Desperate times call for desperate measures and if you're a 41-year-old future Hall-of-Fame boxer hoping to land a meaningful fight in the wasteland known as the heavyweight division, times are indeed desperate. According to reports, James "Lights Out" Toney has decided to temporarily hang up his boxing gloves in order to move forward with a career in mixed martial arts. UFC President Dana White has confirmed that the boxing legend has signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC.
The news may come as a surprise to some, but FightHype.com readers are more than familiar with Toney's eagerness to test his skills inside of the Octagon. For months, he practically stalked the Dana White, attending several UFC events in hopes of eventually signing with the organization. When he finally was presented with a contract, however, Toney was insulted by the offer. "Dana White is a straight up ho! He makes me a 5-fight offer for chump change and said I can't box anymore if I accept it. He must have lost his damn mind," Toney would tell FightHype's own Percy Crawford just one week ago. "Dana White is embarrassing MMA. He says all this shit about how a boxer wouldn't last against a MMA fighter and now he's fucking scared to put his guys in there with me. I would beat all of their asses."
A veteran of over 80 professional boxing matches, Toney has never been one to back down from a fight and strongly believes that he's got what it takes to defeat any mixed martial artists who's willing to face him. "I'm the best of both worlds. Anyone in either sport that wants to come see me, we can do this," he continued. "And if any MMA fighter has a problem with what I'm saying they could fucking come see me. I ain't hard to find. I have been to their shows. I wish one of them would run up on me! I am getting in great shape and eventually they gonna have to see me." It's unclear as to whether or not Toney will indeed have to give up boxing during the period of his contract.
Apparently, after a potential title challenge with WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko fell through, the "chump change" Toney was offered by the UFC didn't look quite as bad when his only other option on the table was a fight with relative unknown Tony Thompson on ESPN Friday Night Fights for even less "chump change." There's no word yet on when Toney will be making his official UFC debut, however, the boxing world, particularly the heavyweight division, which is void of any colorful characters who are willing to walk the walk after they talk the talk, will miss the unique flavor that Toney always brought to the ring.
CHECK OUT THE OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM THE UFC:
"LIGHTS OUT" IN THE OCTAGON - UFC SIGNS TONEY
He's one of the premier boxers of the last 25 years, a future Hall of Famer who has won world titles in three weight classes while taking on a Who's Who of the sport, including fellow champions Evander Holyfield, John Ruiz, Hasim Rahman, Vassiliy Jirov, Roy Jones Jr., Mike McCallum, Iran Barkley, and Michael Nunn. But there is one more mountain left to climb for James "Lights Out" Toney, and that's to show if he can defeat the mixed martial arts warriors of the UFC®.
So later this year, UFC President Dana White is prepared to give Toney his shot, signing the boxing superstar to a multi-fight contract this week to compete in the UFC.
"A lot of pro boxers have made a lot of noise about how they would do in mixed martial arts, but nobody on the level of a James Toney has been willing to back up his talk," said White. "He's a legend whose boxing record speaks for itself, and he's a guy who I've got a lot of respect for. Now he's got every intention of matching that success in MMA, and I think he's got the right attitude – let's see if he can do it."
Owner of an amazing 72-6-3 (2 no contests) record that includes 44 wins by knockout, 41-year old James Toney is respected throughout the boxing world for his old-school approach to the fight game. For him, that means fighting anyone at anytime, and doing so by emphasizing all aspects of the sweet science.
31-2 as an amateur, Toney soon turned his sights to the pro game in 1988, and in 1991 he won his first world title at middleweight by knocking out unbeaten champion Michael Nunn in the 11th round. After six successful defenses, he moved up to 168 pounds and defeated Iran Barkley for the super middleweight championship in 1993, but he wasn't done yet. After a stay at light heavyweight, Toney won the cruiserweight world title by defeating Vassiliy Jirov in 2003's Fight of The Year, and his success continued at heavyweight, where he defeated Evander Holyfield, Dominick Guinn, and Fres Oquendo. In his most recent bout, on September 12, 2009, Toney – a two-time winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America's Fighter of the Year award - halted Matthew Greer in two rounds.
Current UFC fighters Marcus Davis, Chris Lytle and Alessio Sakara have competed as professional boxers in the past, but with today's announcement, Toney becomes the most accomplished boxing veteran to ever compete in the Octagon™.
An opponent and date for Toney's UFC debut has not been determined, and will be announced at a later date.
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