Let’s take one other look again on the fairly superior combating capacity a sure James Nathaniel Toney possessed throughout his ring prime. Toney, a contemporary nice, arguably an all-time nice, really had a profession that peaked within the Nineteen Nineties and was once more introduced again to elite stage within the early 2000s.
Toney, who as we speak celebrates his 57th birthday, has had many a tribute penned in his honour, and rightly so. However is it potential that Toney’s abilities, Toney’s superb ring craft, his mountain of achievements, his sheer greatness, is increasingly appreciated as time strikes on? Actually, the older I get, the extra I discover myself marvelling over Toney and his magnificent, at occasions stunningly stunning to look at ring shows.
Toney’s Craft: A Fighter Who Might Do It All
Toney, a born fighter, actually did have all of it. Quick of hand and excessive of ring IQ, “Lights Out” was each masterful and cozy when combating along with his again to the ropes, even when adopting this method in opposition to actual killers, up as excessive as heavyweight. And but Toney was equally efficient when coming ahead and being the, shall we embrace, aggressive counter-puncher. Toney in his prime, and even past it, was exhausting to hit, this as his, it’s a pleasure to look at shoulder roll and all-round slippery defence, noticed to it that harmful punches would skim previous his head.
And so far as his personal punches went, Toney boasted laser-like accuracy and jarring energy, once more, at the same time as far up in weight as heavyweight. After which there’s Toney’s granite chin; it has to rank as one of many best possible in all of boxing. From 154 to heavyweight, Toney was by no means as soon as stopped, nor was he even near being stopped.
In brief, Toney may have competed in ANY period. A scholar of the sport who lists amongst his favourites and his influences the likes of Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, Jersey Joe Walcott, and naturally Sugar Ray Robinson, it’s ever so damned tempting to think about Toney matching wits and dazzling ring abilities with every of those legends. Sure, Toney was that nice, that particular.
When he was totally turned on and had completed his work within the gymnasium, that’s. As a result of in the event you do wish to level a finger at a Toney weak spot, it’s the dearth of self-discipline he would typically let himself down with. There are tales of how Toney, in sparring, would drink Coke or Pepsi between rounds, not water. Toney would typically pile the load on in-between fights, and one of many causes he fought a lot between his massive fights was as a result of he bought his coaching and his conditioning in these non-title fights.
However when he was at his finest, when Toney knew he had one thing to combat for and he had locked himself in within the gymnasium, when he was totally targeted on the duty at hand, Toney was a grasp. Any younger fighter may do a heck of quite a bit worse that to look at Toney’s first two fights with the equally wizard-like Mike McCallum in the event that they search additional training on the best way to field. These 24 rounds are like an encyclopedia of the Noble Artwork, of the Candy Science.
Legacy, Self-discipline, and the Query of Greatness
So too is Toney’s return to greatness combat with Vassiliy Jirov, this up at cruiserweight; simply watch the tape of the combat once more, and behold, you see generational greatness, ring craft of the best order. Toney even managed to rock and roll in opposition to the massive males, the heavies, this although he stands simply 5’9” – an inch taller than Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
Toney too benefited from being taught and helped by two nice trainers: Invoice Miller and Freddie Roach. Toney owes each males a debt, which he readily acknowledges. Toney, from 1991 to 2003, with some tough and bumpy, and, sure, undisciplined occasions in-between, was the most effective to ever do it.
Upon watching, or re-watching Toney’s finest fights right here in 2025, some twenty to 30 years or so after they came about, a fan actually can discover themselves appreciating Toney increasingly. That’s positive the case with me, how about you?
Toney’s last numbers are nearly as old-school as people who had been compiled by a few of his ring heroes, with “Lights Out” going out at 77-10-3(47) with a few no-contests in there. And once more, Toney was by no means stopped.
Right here’s a query to log out with: is James Toney deserving of a spot within the twenty biggest fighters who ever lived? Toney would little doubt say he’s top-5, however what do his followers, each previous and new, say on the topic?
