Let’s take another look back at the quite awesome fighting ability a certain James Nathaniel Toney possessed during his ring prime. Toney, a modern great, arguably an all-time great, actually had a career that peaked in the 1990s and was again brought back to elite level in the early 2000s.
Toney, who today celebrates his 57th birthday, has had many a tribute penned in his honour, and rightly so. But is it possible that Toney’s skills, Toney’s amazing ring craft, his mountain of achievements, his sheer greatness, is more and more appreciated as time moves on? Certainly, the older I get, the more I find myself marvelling over Toney and his magnificent, at times stunningly beautiful to watch ring displays.
Toney’s Craft: A Fighter Who Could Do It All
Toney, a born fighter, really did have it all. Fast of hand and high of ring IQ, “Lights Out” was both masterful and comfortable when fighting with his back to the ropes, even when adopting this approach against real killers, up as high as heavyweight. And yet Toney was equally effective when coming forward and being the, shall we say, aggressive counter-puncher. Toney in his prime, and even beyond it, was hard to hit, this as his, it’s a joy to watch shoulder roll and all-round slippery defence, saw to it that dangerous punches would skim past his head.
And as far as his own punches went, Toney boasted laser-like accuracy and jarring power, again, even as far up in weight as heavyweight. And then there’s Toney’s granite chin; it has to rank as one of the very best in all of boxing. From 154 to heavyweight, Toney was never once stopped, nor was he even close to being stopped.
In short, Toney could have competed in ANY era. A student of the game who lists amongst his favourites and his influences the likes of Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, Jersey Joe Walcott, and of course Sugar Ray Robinson, it’s ever so damned tempting to imagine Toney matching wits and dazzling ring skills with each of these legends. Yes, Toney was that great, that special.
When he was fully turned on and had done his work in the gym, that is. Because if you do want to point a finger at a Toney weakness, it’s the lack of discipline he would often let himself down with. There are stories of how Toney, in sparring, would drink Coke or Pepsi between rounds, not water. Toney would often pile the weight on in-between fights, and one of the reasons he fought so much between his big fights was because he got his training and his conditioning in those non-title fights.
But when he was at his best, when Toney knew he had something to fight for and he had locked himself in in the gym, when he was fully focused on the task at hand, Toney was a master. Any young fighter could do a heck of a lot worse that to watch Toney’s first two fights with the equally wizard-like Mike McCallum if they seek further education on how to box. Those 24 rounds are like an encyclopedia of the Noble Art, of the Sweet Science.
Legacy, Discipline, and the Question of Greatness
So too is Toney’s return to greatness fight with Vassiliy Jirov, this up at cruiserweight; just watch the tape of the fight again, and behold, you see generational greatness, ring craft of the highest order. Toney even managed to rock and roll against the big men, the heavies, this despite the fact that he stands just 5’9” – an inch taller than Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
Toney too benefited from being taught and helped by two great trainers: Bill Miller and Freddie Roach. Toney owes both men a debt, which he readily acknowledges. Toney, from 1991 to 2003, with some rough and bumpy, and, yes, undisciplined times in-between, was one of the best to ever do it.
Upon watching, or re-watching Toney’s best fights here in 2025, some twenty to 30 years or so after they took place, a fan really can find themselves appreciating Toney more and more. That’s sure the case with me, how about you?
Toney’s final numbers are almost as old-school as those that were compiled by some of his ring heroes, with “Lights Out” going out at 77-10-3(47) with a couple of no-contests in there. And again, Toney was never stopped.
Here’s a question to sign off with: is James Toney deserving of a place in the twenty greatest fighters who ever lived? Toney would no doubt say he’s top-5, but what do his fans, both old and new, say on the subject?
