Bob Sapp
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Post by Bob Sapp on Mar 3, 2010 17:23:04 GMT -5
41-Year-Old Boxing Champ James Toney Signs Multi-Fight Agreement with UFC
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Mar 03, 2010 at 4:50 pm ET
Sometimes trash talkers get what they want.
After berating UFC president Dana White on several media outlets in recent months, 41-year-old boxing champion James Toney (72-6 Boxing, 0-0 MMA) has reportedly signed a multi-fight agreement with the Las Vegas-based promotion.
The report was issued Tuesday by FiveOuncesOfPain.com citing sources close to negotiations, and MMAFighting.com's Mike Chiappetta has since confirmed the deal after speaking to White.
Toney, the current NABO and IBA heavyweight champion, pitched himself to White before cameras following UFC 108 in January and afterward blasted the UFC president for what he considered a "laughable" offer to fight in the octagon.
Ever since, Toney has taken every opportunity to challenge White for a contract.
"Dana White is a straight up ho!" Toney told Fighthype.com this past week. "He makes me a five-fight offer for chump change and said I can't box anymore if I accept it. He must have lost his damn mind."
It appears talks have brightened considerably since then.
At least one UFC fighter will welcome Toney into the cage.
"I think a lot of people would pay to see that," UFC heavyweight contender and "The Ultimate Fighter 10" winner Roy Nelson recently told Steve Cofield of Yahoo! Sports.
A timetable for Toney's debut is unknown at the time of this writing. Requests to the UFC for comment by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) were not immediately answered.
The 41-year-old Toney's most recent fight was this past September when he defeated Matthew Greer by TKO in a boxing match. Prior to that, he defeated Fres Oquendo for the vacant NABO and IBA heavyweight belts.
I am at a loss for words.
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Post by NYdream™ on Mar 3, 2010 17:28:16 GMT -5
This makes me extermely happy. Toney is a beast. I love him. But I dont see him as a MMA champion. Maybe a win over a bum but IDK...
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PrideFcF
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Post by PrideFcF on Mar 3, 2010 17:51:48 GMT -5
lol I can't believe this is happening. With all the bad mouthing Dana did towards "freak show" fights, it's a bit shocking. Toney is a definite "talker", but his dedication to boxing alone has been in question for years, so I ponder how well an MMA venture will pan out for him.
If I had to guess right now, I'd say this will lead to a ratings grabbing bout with Kimbo in order to get the most out of both guys before each fighter has the chance to be battered by more established stars.
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PdW2kX
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Post by PdW2kX on Mar 3, 2010 19:12:04 GMT -5
Holy  , Dana is such a ing hypocrite on this one. Seriously. That said, a bout with Kimbo is realistically the only thing I see good about this. That fight, as much as I'd hate to admit it, would pull in some massive ratings. Toney against ANY credible UFC Heavyweight...he's a ing dead man. |
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Post by tnafan17: The Total Package on Mar 3, 2010 20:36:57 GMT -5
I don't think this is a good investment
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Johnny Lawrence - Cobra Kai
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Post by Johnny Lawrence - Cobra Kai on Mar 3, 2010 21:32:15 GMT -5
I'm gonna chalk this up to Dana White marking out for a boxer he was a fan of. It's the only way I can make sense of it.
And yes, I'd agree that it makes Dana look like a bit of a hypocrite for how much he bashes other promotions for freak-show signings, although Toney is at least a fighter by trade.
He's less of a freakshow than Canseco or early Kimbo, but still... 41 year old rookie crossing over from other sport (combat or otherwise) is a freakshow signing. Sorry Dana, but your critics are right to pull your card on this one.
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Post by HHH316 on Mar 3, 2010 21:35:14 GMT -5
This sounds like something stupid that Strikeforce would do.
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Post by Double J on Mar 3, 2010 21:57:59 GMT -5
Man. I love James Toney.
