"I've fought the best in every division that I've been in. Floyd can't say that. He can't say that, but, you know, I'm not knocking Floyd. Floyd's a great fighter, a hell of a fighter, but there's Floyd Mayweather, there's boxers and there's a master boxer, which is me. I'm the master. Period, hands down, I'm the boxing master! I can fight going backwards and forwards. A lot of fighters can't do that. Floyd can't do it. He tried. And all the things he's doing, he ain't doing nothing but trying to copy me. Everybody sees that. He's just smaller and faster and that's it...the hiding behind the shoulders, that's James Toney," stated future Hall-of-Famer James Toney as he shared his thoughts on Floyd Mayweather Jr. and some of today's top pound-for-pound fighters.
Toney, who recently paid a visit to the OnTheGrind Boxing Radio Podcast, took offense to the fact that yours truly did not mention his name when discussing some of the current pound-for-pound fighters in boxing. After an entertaining debate, Toney shared his own opinion on Mayweather and why he shouldn't be considered to be the best pound-for-pound. "Floyd is a great fighter, but anyone can get beat at any moment and any time, you know? The fight he's going to have the hardest time with is going to be Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao. That's two guys right there that's strong and fast. I ain't saying Floyd gonna get knocked out or he's going to lose to them, but he's going to be in a good fight," he continued.
When asked to elaborate on how he thinks a fight with Mosley and Pacquiao would play out for Mayweather, Toney was quick to give his insight. "Shane will be stronger and impose his will on him, like the same thing he did against Margarito. Everybody said, 'Oh, Margarito is a tough test for him.' I picked Mosley and everyone thought I was crazy. What he did to him, if he fights Floyd the same way he fought Margarito, he's gonna knock Floyd out," Toney remarked. "Manny Pacquiao, he's a southpaw, he's just as fast as Floyd, he hits harder than Floyd; he [Floyd] got problems [with Pacquiao]. If you the pound-for-pound best, you be like, 'Hell yeah. Let me step up and fight these motherfuckers. Let me get busy.'"
As usual, Toney was not shy in sharing his opinion on quite a number of topics, including the long-awaited rematch between Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. and much more on Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Chris Arreola and the Klitschko brothers. To hear more from James, be sure to check out the latest episode of OnTheGrind Boxing and tune in every Thursday and Sunday for your opportunity to speak live with more guest fighters and the rest of the OnTheGrind Boxing team.
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