Date of birth of James Nathaniel Toney, one of the greatest American boxers, August 24, 1968. He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He moved to Detroit with his mother Sherry when his father abandoned them when he was three years old. Almost all of his youth were spent in a typical ghetto environment. IN high school He not only had a reputation as a drug and weapons dealer, but also a talented athlete.
James Toney's sports career began with football and amateur boxing; it was in football at that time that he achieved high results. He was offered collegiate football scholarships to Michigan State and to schools in Western Michigan. He lost that opportunity in boot camp at the University of Michigan when he got into an argument with Deion Sanders, during which Tony simply beat him up. It was then that he realized that he was not a team player, so he decided to take up boxing.
The transition from amateurs to professionals
Sports biography James Toney began with a record in amateur boxing, scoring 31 victories (including 29 knockouts). After that, he decided that he wanted to make boxing his profession. In 1988, on October 26, when he turned 20 years old, James Toney became a professional boxer. Some time later, his manager Johnny "Ace" Smith was shot and killed due to drug dealing. After this, Tony took on Jackie Cullen, becoming his new manager. Over the next two years, the boxer set a record: 26 victories, not a single defeat and 1 draw. In 1991, on May 10, Tony earned his first title against Michael Nunn, the IBF middleweight champion.
Achievements of James Toney
The next three and a half years made Tony perhaps the most active boxing champion. From the time he fought Nunn to his landmark fight against Roy Jones in November 1994, Tony fought 20 times. In fact, the boxer entered the ring to defend his title against an extremely dangerous opponent, which was Reggie Johnson, just 7 weeks after he won the title from Nunn. Despite the serious cut, James defeated Johnson. Tony defended his middleweight title 5 more times. His opponents were: Francesco Dell Askill, WBA champion Mike McCallum, Dave Tiberi, Glenn Wolf.
Moving to another weight category
James' weight usually climbed to 195 lb (88 kg) between fights, and he found it increasingly difficult to get it down to the required level maximum weight at 160 pounds (72 kg).
After another fight with McCallum, the champion decided to move up to super average weight. He challenged IBF super middleweight champion Iraq Barkley. It should be noted that the fighters had very bad relations outside the ring. The fight was very brutal. James beat Barkley so badly that Barkley's trainer, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, banned him from the ring in the ninth round. This was James' second world title.
James Toney spent five fights without a title before defending it at super middleweight in November 1993. His opponent was veteran Tony Thornton, whom he defeated by unanimous decision. After this, Tony tried to challenge Roy Jones to a fight. However, he didn't seem to want to get in the ring with Tony anytime soon.
New division change
In January 1994, James officially moved up to his third division when he took on Anthony Hembrick in a light heavyweight bout. This was not a title fight, which Tony won in the 7th round. Despite winning the new weight class, Tony was not ready to give up his super middleweight title.
Shortly after this victory, another defense of this title took place in a fight against Tim Littles. Another month later, another title defense took place in a fight against former champion IBF light heavyweight champion Charles Williams.
Fighting style
James Toney was considered a fearsome fighter. He was something of a throwback to the old days of great fighters, as he fought often and was willing to take the best, no matter the weight. Tony's style was almost flawless. He easily adapted to any style and could fight both at a distance and close to the enemy. He was one of the best defensive specialists, avoiding the opponent's blows, he was reminiscent of a young Roberto Duran in his manner. Tony seemed to have it all: strength, speed, outstanding defense and charisma that earned him respect.
Weight problems
But, despite everything, his struggle with weight continued. Between fights his weight now reached over 200 pounds (90 kg). It became obvious that his time in the super middleweight division was over. Now he has his sights set on heavy weight. However, after the fight with Williams, it was announced that Tony would have to defend his title against Roy Jones.
James agreed to the fight, believing he could keep his 168 lb. last time. The date was set for November 18, 1994. On the day of the weigh-in, he weighed 167 pounds (more than 75 kg). He lost 47 pounds (21 kg) in just 6 weeks. Tony was severely dehydrated and his team knew it. After being weighed, he was connected to an IV to replenish fluid loss. On the day of the fight, before entering the ring, Tony weighed himself in the locker room. His weight was 186 pounds (84 kg), which meant he had gained more than 8 kg in less than 24 hours. Moreover, he lost muscle tone. This fight was the champion's first loss among 46 victories in professional fights.
