Talking Boxing with JAMES "LIGHTS OUT" TONEY
"'The Life and Times of James Toney'...It's gonna be a reality TV show!"
by
Coyote Duran
2/25 - So my good friend
Rachel Charles at
Goossen-Tutor Promotions asks me: "Would you like to interview
James Toney?" Holy crap-in-a-hat! Who wouldn't?
That's me on the outside. On the inside, I'm a churning vortex of nervous barf waiting to happen. Unless you've relocated you to Mars in the past 15 or so years, you know that "Lights Out" has a tendency to make the media want to run. Run into traffic. Run off a cliff. Just run far enough to not let Toney (68-4-with 2 draws and 43 KOs) catch you. Luckily for me, I do business via telephone.
But what does that matter when James Toney can just about intimidate anyone who doesn't step into a ring for a living (and some who do!). What if he rips me a new ass? If I ask the wrong question, I'm on the first flight to Gonesville, man.
So, imagine my surprise when James Toney, a fighter I immensely admire but at the same time, am understandably scared stupid of, greets me with a loud, hearty "COYOTE DURAN! What's cracka-lackin'??!"
Holy whistlin' prairie dogs. All this time, I'm sweating like an Amish virgin at a Slayer concert and one of the most outspoken, feared men in the fight game greeted me like I was just "one of the guys." That courtesy, I would soon find, would only be extended to me. For Toney's future opponents, a whole different recognition would be handed out freely. As of press time, Toney is slated to challenge WBA heavyweight titlist John "The Quietman" Ruiz for his 1/4 of a championship representing what should be the most glamorous division in boxing. With a loud mouth and a fearless streak a country mile wide, The Ring Magazine's 2003 "Fighter of the Year" and "Comeback of the Year" award recipient parlayed wins over former IBF Cruiserweight titlist Vassiliy Jirov, former Undisputed World Cruiserweight and Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield and undefeated (at the time) Rydell Booker for an auspicious entry into a division that desperately needed a jump start.
Currently rated #1 by the WBC, #2 by the WBA, #4 by the IBF and #3 by the WBO, Toney and his promoter Dan Goossen are now poised to invade and if Toney had his way, no one, even promoter Don King would stop him.
A little warning: James can be a little.....open......in a very frank, candid way (Duh.) so if you're easily offended (and why should you be if you're a fight fan?!) you might want to skip this piece. I won't mind. But if you do stick around, you'll find out what Toney thinks of John Ruiz, Don King, Vassiliy Jirov, how his biceps muscle is faring, what defines "old school" fighters and.......A James Toney television show?!
Stick around. It gets better.
JAMES "LIGHTS OUT" TONEY
Coyote Duran: Thank you for taking the time to talk to me today, James! First things first: Congratulations for finally getting this title shot against John Ruiz.
James Toney: Well, you know, you can save the congratulations for after I knock this chump out! Because, you know, John Ruiz and the whole Don King organization is some fucking cowards and some faggots!
Coyote Duran: Wow!
James Toney: I'm being real. I'm gonna say it to their faces! We been #1 for over a year now and, besides my injuries, everytime something comes up. Don King, I really don't need. Don King is not the fighter. James Toney is the show, not him. You know what I'm sayin'?
Coyote Duran: Yep!
James Toney: He's always tryin' to throw a monkey wrench into the plans of me and Goossen-Tutor and Lights Out Boxing. But you know we don't' need them. We gotta fight 'em or roll over 'em. That's the bottom line. The thing is, the heavyweight division is dead now but I'm here to liven it up! I am the man! I am that dude!
Coyote Duran: Now how are you doing right now and how is your biceps muscle doing?
"Right now, I'm the man callin' the shots"
James Toney: Aw, my biceps is real good. I mean, I feel strong. It's better than ever. So my jab, it was lethal before, but it's gonna be really lethal and deadly now!
Coyote Duran: Sounds fantastic to me, James. John Ruiz has obviously not faced an opponent like you before, or at the very least, in a long time. He's resorted recently to an uncharacteristic litany of trash talk about you on the Internet. He's calling you a tune-up. How do you respond to that?
James Toney: Well, you know, I appreciate that. I appreciate him calling me a tune-up but you know what? Ask him what he'll call me after the fight. He's gonna call me the new champ!
Coyote Duran: Regarding Ruiz' style, aside of being a great counterpuncher, you rule on the inside. Will this be the key that helps you solve Ruiz' frequent clinching?
James Toney: You know what? That's what I'm sayin'! John Ruiz, he must be half-faggot because he likes to hold and hug on people! The thing is, he can do that with me all he wants to but he's gonna get hit with a whole buncha punches he ain't never seen before and he ain't never seen a fighter like me before anyway. You know what I'm sayin'? So he don't know what he's gonna do! He don't know how he's gonna figure me out.
Coyote Duran: What do you plan on weighing on the day of the weigh-in?
