana White. “Dana was saying all these things, saying MMA fighters were the best, better than those in the oldest sport in the world,” says Toney himself. “It wasn’t me that put this issue out there. That’s why I pursued him. I have to say that Dana White is top-notch. He was great to deal with. Look, I’m in this to get respect, and I’ll show why I deserve that respect when I step into the Octagon.”
Toney’s belligerence is compelling. “They are saying that MMA fighters are better than boxers. Hold on, I thought. I’m a gladiator, too. It took a while, but Dana took me up on it when he realized I was serious. And I am.
“I’m a born fighter. I’ve already had 86 [Boxrec, the online bible of boxing records suggests 83] professional fights. Everything about fighting comes natural to me. Lots of boxers today are afraid of being hit. I’m not. I’m not discrediting the likes of Muhammad Ali, but I’m an old-school fighter. I’m going in there to knock his head off his shoulders. It’s business for me, strictly business.”
Toney, a dapper man whose tailor is Rocky’s Custom Clothes of Sherman Oaks, CA, knows exactly what he wants. “I’m not in this because I’m after a career in MMA. Yes, I want to hold the UFC championship belt, but I also want to unify boxing’s heavyweight division. I have always been this way. They have no one like me in the UFC. You might call it braggadocio, but if I talk like this, it is only because I know I can back it up. Let’s see how many more fights Randy Couture has after he has fought me. I’m the best fighter in the world. This is my 23rd year as a pro boxer, I’m blessed that I am still able to do it. I’m healthy right now, I’m 100% fit and there are no excuses. I love the UFC, and the fans. They like to see real fighters and that is exactly what I am.”
Toney is planning to come in at around between 210 and 217 pounds. “I don’t care if Randy Couture is a legend in this sport. I’ve had a career fighting guys in their backyard. Boxing is a superior science. We are the best, and I’m going to show that wrestling and hugging people is for women. That’s not going to happen against me. I have a lot of KOs in my career, and you will see another one on August 28.”
Did he really work with ‘King Mo’ Lawal? “Yeah, it’s true, I worked with King Mo. He was happy to come down and spar with me. He showed me some skills, and I got him by submission with a rear naked choke. But you know, that jiu-jitsu – all that hugging, it’s for girls.
“But seriously, yeah I like the UFC. I’m not hating on it like others in boxing. It’s a very fast-developing sport and the boxing world should be following what they do and putting on the best fights all the time. The UFC makes the fights the fans want to see. That’s where the action is right now.
“You know what I like about MMA fans? When they see a real fighter they respect them. I was born with it. As a little kid, I was around tough things – people selling drugs, people firing shots – this is nothing compared to that. Most of the fighters in boxing today don’t know about real fighting. Boxing changed when they started putting ratings and looks over talent. The trainer can’t bring the dog out of you. It’s either there or not.”
And if he achieves the dream, what of the likes of Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez? “Come on man, Lesnar’s a former wrestler and actor now in the UFC. He runs with his head down. Yeah, I want to fight him down the line... I’ll fight the lot of them. In one night if I have to.”
The man has not a doubting sinew in his powerful frame. If he gets his first victory it will be ‘Lights On’ everywhere for Toney in MMA’s burgeoning world arena.
Seconds out...
Boxing authorities talk Toney’s chances
David Haye: WBA heavyweight champion and MMA fan
“James Toney is one of my favorite boxers of all-time, and one of the greatest pure boxers to ever lace the gloves up, but I fear for him in mixed martial arts. I don’t see how he can learn a completely new sport at 42 years of age and defeat one of the founding members in Couture.
“All Toney possesses in this fight is his pure punch power and technique. His hands are above and beyond anyone else’s who’s entered the cage and it goes without saying that he’ll cause immense damage if he lands something clean on any of these guys, Couture included. If Couture chooses to stand with Toney, he’ll be foolish – and quickly knocked out.
“However, Couture’s a veteran of the game and knows exactly what he has to do. He’s aware he can’t afford to stand with Toney, and he’s also a master at securing takedowns. Toney was never the most mobile or fleet-footed boxer in the world, so there’s a good chance Couture will be shooting for takedowns against a static target. Once Toney is thrown to the floor, it’s a wrap. Toney doesn’t know nearly enough to escape or remain active.”
Gil Martinez: Xtreme Couture boxing coach
“James Toney has hand speed, a lot of power and he is extremely accurate with his punches. I think boxers can do well in MMA as long as they take the time to adapt to the new sport, because there’s a lot of stuff that boxers do that is horrible for MMA. There’s the way that they stand, they’re not used to the clinches and they’re not used to being taken down. He’s going to have to do some work.”
Glyn Leach: Editor, Boxing Monthly
“Toney is a fantastic boxing technician at his best, which was a long time ago. He’s fought once in two years. Only seven of his KOs have occurred this decade, with Holyfield being in 2003. Randy, it’s been proven, can be knocked out or TKO’d, but he’s not a banger. Toney has the hand speed and the technique and Randy’s not at his peak himself. But unless JT catches him on the way in I can’t see how he can do it. It’s literally down to a puncher’s chance. Ray Mercer shows what can happen – you can knock out or a former champ or get taken down by a novice.”
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