New team
On February 18, 1995, the champion entered the fight with a weight of 79 kg against Olympic medalist 1992 Montella Griffin. He lost this fight for the second time. At that moment, tensions began to develop between Tony and his manager Jackie Cullen, as well as Tony's trainer Bill Miller. After easy fight in March against Carl Willis, James appeared new manager, Stan Hoffman, and new coach, former light heavyweight champion and trainer of Barkley, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad.
With them, he won the USBA and WBU light heavyweight titles, and then defended the WBU title. However, before the second defense, weight problems arose again. A week before the fight, Tony's management announced that he would not be able to reduce his weight to the light heavyweight limit. After which he was announced for a heavyweight fight for the WBU Continental title. In this fight, Tony defeated Everett with one punch in the second round.
In March 1996, a heavyweight bout with Richard Mason was scheduled. With a weight limit of 195 pounds, James weighed 210 pounds. As a result, he was fined $25,000 for overweight, and the application for the fight indicated a weight of 200 pounds. With the victory in this fight, Tony became the heavyweight champion.
2 months after defeating Mason, Tony dropped to 175 pounds to fight for the WBU light heavyweight title against Earl Butler. After that, he also defeated Charles Oliver and Duran Williams.
A rematch took place on December 6, 1996 for the WBU title. Light heavyweight Montell Griffin went up against Tony.
After that, James Toney changed his coach: Freddie Roach took the place of Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. In February 1997, Tony won the WBU heavyweight title. The opponent here was his sworn enemy Mike McCallum.
Despite his considerable weight, he decided to fight Drake Taji for the IBO light heavyweight title. Restoring his body weight was very difficult for him. On the day of the weigh-in, he was almost 5 pounds (2 kg) extra. He was given 2 hours to reset extra pounds, but when he returned he was 2 pounds (almost one kilogram) over the limit. They agreed to fight with the condition that if Tony wins, he will not be awarded the title due to the fact that he exceeded the weight limit. However, if Taji wins, he will be given the title. As a result, Taji won. This clearly meant the end of Tony's light heavyweight career, as it was obvious that he would no longer be able to maintain his body weight without jeopardizing his skills and health.
Return to the ring to the heavy weight category took place a month later, he won the IBO title by defeating Steve Little. He then decided to move to the heavyweight division.
During this time, Tony experienced a number of personal problems. In the midst of a difficult divorce from my wife, a civil lawsuit was filed against my mother. Due to all the problems that came at once, Tony returned to fighting only two years later. During this time, his weight increased to 275 pounds (124 kg). Seven months of preparation allowed him to return to the ring in March 1999. He fought Terry Porter, defeating him in the eighth round.
Tony decided to move from heavyweight to heavyweight again. He won a number of victories, but could not fight for the champion title; it seemed that no one wanted to oppose him.
End of career
2001 became a new challenge for James Toney. He was invited to play the role of Joe Frazier in the film Ali. Being busy with filming did not stop him from having one fight in March 2001, in which he defeated Saul Montana and won the IBA heavyweight title.
The next decisive fight was supposed to be a fight with IBF champion Vasily Zhirov. However, he various reasons I kept putting off the meeting. During this time, Tony defeated heavyweights Wesley Martin and Sione Asipeli.
In June, he signed a deal with Dan Goossen's new promotional firm, Goossen Tutor Promotions. Thanks to the fact that Goossen acted as his promoter, an agreement was finally reached on a fight with Zhirov. The fight was postponed twice again, but on April 26, 2003, Tony defeated him in the 12th round.
After this, Tony was able to defeat Holyfield and Ruiz. However, tests showed a positive result for steroids, and the victory over Ruiz was annulled. He was also suspended for 90 days and fined $10,000. On May 17, 2005, Tony was stripped of his WBA title for positive test, and the title returned to Ruiz.
