TalkingBoxing Interviews
Talking Boxing with JAMES TONEY
WED September 28, ROGER GORDILLO -
Love or hate the great multi-division champ James Toney, but without a doubt, you must respect 'Lights Out'. As Toney defends his IBA heavyweight title against contender Dominick Guinn on SHOWTIME this Saturday night, its amazing to see the transformation he's gone through. After being a pound for pound fighter in the in the early nineties at middleweight, Toney has reinvented himself to once again become one the best pound for pound fighters in the game at heavyweight.
If you do not care for Toney’s personality, mouth or demeanor, you probably haven’t spent much time with the guy. Toney is smart, that despite how he can come off to a frightened fan or the media, he's a real nice guy. When pushed, he'll bite as hard as he barks, but its that same tenacity that has made him a legend. If anything, Toney has given the heavyweight division a much needed shot in the arm. So for your time and the laughs, thanks James!
TalkingBoxing: So what are your thoughts on Dominick Guinn and how do you think the fights is going to unfold?
James Toney: Dominick Guinn is a good fighter, I ain’t knocking him he’s going to come to fight.
TalkingBoxing: So are you going to knock him out?
James Toney: I know I’m going to knock him out. It ain’t going the distance. He’s in my way, and I’m taking my title with me, the second defense of my IBA title. I don’t care about the WBA title, I don’t care about the WBC, IBF, all that sh** is irrelevant. Those titles don’t make me, the titles make them guys.
TalkingBoxing: Everybody talks about John Ruiz’s style being difficult to fight against but you made it look easy.
James Toney: It was easy, it was easy. I made it look easier than when Roy [Jones] fought him. You know that’s the difference between me and Roy. Roy ran around the ring, I stayed in front of him, I had a ball beating him.
TalkingBoxing: After Guinn is there any thought on who your next victim is going to be?
James Toney: Right now I’m focusing on Dominick Guinn, because you know he’s a good fighter and I’m not take him lightly. Last year he was thought of as the next big thing and then he just had two big fights against Monte Barrett and [Sergei] Lyakhovich and lost those fights. He came up short, but I think he’s hungry and I’m looking for everything. I’m looking for him to do anything he can to try to beat me, but It ain’t going to be enough.
TalkingBoxing: Some people say that Vitali Klitschko is just too big for you and that his reach wouldn’t allow you to come in, what do you think of that?
James Toney: Everybody is always saying that stuff, but if he’s too big and his reach is too much, than have him fight me, it would be an easy payday...ya know what I’m saying?
TalkingBoxing: Yeah.
James Toney: But I don’t see anyone taking no numbers.
TalkingBoxing: Do you think you’ll fight Ruiz again?
James Toney: I’ll aim to. I would if they wanna see it again. I’ll do it now that I’m healthy, 100%, 80%, I’ll knock him out this time. I fought him last time with three weeks of training and one arm and I did that to him, now imagine what I would do to him if I was healthy.
TalkingBoxing: I hear you man. So what are you going to do to get these guys to fight you?
James Toney: I’m not going to be chasing these guys anymore, you know what I’m saying. I want to do what the fans say, what you the media say. I want to fight the best opposition out there, it don’t matter if it’s Klitschko, Chris Byrd to fight, someone who’s fought someone.
We don’t need to go to these bogus organizations like the WBC, WBA, IBF, when they’re in Don King’s back pocket, because Don King is controlling them guys, and they’re like puppets. And make sure you send a transcript of this to all their president too.
Tell Jose Sulaiman he’s a puppet, Mendoza is a puppet and Marian Muhammad is a puppet.
TalkingBoxing: With all the moves you got in the ring, are you so above and beyond the other fighters that you just don’t have to worry about height or weight?
James Toney: No I worry about my weight. I want to come in light, I will get my weight down. This is only my second week in training [interview done in mid-September], I should come into this fight like around 225. I’ll be in a lot better shape then when I fought Ruiz. I looked like the Pillsbury doughboy when I fought him. But now I’m back and my body is in shape and it’s coming around, it’s cooperating, I’m just excited to get back and show the fans who the best fighter in the world is.
TalkingBoxing: What happened to the fight against Chris Byrd?
James Toney: He had an opportunity to fight me on October 24th, it would have been a pay-per-view fight in Detroit. But he opted because he lost a lawsuit against DaVarryl Willliamson, he got to make his mandatory defense. And like I said, what he got for the fight, I get for training snacks, so you know it’s ridiculous.
TalkingBoxing: So besides yourself who do you think is the best Heavyweight ever?
James Toney: Best Heavyweight ever, I got it a tie. Ali is up there but he’s not number one, I gotta say Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott those are the pioneers of the game.
TalkingBoxing: Are those the guys you got your moves from?
James Toney: Yeah, I ain’t even going to lie, I ain’t even going to front. I stole all my moves from Charles, Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott, Archie Moore you know a little bit of everything.
TalkingBoxing: That’s the problem I think a lot of these guys got they don’t want to stud, they don’t want to learn anything form these guys they just want to sit there and throw punches.
James Toney: And that’s all they want to do boom, boom but they forget they got to catch something back. I’m not afraid to take a shot, I’ll take one to deliver one big one all day, I don’t care how big you is, you can be six foot seven, I am not going nowhere, I’m going to be in your chest.
TalkingBoxing: What are some of the goals you want to accomplish before you retire?
James Toney: I want to beat [Vitali] Klitschko, I want to shut everybody’s mouth. They say he’s to big for me, I want to fight Chris Byrd, I wanna knock him out, which I will and anybody else who wants some. If they run up then they get done up. That’s’ all I’m saying, I wanna say I’m the best Heavyweight in the world. I want to prove it anywhere anytime. If [Hasim] Rahman beats Klitschko and if people want to see me fight Rahman, then I’m there. You know what I’m saying I don’t hide from nobody I don’t run from nobody.
TalkingBoxing: Your funny and charismatic is there anything in the works to get you in some movies or T.V. because I know you have people laughing their asses off?
James Toney: They going to be laughing soon cause I got a reality T.V. show coming out in the fall. It’ll be out on either Bravo or SpikeTV, so that’s what we’re looking at right now. So I’m going to keep my face out there, keep them laughing and entertain people.
TalkingBoxing: That’s going to be hot, James. Man I know a ton of people that are going to watch that. Anything you want to say to the fans before we go?
James Toney: Ah, Man I love the fans out there I’m the heavyweight champion of the world, I appreciate all their support out there and I can’t wait to get back in the ring, everybody tune in October 1st, Showtime the heavyweight champion of the world is back.
Beautiful pictures of Toney's children courtesy of Tom Casion/Showtime.
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