James Toney: On the day of the weigh-in, I should be a good 210, 215. In-between there.
Coyote Duran: Excellent. Since moving up in weight, James, you've been really focusing on the upper body and your strength training. Do you think the focus on strength training may have contributed to your latest injury against Rydell Booker?
James Toney: No. It was a freak accident, y' know? I warmed up properly in the locker room. It just happened. I don't think weight training had anything to do with it. It may have been just a freak of nature. I punch harder than my hands. Y' know what I'm sayin'? My hands are.....I got small, little, brittle hands. I guess one thing led to another.
Coyote Duran: About your relationship with Mike "Zipper" Sable, are you still working with him as your strength trainer?
James Toney: Naw, we're not working with him. It was best for me and everybody around me thought it was best for me to part ways with him on good terms. He's a good guy and everything. I ain't got nothing bad to say about him. He's a good trainer but, you know, since I've been working with him, I've had 2 major surgeries within a year. So it was best for us to let him go.
Coyote Duran: Back to Ruiz: Is Don King willing to work reasonably with "Papa Goose" or is he attempting to play the "contract option" card with your career?
James Toney: Well, you see, we want a purse bid on Monday so Don, he's playin' his games. Like I said, it's not about Don King. See, the fighters of Don King let it be about Don King. The fighters let him know that he's the boss. I'm the boss of my situation. I'm my own company, Lights Out Boxing in co-promotion with Goossen-Tutor. Me and Dan have great respect for each other. Dan don't try to overshadow me. He knows I'm the man. Right now, I'm the man callin' the shots. I'm the one puttin' the asses in seats. John Ruiz better sit back and enjoy the ride because this is gonna be the biggest and last payday of his career.
Coyote Duran: In conjunction with FoxSportsNet's Best Damn Sports Show Period!, you really helped usher in a new recognizance of boxing with your fight against Rydell Booker and you were no stranger during the telecast of [Michael] Moorer and (Vassiliy) Jirov. If you take the title from John Ruiz, will you defend it on FoxSportsNet again?
James Toney: I'll fight anywhere! My goal right now....see, you got a lot of people right now that talk a big game and don't back it up. [Former World heavyweight Champion] Lennox Lewis, everybody down the line. Me, if you know my past, I've always said what I'm gonna do and do what I say. You know what I'm sayin'?
Coyote Duran: Yes, sir.
"I promise you, I'm gonna be the most active champion ever"
James Toney: I promise you I'm gonna be the most active heavyweight champion ever! If it means me fighting on FoxSportsNet or the regularFox network, I would do so! I wanna stay busy. This year, and we're into February now, so I wanna get in three fights this year!
Coyote Duran: There're a lot of us who are looking forward to that kind of activity, James. Especially with the way the division is now.
James Toney: Yeah! Exactly!
Coyote Duran: After your fight with Rydell Booker, Vassiliy Jirov ruffled your feathers. Being that he lost to Moorer, is it safe to say that you're done with him?
James Toney: I'm done with him! He's gotta get some wins now! He's gotta sit back and have some tune-up fights or fight some comeback fights and if I was him, I'd comeback against someone like Samuel Peter who'll be a very easy fool for him!
Coyote Duran: If you have a choice of other heavyweight titlist, especially considering that Don King controls 3/4 of the major titlists in the division, who's next after John Ruiz?
James Toney: (Vitali) Klitschko. I want Klitschko first!
Coyote Duran: Got it.
James Toney: Klitschko and John Ruiz, they're easy! I mean, everybody in the division is garbage! You got the so-called contender (Hasim) Rahman. He fought Kali Meehan! The guy, man, was a dead man walking! All of a sudden, he gets a win and he's a big, bad fighting machine! He's a fuckin' cheese champ! He only held the title for like 8 months?! Then he lost it in his first defense?! You can never call yourself a "World Champion" if you can't hold the title longer than two or three years! You can check my record. I've been world champion for four, five years down the line. Y' know what I'm sayin'? I've made five, six, seven, eight, even nine title defenses of my middleweight title and this guy can't even get one title defense?! They thought he was a great champion? Didn't he go up against lennox Lewis in the rematch and get blown out? That's garbage! Y' know what I'm sayin'? He's become a garbage champion!
Coyote Duran: We know how Ruiz fights. We know he's got a real close, clinchy, huggy style. He's really "herky-jerky" in the way that he moves. being that you and everyone else knows how he fights,.....
James Toney: He fights ugly.
Coyote Duran: Is it essential for you and your trainer, Freddy Roach to look at tape of this guy or will you know what spots to pick out and what his weaknesses are?
James Toney: Let me tell you something: A fighter who look at tapes is a scary man. I don't look at tapes of nobody. I don't need to watch no tapes of nobody. I'm an "old school" fighter. I'm a real fighter. I'm the only fighter today that's real. Not Bernard Hopkins. Everybody tryin' to label Bernard Hopkins "old school." Old school fighters fight! They don't run like he did against Howard Eastman on Saturday night. He should've destroyed Howard Eastman.