On March 18, 2006, he finished in a draw against WBC heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman.
After defeating Danny Batchelder on May 24, 2007, he again tested positive for steroids, as did Batchelder. Both were suspended for a year.
After that, he was still able to obtain the IBU heavyweight champion titles (2012) and WBF heavyweight champion titles (2017).
In addition to boxing, he also tried his hand at mixed martial arts, but lost to former UCF light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Randy Couture.
James "Lights Out" Toney
Winner of champion titles in the middle, second middle and first heavyweights
Date of birth: 08/24/1968
Place of birth: Ann Arbor (Michigan), USA
Height: 180 cm
Attack distance: 193 cm
Track record: 67 (43 KOs) -4-2
James Nathaniel Toney was born on August 24, 1968 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His father abandoned the family when James was just three years old, and he and his mother Sherry moved to Detroit. Most of his youth was spent in a typical ghetto environment. However, in high school, he had a reputation not only as a gun-laden drug dealer, but also as a talented athlete. Tony achieved success in both football and amateur boxing, and became one of the best football players on the school team. But at a training camp at the University of Michigan, Tony realized that he was not cut out to be a team player and focused all his attention on boxing.
Tony finished his amateur career with a record of 31-2 (29 KOs) and decided that he wanted to make his living in the ring. On October 26, 1988, James Toney turned professional. He had 7 wins and 0 losses when his manager, drug dealer Johnny Smith, was shot. Tony's new manager was Jackie Collen, former press secretary for Thomas Hearns. Two years later, Tony’s career totaled 26 wins, 0 losses and 1 draw. On May 10, 1991, Tony entered a title fight against IBF middleweight champion, undefeated Michael Nunn. The fight took place in Davenport, hometown Nanna. Tony entered the ring as an outsider, but surprised everyone by knocking out his opponent in the 11th round.
Over the next three and a half years, Tony became one of the most... active champions in boxing. From the time he fought Nunn until he met Roy Jones in November 1994, he had about 20 fights. Just 7 weeks after winning the title, he returned to the ring to defend it against #1 contender Reggie Johnson. In this fight, Tony received a dangerous cut, which later required 33 stitches, but despite this, he won on points. James Toney defended his middleweight title 5 more times.
In 1991, Tony was recognized as the best boxer of the year by Ring magazine. But the most serious tests awaited Tony not in the ring, but on the scales. His weight between fights reached 195 pounds (88.5 kg), and it became increasingly difficult to cut him down to 160 pounds (72.5 kg), the middleweight limit. After the second fight with Mike McCallum, Tony moved up to super middleweight (up to 168 pounds). After a warm-up bout with Doug Dewitt, Tony challenges IBF champion Iran Barkley. From the very first seconds the battle becomes one-sided. After the eighth round, Barkley's face is a bloody mess, and his coach decides to withdraw his fighter.
In January 1994, Tony officially moved to the next weight category. His first light heavyweight opponent was Anthony Hembrick, who was knocked out in the seventh round. But Tony was not ready to give up his belt in the second middleweight and two months later he went out for another title defense. On March 5, 1994, he faced #1 contender, undefeated Tim Littles.
At the time, most boxing publications considered Tony the best boxer in all of history. weight categories. Many were afraid of him. James Toney was reminiscent of the great boxers of yesteryear. His style was almost flawless. He could easily box both at a distance and close, and could adapt to any style. Tony seemed to have it all: strength, speed, a strong chin, amazing defensive ability and respect from the team. But he again had to fight with weight. Between fights, he gained weight up to 200 pounds.
After the fight with “Prince” Charles Williams on July 29, 1994. It was announced that Tony would next defend his title against Roy Jones. The fight was scheduled for November 18, 1994. Before this fight, struggling with weight, Tony lost 47 pounds (over 21 kg) in 6 weeks. His body was severely dehydrated, and the camp knew about it. The fight lasted all 12 rounds and ended with Jones winning on points. This was Tony's first defeat after 46 won fights.
