#James lights out toney net worth plus
#James lights out toney net worth professional

Guinn had by then already seen his bubble burst with losses to Monte Barrett and Sergei Liakhovich, plus a 10-round draw against Friday Ahunanya. He returned to the ring on October 1, beating Dominick Guinn, who was once thought to be a 'next American star' in the division. Toney claimed the steroids were prescribed to him to treat an arm injury that he got in the Booker fight, and was also sued by Ruiz. Toney tested positive for stanozolol, one of the more popular performance-enhancing anabolic steroids. In May, it was reported that Toney had failed his post-fight drug test, and the win was taken off of his record. Toney did beat WBA titlist John Ruiz by decision in April 2005. He was convicted shortly after and sentenced to 12 to 30 years in prison. It was Booker's final fight, as he had been arrested five months before and charged with possession of cocaine and intent to deliver more than 1,000 grams. The unproven Booker was simply no match for Toney. It was a successful arrival to the heavyweight stage for one of boxing's most enigmatic figures.ġ1 months later, he dominated unbeaten Rydell Booker in a WBC eliminator.

Toney put the iron-chinned and iron-willed Holyfield down in the ninth round, and Holyfield's corner threw in the towel at 1:42. Toney's proper heavyweight career started off in fine fashion when he beat up and stopped Evander Holyfield on October 4, 2003, a little less than six months after he captured the IBF cruiserweight belt in the remarkable fight against Jirov. James Toney has held the very lightly-regarded IBA title and the WBC Continental Americas title, which is one of those countless belts in boxing that allows a sanctioning body to dip into fighters' pockets even though it's not for their top title. James Toney has never even held one of the four major sanctioning body trinkets (WBC, IBF, WBA, WBO). James Toney has never been the heavyweight champion of the world. Let me make something exceedingly clear: James Toney is not the heavyweight champion of the world. The James Toney that fought Nunn, McCallum, Tiberi, Jones, Jirov, Iran Barkley, Reggie Johnson, Merqui Sosa, Montell Griffin, etc., is not the man that fights in 2010. Focus on what he's done since moving up to heavyweight, and especially the recent years, because that's the guy coming into the Octagon on Saturday night. So put out of your mind his rise up against Michael Nunn, his battles with Mike McCallum, his jaw-dropping robbery of Dave Tiberi, the 'gamecock punch' fight with Roy Jones Jr., and the incredible war in 2003 against Vassiliy Jirov. What James Toney did 10 or 15 years ago is not something he can do now. Believe it or not, James Toney is not a particularly relevant heavyweight, even in a bad division.įorget about what Toney did at 160, 168 and cruiserweight.

MMA fans who are unfamiliar with the reality of the boxing landscape may not realize just how faded Toney is in boxing. It's been a while since Toney has had any notable success in boxing, though. That Toney has had moderate success as a heavyweight is a reflection of his pure talent. No, he's not quite Gabe Brown, but calling Toney 'in shape' for his run at heavyweight would be a stretch. There is no shortage of photos available online that will show you the Grand Rapids native looking flat-out slovenly. He's also been fairly successful even at the highest weights.īut James Toney is not a heavyweight. Look, James Toney is not the first man to go from middleweight to heavyweight. James Toney really believes he's the best.Īnd then there's conditioning and dedication to staying in shape. When he speaks, you really do believe that he believes that he's been ducked by 'the Klitschko sisters.' The incredibly easy path of facts, results in the ring, and logic that dictates that that's probably not the case doesn't much matter. James Toney, for as ridiculous as he can be when he speaks, somehow seems sincere. This isn't a bad thing, necessarily (or a good thing, necessarily). There have been times in his career where he has operated the sweet science at virtuoso levels.Īlso, Toney loves to talk.

#James lights out toney net worth professional

Over his 22-year professional boxing career, a few things have become very certain about James 'Lights Out' Toney.įirst things first, the man can be brilliant in the ring.