The Enigma That Is James Toney
"We're looking at a great fighter here, guys", said HBO's Larry Merchant in July 1994 after James Toney, living up to his nickname of 'Lights Out', put the finishing touches on an excellent performance by taking out Charles Williams in the closing stages of the twelfth and final round in Las Vegas. Slipping a hook by Williams and spotting the gap, Toney unleashed a picture-perfect right hand to Williams' chin which saw him hit the deck and fail to rise before referee Joe Cortez's count of ten.
It was a case of the commentator's curse - only this time, it didn't become apparent as quickly as normal.
Looking at Toney's accomplishments, it's hard to see why anyone could or would judge his career as one of underachievement; world titles in three weight classes, ranked as one of the elite pound for pounders
While at his peak and Ring Magazine's 'Fighter of the Year' on two separate occasions - and yet how great he was or could have been is still not known for sure, and many feel that there should have been so much more.
"I think he had more talent and ability than all of us, but that it was just his lack of desire which let him down" said former WBO Middleweight and Super-Middleweight champion Steve Collins about Toney earlier this year.
Considering that the "us" he was talking about was a group of former world titlists consisting of; Collins himself Richie Woodhall, Joe Calzaghe and the great Roy Jones Jr, that really is quite an endorsement. Jones, who dazzled the hitherto unbeaten Toney to a wide and spectacular points loss in November 1994, was naturally taken aback by Collin's statement, and even as a fan of Toney I have to agree with Jones - the way Jones dealt with 'Lights Out' is a demonstration of why he was one of the most freakishly talented fighters of all time, even more so than Toney. Had they boxed ten times at their peaks, I'm hard pressed to believe that Toney wins more than once at the most.
But outside of the phenomenal Jones, Toney has had few equals in modern times when it comes to natural, God-given talent. Freddie Roach, voted 'Trainer of the Year' countless times, said of him in 2010,
"The best physical talent I've trained is James Toney. If he'd had discipline he would've been the greatest fighter of all time - but he just doesn't."
Seeing Toney now, aged almost 46 but still slurring proclamations that he'll be the next Heavyweight champion of the world, is a stern reminder of that lack of discipline. Now speaking in an often incomprehensible manner and tipping the scales at a tubby 250 lb (and then some), Toney is a shadow of the young, lean man who first became a world champion at Middleweight, scaling 157 lb, all the way back in 1991.