Should James Toney get the opportunity to redeem himself against Vitor Belfort?
Here we go again? After boxing legend James Toney was demolished at UFC 118 some weeks ago by former heavyweight champion Randy Couture, most thought the boxing-MMA debate had closed up shop. But testament to the contrary, Toney has been challenged again, this time by former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort. And unlike Couture, Belfort is willing to challenge Toney to a boxing match.
In a Twitter message specifically addressed to UFC president Dana White, Belfort says: “Dana let me fight James Toney on 6 round boxe Mach I think I can catch him with my speed.” Immediately after he posted “Dana will be the 1 boxing match in Ufc I promise he will feel my power and we will show the world the a Ufc fighter can do better.”
It might sound at first that Belfort's taken a few too many blows to the head. The thing is: this challenge by Belfort is really quite credible. The whole thing about the Couture bout, the facade of the match, was that it was marketed as a boxer versus an MMA specialist...and since Couture won, surprise! MMA is the superior sport and has the tougher fighters, so goes the logic.
The reality is nothing could be further from the truth, or more deceitful. Toney and Couture was a hundred per cent a mixed martial arts match. Boxing didn’t come into play, at least from a combative perspective. The match was sanctioned as an MMA bout, the rules were all MMA based, and Toney had to conform.
After losing in all of three minutes to Couture, Toney did something he hardly got credit for—though he should have. He called Couture out to a boxing match, to which the legendary ‘streetfighter’ “respectfully declined.”
Couture has been respectful of boxing, and pointed out he'd probably have lost to Toney instead a boxing ring, probably inside the first round, too. And he might just be right. It wasn't too sporting though to take a fight against Toney with Toney way out of his depth, and then refuse the exact same challenge except the other way around.
But in response to Belfort’s comments, Toney was just as eager to get it on. He said: “Tell Vitor Belfort let’s make it happen. I like that because he ain’t no scared little [expletive]. He wants to come to my world and I’m more than willing to welcome him to my world.”
Couture was also willing to welcome Toney to his world; he just wasn’t willing to play by Toney’s rules. But now that we have someone who is, Toney has a chance to redeem himself in the boxing ring, and boxing by implication has a chance to stop looking ridiculous to MMA enthusiasts.
According to UFC rules, fighters aren’t allowed to compete in boxing matches while locked into contracts (presumably unless White gives authoritative clearance). But when Belfort’s contract comes to a close, this would be a perfect opportunity for boxing to jump on and they should. Likely, however, official sanctioning bodies won’t, and it will be up to Toney to overcome some of the logistical and sanctioning dilemmas this fight will create.
It should also be noted that in using his twitter account to get White’s attention, Belfort is doing exactly what Couture did in calling for first dibs on Toney's MMA career, and it ultimately worked. However, chances are slim to none this case will work. White and the UFC have everything to lose on this occasion, unless the match had authorized boxing rules but was still essentially sanctioned by the UFC. In that case, it would run into all the same structural problems explained above, being a thinly disguised ‘boxing match’ put together by a non-boxing institution.
One can only hope Toney will somehow get his opportunity to redeem himself through these developments. Rightly or wrongly, he's made himself the face of the MMA vs Boxing debate, and it's only right he get a fair shake.
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