On February 18, Tony entered the ring against Montell Griffin, and this fight brought him his second defeat. This contributed to tension between Tony and his manager Jackie Collen, as well as trainer Bill Miller. After an easy fight with Karl Willis, Tony hires a new manager, Stan Hoffman, and a trainer, former world champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad.
Having behind new team Tony defeats Anthony Hembrick and Freddy Delgado to win the USBA and WBU light heavyweight titles. Having defended his WBU title against Ernest Mateen in September 1995, Tony was unable to make his next defense in this weight category. The second title defense was scheduled for December 8, but a week before the fight, Tony's manager announced that his boxer could not lose weight to the required limit. This fight was replaced by a fight for the WBU continental champion title in the first heavyweight division.
Despite his success at a heavier weight, Tony is still reeling from his loss to Roy Jones. He believes he only let Jones win because he was in bad shape. After talking with his manager, Tony decides to return to light heavyweight, where he again wins the vacant WBU title.
On December 6, 1996, James Toney faced Montell Griffin in a rematch. By decision of the judges, victory in this fight was again given to Griffin. Tony was extremely disappointed. His second time he was undeservedly defeated by the same fighter. After this fight, Tony changed his coach. This time his choice was Freddy Roach. On February 22, 1997, a fight for the vacant WBU cruiserweight title took place between James Toney and his old acquaintance Mike McCallum. Despite his poor form, Tony won this fight on points.
It seemed that Tony could no longer maintain his weight within the light heavyweight category. However, he decided to fight Drake Thadzi for the IBO title. At the weigh-in, Tony was nearly 5 pounds over his weight limit of 175 pounds. He was given two hours to lose those extra pounds, but when he returned, he weighed 177 pounds. The fight was still allowed to take place on the condition that Tony, if he won, would not receive the title. During the fight, Tony began to get tired quickly, which was the reason for his loss on points. This ended his tenure at light heavyweight.
James Toney returned to the ring a month later and won the IBO cruiserweight belt against Steve Little. After the fight with Little, Tony decided to move up to heavyweight and began training according to a special program in order to increase muscle mass. In January 1998, his fight with ex-champion Larry Holmes was supposed to take place, but shortly before the fight it became known that Holmes was injured in training. In April, HBO was looking for an opponent for Andrzej Golota, and Tony offered himself, but Golota's headquarters rejected his candidacy. When Roy Jones refused to make a heavyweight bout against Buster Douglas, Tony offered to replace him, but was again rejected. James Toney even decided that if Jones wanted to fight at heavyweight, he should face him. But Jones refused.
At this time, Tony was plagued by serious personal problems. On the one hand, a divorce from his wife, on the other, a lawsuit from his mother. Due to failed attempts to arrange the fight and these personal problems, it would be two years before Tony returned to the ring. During his time of inactivity, Tony's weight rose to 275 pounds (almost 125 kg). Many believed that James Toney would never be a serious fighter again. He surprised everyone. When Tony fought Terry Porter in March 1999, after seven months of rigorous training, he was in good shape and more muscular than ever before.
James Toney has decided to return to the cruiserweight division. On July 29, 1999, he faced Adolpho Washington in the ring, and this was the first time Washington's granite chin gave way. Tony's defined muscles indicated that he was serious about his return. In October of that year, he scored a brilliant points victory over tough puncher Ramon Garbay. This was followed by a victory over Terry McGroom. Tony seemed ready to win the world title, but he faced one big problem: None of the champions wanted to fight him.
2001 brought new surprises for Tony. He was offered the role of Joe Frazier in the film Ali. Despite a busy filming schedule, Tony managed to fight Saul Montana in March and win the IBA Super Cruiserweight title.
On July 20, James Toney met with heavyweight Wesley Martin. Tony stopped Martin in the third round and didn't fight again until late 2001. He surprised everyone again when he moved back down to cruiserweight in 2002. Tony won his next impressive victory over IBF champion Vasily “Tiger” Jirov. This fight was postponed several times due to various reasons, and finally took place on April 26, 2003. The result is Tony's victory on points by unanimous decision. Another fight Tony spent his time in the heavyweight division, inflicting an unconditional defeat on the legendary Evander Holyfield. After this, Tony decided to finally move up to heavyweight and try to win the world title in his fifth weight category.