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kimb0slic3
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Post by kimb0slic3 on Mar 3, 2010 22:27:58 GMT -5
i remember beasting with him in fight night round 3 lol but i can't really see him having a long career in mma
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Bob Sapp
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Post by Bob Sapp on Mar 3, 2010 23:56:14 GMT -5
Kimbo vs. Toney would be HILARIOUS. Kimbo would get KO'ed easily. Kimbo doesn't have the boxing skills Toney has. The easiest way to beat Toney will obviously be to take him down.
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Bob Sapp
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Post by Bob Sapp on Mar 4, 2010 0:04:19 GMT -5
And for the record, I never had a problem with the Kimbo signing. At leased Kimbo has MMA experiance, Toney doesn't have ANY and claims to be "Fully ready" in 3 months. This is just confusing as all hell. I think this is just a situation of Dana marking out for one of his favorite boxers. That's the only thing that I think it is.
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Post by Ian from 616Entertainment. on Mar 4, 2010 2:21:29 GMT -5
I am actually interested in this, I'm not hating on it.
I'd actually love to see James Toney vs. Randy Couture.
I think Randy has him on his back in under a minute.
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Bob Sapp
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Post by Bob Sapp on Mar 4, 2010 4:27:36 GMT -5
REALLY? WOW!
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Post by moogie101 on Mar 4, 2010 12:24:20 GMT -5
He was at one stage a top P4P, who has had a stellar boxing career.
Also please bear in mind currently the WBC have him ranked Number 5 in their Heavyweight rankings.
With those little gloves on who knows the damage he could do.
Sadly for Toney though there is obviously far more to MMA than just punching, but he certainly has far more credentials than an ex-NFL player, or Youtube streetfighter at getting the opportunity to fight in mMA.
The obvious fight is Kimbo for the megabucks PPV draw.
If it was me though I'd chuck him in there with a guy like Todd Duffee, a possible rising star off the back of his very quick debut win.
If Toney wins he's beaten no-one & no real damage to the UFC's reputation unlike say if he KO'd Brock.
However if Duffee wins, which with his grappling is certainly possible, he'll sky rocket in star power off the back of the high profile win & be pushed up the rankings & possibly create another star.
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Post by NYdream™ on Mar 4, 2010 12:26:23 GMT -5
Maybe white wants to embarass him because of all of the trash he as talking saying he would be willing to fight Kimbo or even Brock Lesnar. IDK...
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Post by ville on Mar 4, 2010 14:12:40 GMT -5
This ing sucks. He has always been my favorite boxer and now I gotta see him get murdered? this. He better have some ground game. Only good thing is Ibarra is his trainer. How he don't get his lights knocked out(no pun intended). |
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Bob Sapp
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Post by Bob Sapp on Mar 4, 2010 14:55:48 GMT -5
Ibarra is his striking coach. He knows nothing about the ground game.
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Post by K5 on Mar 4, 2010 18:50:46 GMT -5
This sounds like something stupid that Strikeforce would do. yea, exactly. toney is just gonna make somebody look good. |
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Bob Sapp
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Post by Bob Sapp on Mar 4, 2010 19:52:08 GMT -5
I also find it funny how Roy Jones Jr agreed to fight Anderson Silva in UFC, but White said No, but now that James Toney has been going around calling Dana his bitch, Dana bent over and gave him what he wanted. Maybe there's something else we're not seeing...
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PdW2kX
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Post by PdW2kX on Mar 4, 2010 20:09:53 GMT -5
Maybe he was afraid that Jones Jr. would actually beat Silva? I don't know. It probably has something to do with Toney demanding a shot in the UFC without demanding an immediate match for the title.
Still, you won't see me trying to defend Dana on this one, the guy's a massive hypocrite when it comes to signing Toney.
If paired up against someone that likes to keep it standing, I actually think Toney might last two or three fights. You can't deny his punching power. I just cringe at the thought of him going in there with someone that's halfway decent at wrestling or BJJ. It's going to be pretty embarrassing.
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