Floyd Mayweather, JR Vs Conor McGregor & A Look Back at James Toney’s Debacle into the Octagon

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

There’s a lot of talk and circus around the May/Mac fight (as we have dubbed it over here…) and the debate rages from it’s a slam dunk, if I may mix my sporting metaphors, for the boxer and then it’s a tricky tie due to the MMA fighter being so fit and so the swings are out and the roundabouts oiled. In short it is great craic…

It led me to think back and wonder if it has ever been done before and more importantly if it has been done the other way round – the boxer enters an Octagon. Now I can just about remember the bizarre spectacle of one of the most boring things I have ever seen involving Muhammad Ali and some kickboxer. It came along with fanfare and chutzpah and left me with exasperation and struggling to care; it showed nothing and proved less.

Of course, there have been other much better examples of people who have gone from one sport to another successfully but never at this level. It has always been a level or two below though one of the young boxers I go interview now and then, Scott Allan is a former World Kickboxing champion. I know it happens. But there was something, away in the back of my mind that niggled – was there not some big crossover in the States that did not last long but came with such brouhaha?

Then I found it.

James “Lights Out” Toney, 77-10-3, 47 KO’s. The Dark Emperor was some fighter, having gone through no fewer than 5 weight divisions in his boxing career was world champ in 3 of them; would have been 4 had he not failed a drug test. No fewer than 7 years ago he stepped into a cage to become an MMA artist. After 92 brutal boxing contests in his career where he won 77 times, 47 by way of knockout and with 10 losses, 3 draws and 2 declared no contest and being voted fighter of the year in both 1991 and 2003 – what made him do it?

I became aware in my research that Toney had also played that pseudo rugby game you guys play called football in Michigan. It ended when he realized just how much of a team player he was not. He was an old school, no nonsense guy and he fought like one.

He proved that in the ring as the IBF middleweight title came his way after knocking out Michael Nunn, dominated and stopped Iran Barkley for the IBF super middleweight title, moved to light heavyweight after losing his unbeaten record to Roy Jones, JR. before he got the IBF cruiserweight title by defeating, on points, Vassiliy Jirov.

Toney was a champion and a championship elite level boxer. The move to heavyweight was less successful though his first fight at that weight was to beat Evander Holyfield. He did get a heavyweight world title – the little respected IBA title but it was his world title fight with John Ruiz that ended in a doping controversy. Toney won the fight but then tested positive for stanozolol. He was stripped and banned for 90 days.

When he came back he got another shot against WBC champion Hasim Rahman but the contest ended in a majority draw. His final title fight was for another lesser version – the WBF title which he lost on points to Lucas Browne in 2013.

Later that year he played a part in the British, Matchroom sponsored event, the Prizefighter International Heavyweight series and was beaten in the semi finals before ending – we hope – his career in 2015.

Fighting at York Hall at Prizefighter brought out many a fight fan to see the guy they thought was a legend. What they saw was not a legend but a man who was a shadow of his former self and as for that shadow – looked like he had eaten it at the buffet. He was not trim, he was not honed and he slurred his words. He was game and he had the skills but he was shot and past his sell by date. No matter how much he was saying he had ambitions, we all wanted him to sit down, get a nurse and put on the slippers. People looked and wondered why he was still putting on gloves.

It was the same question three years earlier when people just asked – Why Mr Toney, go into MMA? At the tender age of 42, in 2010, Toney was recruited by that man Dana White, to enter an Octagon. Toney had clearly been a fan of the sport and took up his training. Just how seriously was always an issue and one thing we know – you want longevity in combat sport – do the damn training! August 28th 2010 and in he went at UFC 118 against Randy Couture – no slouch by the way – and lasted 15 seconds. 15 SECONDS! Toney was “submitted” and instantly relieved of any contract obligations by the UFC.

Just before his Prizefighter appearance Toney was apparently hit with a tax bill – $353,966 in back taxes. The Prizefighter prize fund was only £32,000 and he did not manage to grab that. With the furore over Floyd and his relationship with the taxman in doubt, perhaps we see the reverse in action in terms of a boxer welcoming an MMA star and not the other way round but it may be interesting to note that the motivation for both may be exactly the same…

The question remains… will the result be similar too?

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