American professional heavyweight James Nathaniel Toney was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan (USA) on August 24, 1968. Over time, Tony's family moved to the main automobile city of the United States - Detroit. James's passion for sports began at school, like all outstanding athletes, but he first took up football and played for the local school team until boxing appeared in his life. The amateur boxer's career was very successful. Trophies such as gold in 1983 and 1984 at the Western Michigan Junior Championships, the 1987 Silver Gloves and 1987 Golden Gloves, and 1988 gold in Ohio added to the athlete's collection. The result of his amateur career was 31 victories in 33 fights.
And in 1988 it was time to move to professional sports and on October 26 of this year, with a technical knockout in a fight with S. Lee, James Toney opened the account of his victories in professional boxing. In May 1991, he received the right to fight with the current IBF champion Michael Nunn and, to everyone’s surprise, the newcomer, having been a professional for only 3 years, knocked out the favorite. Having had several more worthy fights in the same year, according to the authoritative opinion of the boxing mouthpiece, The Ring magazine, James Toney becomes the 1991 Boxer of the Year.
For another 18 months, Tony continued to win victories in his weight category (up to 160 pounds). Such famous boxers, like Dave Tiberia, Glenn Wolf, Mike McCallum felt the full force of the young athlete’s blows. But now the time has come to move to a heavier weight category. And here he is lucky again. For a year and a half, Tony has been the leader among boxers up to 168 pounds, taking the palm from Doug Duithomme and Irene Barkley. Moreover, the fight with the latter was stopped early due to Tony’s clear advantage.
But on November 18, 1994, the white streak of victories ends and in a fight against Roy Jones Jr., a contender for the title of best boxer according to the IBF, James Toney gives him the title of champion. The public does not accept the former champion's complaints about difficulties with losing weight, considering them pathetic attempts to justify himself. As a result, Tony changes weight category again and becomes light heavyweight.
As they say, the first damn thing is lumpy, and Tony loses his first fight in this weight in February 1995. It was Montell Griffin. Tony was unable to take revenge from this boxer in December 1996, although after the first defeat he was lucky in eight subsequent fights. After losing to M. Griffin again, James Toney decides to change his coach and wins the WBU title by defeating Mike McCallum. But luck does not turn its face to the athlete for long and already in next fight with Drake Taji he is defeated again.
After nine successful fights in the 1st heavy weight category, having passed Jason Robinson, Tony receives the right to championship fight with Kazakh boxer Vasily Zhirov and on April 26, 2003, after 12 rounds of stubborn confrontation, James Toney takes the championship title. The athlete already has three championships in his collection, albeit in different weight categories. On October 4, 2003, with his victory over Evander Holyfield, Tony finally moved up to the heavyweight division. His fights with Rydell Booker and Dominic Guinn, Ruiz and Rahman again raised his heavyweight rankings.
On September 2, 2006 in California and January 6, 2007 in Florida, Tony said goodbye to the real opportunity to become a heavyweight champion. Samuel Peter, known to us as Klitschko’s rival, crossed his path.
After the failure with St. Peter there were several victories and defeats, but the peak of James Toney's career was already behind him. Although the athlete himself does not think so, trying to make up for lost time... In professional boxing, James Toney won 23 victories, 16 of which were ahead of schedule.
James Nathaniel Toney is a boxer who throughout his entire career professional career never been knocked out. James Toney's fights are incredibly spectacular precisely because he always relied on his opponent's actions and adapted to any opponent's style. With his unique fighting style, he simply boxed both at a distance and close to his opponent. His signature protective stand called " Philadelphia shell" or " Crab” easily allowed him to press his chin to his chest (thus hiding it behind his shoulder) to avoid the blow, and this was immediately followed by a powerful counterattack. Given the knockout blows from both hands and the precision of the blow, his opponents had practically no chance. But his most serious rival was himself, or rather his weight. Before almost every fight, I had to go on serious multi-day diets, and even this did not always help. The result is dozens of missed confrontations and missed opportunities.
