Is James Toney insane?

Toney is so frustrating. The man is as skilled as any fighter on this planet, but for nigh on half a decade or so he has refused to be in perfect shape for a fight. And now that he has no fight on the horizon he has apparently worked off the fat and is down to 215 with promises to lose more weight still. He wants Hopkins or Tarver, but there is no guarantee that either will fight him and I have a hard time seeing him on ESPN earning 50 dollars against other CW's in order to stay busy. Surely it isn't that hard for him to get fights at HW or just stay busy so that the bigger fights will come to him? Toney makes little sense to me these days.

FIGHTHYPE \\ JAMES TONEY: "I AM OFFICIALLY 215 POUNDS AND COMING DOWN"

So my question of the day, is James Toney stark raving mad?

Yeah apparently Toney is in good shape or better shape!

It would worry me that hed be like Chris Byrd dropping a shed load of weight and getting in good looking condition but then having no resiliance. The difference with Toney though is that 90% of his training consistes of sparring so he will feel a difference during training and he may just be feeling quicker or something that is encouraging him to keep losing the weight?

Read Dark Trade by Don MCrae. The NICEST thing that can be said about Toney is he is a troubled soul.

Now having said that? Were he to get to 200 pounds don't you think he'd be competitive with any cruiser in the world? The division just stinks.

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Originally Posted by miles

Toney is so frustrating. The man is as skilled as any fighter on this planet, but for nigh on half a decade or so he has refused to be in perfect shape for a fight. And now that he has no fight on the horizon he has apparently worked off the fat and is down to 215 with promises to lose more weight still. He wants Hopkins or Tarver, but there is no guarantee that either will fight him and I have a hard time seeing him on ESPN earning 50 dollars against other CW's in order to stay busy. Surely it isn't that hard for him to get fights at HW or just stay busy so that the bigger fights will come to him? Toney makes little sense to me these days.

FIGHTHYPE \\ JAMES TONEY: "I AM OFFICIALLY 215 POUNDS AND COMING DOWN"



So my question of the day, is James Toney stark raving mad?

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James has always been a crazy mo-fo, it's part of his charm. ;) I'd love to see what the dude could do at cruiserweight.

He wants the money but think he has had too many blows to the head and should not try a lower weight.

I love the guy to death, but seriously worry. He really hasn't looked good against the elite for a long time now and refuses to fight on a regular basis and yet he keeps on talking. What has he done recently to deserve a fight with Hopkins or Tarver? Speaking as a fan, he just needs to stop talking and get in that ring and show something.

The MMA thing was a farce and he seems to have a half MMA thing coming up. I just wish he would fight or stop completely. The man is so old though. Toney for me has not looked sharp since the first Peter fight. And yeah, he has looked decent against bums, but suddenly he can now lose the weight? But couldn't for Rahman 1 or so many of his HW fights?

Such a weird later career.

He's been saying the same stuff for over ten years.

Like Marblehead said - read Dark Trade. I was just recently browsing through it and Toney was adamant he was gonna rematch Jones (Roy was just lucky to fight a "tired" version of him)

He was gonna fight Eubank in England. Was gonna kill Benn. Was gonna kill the "bum" Lennox Lewis. Was gonna beat Tyson. Was gonna beat Holyfield (gotta give him credit for that one - it was an impressive beating). The only fighter in the world Toney respected was Riddick Bowe (although, of course, he would whup Bowe's ass).

Great character.

Sounds like a really interesting book, would love to know how to get hold of it. Toney is mad, but I am always drawn to the outsider types.

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Originally Posted by miles

Sounds like a really interesting book, would love to know how to get hold of it. Toney is mad, but I am always drawn to the outsider types.

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Got mine from the library, it is old now that even they have it.

amazon has 14 used copies starting at $2.34...

He's always been a livewire who didn't tire of his own voice. Difference is his skills used to over shadow it and made it easy to digest. Now he's just stripped down to the fat round man with his ass hanging out of his trunks being out boxed by Peter second go and rolling on the canvas in some mma senior circuit for a check. He can lose weight but he can't lose years and he sure as hell isn't Hopkins. I just try to look the other direction, put the fingers in the ears and go rewatch him vs Jirov, littles and Barkley.