Coyote Duran: A lot of fans were really disappointed in the fact that he didn't. He fought safely.
James Toney: It was garbage! It was a garbage fight! The show stunk. The promoters stink. They all stink! (Coyote laughing) I'm the realest fighter there is! Y' know what I'm sayin'? I don't need to look at no tapes of fights. I let Freddy Roach look at tapes. Dan'll look at tapes. I still won't look at tapes. I don't need to! All you gotta tell me in the first round is what necessary adjustments I gotta make and it'll be done.
Coyote Duran: James, regarding how you see yourself as an old school fighter, where do you see yourself amongst the all-time heavyweight crop, current and past?
James Toney: The current heavyweights? I'm the best. Past? You can put me at #10 'cause look, I count #1 the best heavyweight of all time as Ali, of course.
Coyote Duran: Yes, sir!
James Toney: You got Mike Tyson, second, when he was young. A young Mike Tyson. I give him second. Naw, I take that back. You got Ali. You gotta have Rocky Marciano. I got Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles You see? Nothin' but old school fighters. Those are great old school fighters, right there....(Thinking)....Joe Louis!
Coyote Duran: Being that Tyson has had his string of problems career-wise along with his last fight, the loss to Danny Williams, would Tyson still be a challenge for you or a fight that you'd consider taking in the future?
"I'll fight Tyson anytime, anywhere"
James Toney: I'll fight Tyson anytime, anywhere. I don't turn down nothin' but my collar! So I turn that down since there ain't no one turn down!
Coyote Duran: It's all your moment now, James! I'm definitely not gonna hold you back from this. Anything you'd like to say to your fans, John Ruiz, or any potential victims before I let you go?
James Toney: Hey, this is to my fans: I love all my fans out there. Everybody who loves me, man, I got so much love for everyone back. Everybody who hates me, keep hatin' on me because you know what? You can keep puttin' more money in my pocket! You know? That's the way I look at it! And to all those contenders and everybody who wants to challenge me? All you gotta do is step up, run up and you will get done up, surely!
Coyote Duran: Damn!
James Toney: I'll fight the best fighters anytime, anywhere 'cause I am THE best! I'd love to fight Lennox Lewis if we can bring him out of retirement and I'll send his ass quickly back into retirement!
Coyote Duran: (Laughing) Excellent, man! James, thank you very much and good luck in your training for your upcoming fight against John Ruiz. A lot of us are really excited that you're bringing in some color into a division that's looking really, really mediocre right now.
James Toney: Hey, Coyote, let me tell you something: I appreciate your interview! Anytime, anywhere, you talkin' to the man! And watch out for my TV show!....Are you in the States, by the way?
Coyote Duran: Yes, I'm in the Chicago suburbs!
James Toney: (Excitedly) Hey, Chi-Town! I fought a couple of fights there! I love that city, man!
Coyote Duran: It is a great city!
James Toney: I love Chicago, man, and Chicago loves me! Y' know what I'm sayin'?
Coyote Duran: Thank you! Well, I'll tell you what, James, if you're ever in my neck of the woods or here with your family, look me up and we'll welcome you to our pad for a home cooked meal.
James Toney: No doubt! Watch out for my TV show! It starts in April!
Coyote Duran: Dude! Absolutely! This is the first I've heard of this.
James Toney: Yeah, it's gonna be "The Life and Times of James Toney". It's gonna be a reality TV show!
Coyote Duran: Are you serious?!
James Toney: Yes, I'm very serious! Very serious!
Coyote Duran: Damn! Whatta scoop!
James Toney: It's gonna be hot! You know, it's gonna show my life. How James Toney really is, in and outside the ring. We're gonna have fun with it!
Coyote Duran: Is this gonna be on a particular network or is that still in the air?
"James Toney is comin' to a TV set near you"
James Toney: It might be on Spike TV.
Coyote Duran: Sweet! man, that is so great. Thank you very much, James. I appreciate everything today.
James Toney: So make sure everybody on the airwaves hear that James Toney's comin' to ya! James Toney is comin' to a TV set near you! Watch out for me! I'm gonna look good! I'm gonna look bad! I'm gonna be everything you want me to be!
Coyote Duran: That is so dope! Thank you very much, James!
James Toney: Alright! You too, man!
Talking Boxing would like to thank the incomparable James "Lights Out" Toney for such an incredible interview and an even greater opportunity to get to know such a colorful soul who never fails to entertain.......plus for not making Coyote puke in fear. Thanks also to the very lovely Rachel Charles of Goossen-Tutor Promotions. This talk couldn't have been done without her invaluable assistance.
Coyote Duran can be reached at coyoteduran@talkingboxing.com
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