Toney vs Couture: What to expect from this showdown
Here we go again. The boxing-versus-MMA debate is now revived with the coming James Toney-Randy Couture showdown. The interest of this fight is largely attributed to the fighting backgrounds of the two fighters. James Toney is a gifted and accomplished boxer while Randy Couture is a UFC hall-of-famer. The bout presents the classic striker-versus-grappler match-up. But the question still remains, will it be even slightly competitive or will it be a complete blowout in favor of the MMA practitioner?
Randy Couture: The aging MMA legend
MMA fans know what Randy Couture is capable of. He is dubbed as the geriatric wonder of the octagon. At the age of 47, he had proven that he can still bang with the young and the best. He started fighting in the UFC in 1997 and carved his illustrious career with sensational wins against top-caliber fighters like Liddell, Belfort, Rizzo, Gonzaga, Sylvia, and recently Coleman.
Way back, he was nicknamed “The Natural” because his style is just well-suited to the sport. His Greco-Roman way of fighting is a force to reckon with especially in the clinch and on the ground. Out of 28 MMA fights, he had fought all kinds of fighters with different styles—explosive stand-up fighters (Liddell, Rizzo, and Belfort), fellow accomplished wrestlers (Randleman, Ortiz, and Coleman), and Jiu-Jitsu specialists (Gonzaga and Nogueira). It can be said that inside the octagon, nothing can really surprise Couture.
However, age has a funny way of catching up. Randy might have surprised us with wins over the younger Gonzaga and the giant Sylvia but his recent performances—whether win or lose—were not stellar. “The Natural” seemed to have succumbed to the natural way of things, and it is called aging. Some experts say that if there is one distinct disadvantage of Couture going into this fight, that would be his age. His takedowns or clinch may not be as powerful and his conditioning may betray him.
Captain America, as called by his fans, is a supreme tactician in the octagon. This time however, Randy will play Captain Obvious as his strategy will not come as a surprise. Just take Toney to the ground, and pound the h**l out of him.
James Toney: Fighting to prove his craft
When it comes to being a veteran in a fighting sport, James “Lights Out” Toney is one of most experienced active fighters today. He easily dwarfs Couture’s 28 professional career fights with his incredible 72-6-3 and two no-contest record. The catch however is that all of those fights were boxing matches. When his intentions to fight under UFC rules were put to ink, fellow boxers like Bernard Hopkins and David Haye publicly expressed their opinions of James Toney against the MMA legend.
British boxer and MMA fan, David Haye, idolizes Toney as a pure boxer but in regards to this match, Haye had this to say,
“Six months of training isn’t going to be enough. As a UFC fan, I know two or three years wouldn’t be enough. How many times has Toney sprawled in his life? 500? How many leg kicks has he taken in his life? 300? How many Kimura attempts has he defended? 140? Even if he’s done double that amount, he wouldn’t have nearly the experience needed to win a UFC fight.”
Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins simply said, “I think James Toney is going to get his a*s kicked. James Toney is out of his league.”
With all of these comments from his fellow boxers, James Toney is unperturbed yet slightly annoyed. It is obvious that Toney has absolute belief in his abilities and his craft. Though he stated that this bout is not about boxing versus MMA and it is only about him and Couture, he contradicted himself by saying that he will show everybody that boxing is the best sport period. As one of his trademark, James Toney makes use of his trash-talking mouth by taking shots at Couture and Jon Jones.
Nevertheless, James Toney is not dumb and contrary to what he had said in public, he respects the abilities of MMA fighters. There are lots reports that he is taking this fight very seriously. Toney will come prepared as much as possible. He is reported to be in good condition as he trains with various fighters, notably with Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, under the supervision of veteran trainer Juanito Ibarra.
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