The fights James Toney won allowed him to become a twelve-time IBF world champion. He also boasts the titles Boxer of the Year 1991 and 2003 according to Ring magazine. His opponents were experienced boxers no less titled than himself. The most interesting and exciting James Toney fights were fought with the following opponents:
First title
Opponent Michael Nunn
In May 1991, twenty-two-year-old James Toney took part in a fight for the IBF world middleweight title. The boxer took to the platform to confront Michael Nunn (36-0, 24 KOs). Nunn, at that time, was in the top ten Pound for Pound boxers and was the clear favorite for both experts and ordinary fans. In fact, he set the tone for the entire competition until the tenth round. Winning 97:93, 98:92 and 99:11 in the middle of the eleventh round, Michael Nunn was knocked down with a powerful left hook to the head. Michael, barely getting up at the count of ten, continued the competition, but Tony immediately hit him in the back of the head and then knocked out his opponent with two right hooks. Tony is among the few who can boast of the world title.
Super middleweight championship
James Toney – Irene Barclay
In 1993, having moved to another weight category (second middleweight), James had to confront Airen Barkley (30-7, 18 KOs). At that time, Barkley was already the number one glove in the world in 3 weight categories. But in this confrontation Tony was out of competition. Impeccably accurate punches sent from various angles to the head and body of Airen, impeccable defense and a magnificent cocktail of hooks and uppercuts meant that Barkley's own punches flew wide. By the end of the 9th round, a completely exhausted Barkley was simply removed from the competition by his seconds. A brilliant victory, exactly the kind that makes James Toney fights so interesting to watch.
Champion title defense
In 1994, in order to retain the title, James Toney needed to win a fight against Charles Williams (36-5-2, 27 KOs). He faced a difficult opponent - Charles had already become a champion 8 times (and 7 times he knocked out his competitors). The confrontation turned out to be incredibly tense; at the end of the 11th round, Tony won with a score of 378:321. And then, 27 seconds before the end of the fight, our boxer knocks Williams out with a right blow. This fight, like many other James Toney fights, turned out to be very dramatic.
First defeat
In November 1994, the fight between Roy Jones and James Toney took place. In an exhausting 12-round fight, James was clearly not at ease, and Jones, feeling himself on a horse and teasing his opponent, did his job. It is clear that it all ended in defeat with a score of 119:108, 118:109 and 117:111. Thus ended the streak of 46 victories for James Toney.
Revenge
By April 2003, past achievements had already been forgotten, and when James challenged world champion in the first heavyweight Vasily Zhirov (31-0, 27 KOs) to a fight, the overwhelming majority did not believe in his triumph. Olympic champion Zhirov has already held the world champion title for 4 years, defending it 6 times. But Tony conducted the battle perfectly from a tactical point of view, he took into account everything: the fact that Zhirov is left-handed, and the fact that defense is not the best strong place opponent. Zhirov missed and missed, and our hero’s counterattacks almost all reached their target. 117:109, 117:109 and 116:110 and... 10 seconds before the end of the 12th round - knockdown. A completely logical end to the confrontation.
Best fight
After defeating Zhirov, Tony decided to storm the heavyweight title. Evander Holyfield(38-6-2, 25 KOs) was quite suitable as an opponent. Many of James Toney's fights ended with unpredictable results. But this... our fighter simply crushed his eminent opponent. He was simply the God of the ring - reinforced concrete defense, swift counterattacks, precisely calibrated combinations of hooks and uppercuts. And, if at the beginning of the fight Evander still resisted, then in the second half of the meeting the advantage was clearly on Tony’s side. And, as a logical conclusion to the meeting in the 9th round, James sent Holyfield to the canvas with a blow to the body. Knockdown and Holyfield's trainer decides to end the fight. And again victory!