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Originally Posted by miles

I love the guy to death, but seriously worry. He really hasn't looked good against the elite for a long time now and refuses to fight on a regular basis and yet he keeps on talking. What has he done recently to deserve a fight with Hopkins or Tarver? Speaking as a fan, he just needs to stop talking and get in that ring and show something.

The MMA thing was a farce and he seems to have a half MMA thing coming up. I just wish he would fight or stop completely. The man is so old though. Toney for me has not looked sharp since the first Peter fight. And yeah, he has looked decent against bums, but suddenly he can now lose the weight? But couldn't for Rahman 1 or so many of his HW fights?

Such a weird later career.

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There was a time 50 lbs ago, when Toney could back up his shit talk, now all he does is talk shit. If James could get into "fighting shape" and his weight down to 200 or less, he could still make some waves at crusierweight. He just looks like a fucking whale at Heavyweight, and really isn't competitive there.

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Originally Posted by miles

Toney is so frustrating. The man is as skilled as any fighter on this planet, but for nigh on half a decade or so he has refused to be in perfect shape for a fight. And now that he has no fight on the horizon he has apparently worked off the fat and is down to 215 with promises to lose more weight still. He wants Hopkins or Tarver, but there is no guarantee that either will fight him and I have a hard time seeing him on ESPN earning 50 dollars against other CW's in order to stay busy. Surely it isn't that hard for him to get fights at HW or just stay busy so that the bigger fights will come to him? Toney makes little sense to me these days.

FIGHTHYPE \\ JAMES TONEY: "I AM OFFICIALLY 215 POUNDS AND COMING DOWN"

So my question of the day, is James Toney stark raving mad?

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A fight with Tarver would be the best thing for Toney, as far as a payday and having a shot at winning.

But, I'll believe it when I see it. Last few years Toney is all talk.

To be fair to Toney, he did look really good early on at HW and he was never less than entertaining to watch. But once he started weighing above 230 pounds, he became increasingly sluggish and it reached a low point with the Rahman 1 fight. Too off balance and the stamina didn't seem to be there. Toney beat Peter the first time out too, but in the rematch we saw a real deterioration and it hasn't been the same since. That was nearly half a decade ago and all we've had from Toney really is a lot of talk and a couple of wins over bums. And now he's suddenly losing all this weight and doesn't even have a fight lined up? He is older than Father Christmas and I have little faith anymore. I will be curious to watch Toney, but I have no real expectations anymore. He has dumped on his fans too much in recent times with empty claims and false promises.

I like Toney and have to say also...he made Rahman quit on his stool in rematch. I thought that was clear, he shook him to his heels prior to cut or no cut blah.

He's not insane - he's just very stupid, punch-drunk, and completely shot to pieces.

Recently walked in to the Wild Card Boxing Gym and proclaimed,"i need 6 of you guys to spar 3 rounds each with me, who is down", everybody in the place cracked up, didn't look like he could make past round one. Hears his own drum beat.

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Originally Posted by Gocougars3

Recently walked in to the Wild Card Boxing Gym and proclaimed,"i need 6 of you guys to spar 3 rounds each with me, who is down", everybody in the place cracked up, didn't look like he could make past round one. Hears his own drum beat.

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And? Is he looking even half decent in sparring these days? I love that he still has that mentality really, always had a soft spot for Toney.

Call me crazy, but i think an old IN SHAPE toney can do damage.

I was never a James Toney fan for the record but here is a man than would have been great with all those moves except that he hasn't met an entree on any menu that he didn't love. David Tua is another one that really disappointed fans because he could not be dragged away from a spare rib dinner tied to a herd of wild horses. I was reading some posts before this and someone said not to expect too much from a forty plus individual like Tua. What about Bernard Hopkins? He's the oldest champion in history and he looks as young as guys in their thirties body wise. James Toney isn't insane he is lazy. He had the potential and it escaped him at the dinner bell. I bet the dog hides his dish when Toney is around.

