December 10 (Los Angeles, CA) - James "Lights Out" Toney is fighting mad and determined to earn one last chance at achieving his goal of becoming one of the oldest fighters to ever win the World Heavyweight Championship. Big George Foreman started his career in 1969 and ended it nicely in 1997 after losing to Jimmy Young. Ten years later, he returned to the ring in 1987. And in a spectacular moment in boxing history, he knocked out Michael Moorer in 1994 when he was 45 years old becoming the oldest Heavyweight world champion in history. http://fightbeat.com/news_details.php?NW=22000
Yes, because the IBF spoon-feeds their titles to guys they like. So very possible that Toney could be matched up against...let me check their ratings... 7. Oleg Maskaev 8. Sultan Ibragimov 9. Andrew Golota 10. James Toney 11. Kali Meehan 12. Sinan Samil Sam 13. Travis Walker 14. Cedric Boswell 15. Shane Cameron And get a world title belt. Very possible.
Even if he beat all of those guys the IBF title belongs to Wlad and Toney has absolutely no chance in that fight.
two years from now, he'll be stripped and Toney will get to face Audley Harrison for a belt. So yeah he could do it eventually.
Nah, Wlad enjoys beating up on his mandatories. He won't be stripped. It's not like there is anything to vacate for anyway. By the end of next year the Klitschko's will own every major belt.
I chose the IBF because they always strip their champs. Wlad will unify and they'll strip him. They always do.
Took them a while with Lennox. When did Byrd and Holyfield fight? 2003? That was for the vacant IBF. I believe Lewis still had the belt when he defended against Tyson in June 2002. That would mean he had it for every fight after Holyfield II other than his final bout vs. Klitschko.
Lewis was stripped of the WBA belt soon after the second Holyfield fight, I believe. Soon thereafter, he then essentially sold the IBF belt to Don King for $1 Million.
I know that. I'm just saying Lewis had the IBF when he fought Grant, Tua, Botha and Rahman. Did he have it for Tyson? I don't remember.
The heavyweight division consists of Mohammed Ali making rhymes, then Mike Tyson beating up a load of utter, utter scrubs for a short while in the late 80's,.. and that's about it.. if it's not those two eras,.. we cry and cry,... we ESPECIALLY cry when a foreign fighter like Lewis reigns supreme,..and we SCREAM in agony if god forbid, they come from the former soviet union.
dsimon writes: artie: Good to have you back "Rock" "the rock is back and takin names baby!" Run for the hills Petre and Ike the rock is back and will trounce ya both!!! :mj: Yeah its true the division is in shambles. And the truth is that Toney is great enough to make it interesting and honest all the way up to the really big guys and then its just too much.
dsimon writes: Toney is a great fighter who has a foul mouth, looks simiene as heck and otherwise is a lout... So while I wouldn't look for him to be a companion at Chomsky's book signing? As a fighter he is what MJ is to bball! Mitchell is just upset cause Toney is no paragon of Virtue...:bears:
:: Honestly, it has nothing to do with virtue or morality. I just don't like it when fighters talk shit, get offered a fight against the person they've been calling out - for a title and good pay day - and turn it down...and instead take a fight against someone who lost to that fighter for lesser money. That, and guys like Toney make me think if they really want a boxing reality show they should ditch The Contender, and instead ask Arreola and Tua, et al for a pugilistic version of The Biggest Loser.
