James Toney more serious side in fighting diary
There’s been a lot of talk about the upcoming MMA bout between James Toney and Randy Couture. Various fighters have weighed in, all giving diverse opinions. No less of authorities than Bernard Hopkins and David Haye say Toney is out of his league. But others like Ricky Hatton said that Toney has a chance, though he’ll have to capitalize early on. And of course Couture and Toney have said a lot about their plans for the bout, both fighters hoping to rely on their respective skills to earn the win.
With Toney though, you never quite know what to expect. For some he may be more well-known for his trash-talking antics than anything he’s achieved in the ring in the last five years. Which is why the training diary he released today is kind of refreshing: gone are the outrageous insults and foolish wordplay. Instead seems to be a man who is truly focused on winning.
Toney says: "My training has been good, everything's going great so far. I come to work every day and I work hard. I do every single drill, no complaints, I get down and dirty and do what I gotta do.” Toney continues with the specifics: “We do grappling for two hours in the morning, we practice escapes, we don't do a lot of submission training; we work on submission defenses more, and basically on getting back on my feet [...] We do weight training for about 20 minutes and then we spend about an hour in the cage every day. We do sparring three days a week.”
The upcoming bout with Couture is being hailed as a definitive answer to the longstanding “boxing vs. MMA” debate. While many in the boxing world are quick to dismiss Toney as over-the-hill or just plain crazy, most are still genuinely interested in the outcome of the bout. It wouldn’t be the first time a boxer and a MMA specialist will be getting into the caged circle (see Ray Mercer and Tim Sylvia), but it will set a new precedent. Despite Toney being over 40, and largely irrelevant to the heavyweight title picture (though he does hold a largely insignificant IBA title.)
Toney was quick to admit his strengths lie in his boxing abilities: “My best asset is still boxing, sure. I've been working on my grappling a lot -- I think it's one of my strongest points right now. I am here to teach everybody a lesson, that's what I am here to do. That's my position. I ain't trying to be no wrestler, I ain't no jiu-jitsu guy, I don't kick, I ain't no girl.”
Toney likewise understood the larger stakes of the bout, noting that this is his time to do his “business” and let everyone “know what boxers can do, because this is boxing versus MMA.”
Another factor for Toney is the fact that, as oppose to regular 10 ounce boxing gloves, he’ll be wearing four ounce ones, which will presumably give him more speed. Toney admitted that punching with UFC gloves felt strange, and noted: “I punched the bags and it felt light, but when I punched other fighters I was like, "Oh my goodness."
Couture has been quieter in the verbal game, but many think he stands the better chance in the cage. He is wont to push his opponents against the cage and dismantle them by getting them on the mat. Most analysts think that standing up at a distance Toney will be able to control the bout, but if he is knocked down and Couture can manage to get through his defense with a submission, he’ll win the fight.
Though many have been quick to dismiss Toney, with a victory, he will legitimately have moved from boxing to MMA. And while he’s said he is still primarily a boxer, it’s clear that he’d be game for challenging just about anyone in either divisions. According to almost anybody though, including the bookmakers, he's unlikely to do that. But don't tell that to James Toney.
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