In 1991 (or 92, around there), in a KO magazine interview, Toney said that he would be heavyweight champ by 2004. (Marblehead, I'm suprised you don't remember.) So maybe crazy like a fox.
A lot of wasted opportunity, that's for sure. He has to be kicking himself, seeing Hopkins giving boxing lessons, when he was always the better fighter. Bill Miller taught him real well and he can fight all night with a minimum of energy expended.
Who knows what he has left at 43 or 44? I'd love to see him fight Hopkins...unless the two of them did business and decided to make it a non-contact event.

people think he's nuts and for a while i thought he might be too. punch drunk or w/e. but when i saw him go in the mma ring, they come out to fight and 25 seconds later he lays on his back, taps and yells, "Pay me. Pay me now!' lol i knew then, he knows whats up.

I posted this in the other Toney thread, but the man seems to have got himself in shape. Clearly an improvement on the bloated beast of the last fight and the thinnest he has been in ages. But as I said there, can he still fight? I am curious and really hope so.

Slim and fit James Toney means business!

I think he must be taking slimming drugs to lose that weight.

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Originally Posted by Youngblood

people think he's nuts and for a while i thought he might be too. punch drunk or w/e. but when i saw him go in the mma ring, they come out to fight and 25 seconds later he lays on his back, taps and yells, "Pay me. Pay me now!' lol i knew then, he knows whats up.

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He lasted a little longer than 25 seconds, he lasted about 3 minutes and fought the submission for a bit, but then tapped.

Sad part was he didn't throw or land a single punch !

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Originally Posted by Hulk

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Originally Posted by Youngblood

people think he's nuts and for a while i thought he might be too. punch drunk or w/e. but when i saw him go in the mma ring, they come out to fight and 25 seconds later he lays on his back, taps and yells, "Pay me. Pay me now!' lol i knew then, he knows whats up.

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He lasted a little longer than 25 seconds, he lasted about 3 minutes and fought the submission for a bit, but then tapped.

Sad part was he didn't throw or land a single punch !

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I was obv exaggeration for effect. And it was obvious he cared a lot more about getting paid then winning. i mean, he did just enough to not get called a cheat, make Dana White and MMA fans happy, and collect a huge check by mma standards.

He knew his sacrificial lamb role and played it perfectly. And did it without getting so much as a scratch. He was never going to win, we knew it, he knew it, and at the end of the day everyone was happy.

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Originally Posted by Youngblood

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Originally Posted by Hulk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Youngblood

people think he's nuts and for a while i thought he might be too. punch drunk or w/e. but when i saw him go in the mma ring, they come out to fight and 25 seconds later he lays on his back, taps and yells, "Pay me. Pay me now!' lol i knew then, he knows whats up.

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He lasted a little longer than 25 seconds, he lasted about 3 minutes and fought the submission for a bit, but then tapped.

Sad part was he didn't throw or land a single punch !

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I was obv exaggeration for effect. And it was obvious he cared a lot more about getting paid then winning. i mean, he did just enough to not get called a cheat, make Dana White and MMA fans happy, and collect a huge check by mma standards.

He knew his sacrificial lamb role and played it perfectly. And did it without getting so much as a scratch. He was never going to win, we knew it, he knew it, and at the end of the day everyone was happy.

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Calm down. ;D

Yes it was a disgrace that is for sure. I watchd it live on PPV and was greatly disapointed with his "effort" and he clearly put a lot of training in preparing for that match. :rolleyes:

lol sorry, wasn't looking for an argument. I think what was cool about that whole deal is the true boxing fan had little doubt what was going to happen. And most of us laughed at the performance and were glad he got paid so well and wasn't hurt. I heard more arguments from casual mma fans that Toney might win then boxing fans in the mma vs boxing hype job Dana tried to do. Which to me was lolz. :D

Toney is like Floyd ... He mumbles his bullshit everywhere because if he kept it to himself he'd be the only one listening to his crap . I don't blame him he wants money like everyone else . He knows damn well he couldn't beat a klitch, hell I doubt he could beat Travis walker these days . You do your talking in the ring ... And toney has only been loosing , and not only in his own sport