Heavyweight Championship
James Toney – John Ruiz
James Toney's fights took place for the championship in different weight categories, and now the next fight for the heavyweight championship and his opponent was John Ruiz, the current WBA champion. The initial rounds took place with equal strength. The rivals took turns gaining a slight advantage, which for some reason they did not use. And only in the 7th round the boxer managed to knock Ruiz down onto the stage with a left side blow. In the 12th round, it became clear that only a knockout would allow the champion to confirm his title. But this did not happen and with a score of 116:111, 116:111, 115:112 Tony becomes the champion!
Defeat again
Boxer's defeat against Denis Lebedev
Another interesting fight is Denis Lebedev James Toney. The Russian boxer dominated the entire fight. During the first 5 rounds, James never struck a blow, while his competitor carried out series after series until fatigue showed itself, and there was a chance to change the situation. But no, series of uppercuts in the 8th round, and then a state close to knockout in the ninth. And Lebedev’s unconditional triumph on points 120:108, 120:108, 120:108. Age and weight take their toll, and more and more often James Toney’s fights end in defeat.
Last Stand
James Toney – Bobby Gunn
Your last one on at the moment James Toney fought in April '12. As a result of this battle, he IBU heavyweight champion, as he defeated Bobby Gunn (21-5-1, 18 KOs) in the 5th round. And although better times The boxer's strengths have long since passed, however, he completely controlled the course of the match. Gunn's hand was injured in the fourth round, which led to the early end of the fight.
This is the most significant battles You can watch videos of these fights and many others conducted by James Toney in this section.
Vasily Balkhashsky Tiger Zhirov - James Turn out the lights Tony. I present to you an article about one of the most best fights in the history of the first heavyweight.
Since the great battle between Evander Holyfield and Dwight Mohammed Qawi, the top heavyweight division has seemed to be frozen in anticipation. This category began to gain popularity, but still remained in the shadow of its closest " brothers" - light heavyweight and heavyweight. She missed big names and bright fights.
Vasily Zhirov, a star of the amateur ring, attracted the attention of the American public to the first heavy division. A boxer from Kazakhstan, nicknamed the Balkhash Tiger, won 24 international tournament. The crowning achievement of his success was gold at the Atlanta Olympics ( 1996). In the semi-finals he defeated his main opponent, to whom he lost at the World Championships in Munich ( 1995) - Antonio Tarvera. The final battle became a formality. Vasily did not experience any problems with the boxer from South Korea- Lee Seung Bae, and became Olympic champion. Moreover, he received the coveted Vel Barker Cup as best boxer tournament. 217 fights and 207 victories - with such baggage Zhirov moved to professional boxing. He signed a contract with Top Rank.
The results were not long in coming. The technical and hitting left-hander literally tore through his rated opponents. In 1998, Vasily won the WBC continental title, and in 1999 he already boxed in a fight for a full-fledged IBF champion belt. In the third round, he knocked down the champion, Arthur Williams, and in the seventh round the referee stopped the beating. Zhirov became the new world champion.
Zhirov continued his ascent, but his opposition lacked big names. The division was not rich in talent. Vasily needed a big fight with a famous opponent. The chance soon presented itself. Duel with the returned one" into action" - James Toney.
James' rapid success in the fight with Michael Nunn has grown him to the skies. He became regulars" pound for pound rating. Fights with Mike McCallum and a brilliant victory over Irene Barkley only strengthened the success. Behind all this were endless problems with overweight. The result was a defeat by the boxing phenomenon Roy Jones Jr. and, inexplicably, a lost fight with Montell Griffin. Tony started" jump"by category. Competing in heavyweight, first heavyweight, and light heavyweight. All this resulted in a second defeat to Montell and a loss to the mediocre Drake Tradzi. About " Turn out the lights"they began to forget. It seemed that his time had passed. To all the troubles were added problems in his personal life - divorce from his wife and endless litigation. Tony took two years off from boxing. He gained a lot excess weight and had health problems.
James resumed working with Freddie Roach and hired a staff of nutritionists and physical training. This gave results. He focused on the cruiserweight division and soon received an IBF contender's fight. In the seventh round, a smashing left hook knocked Jason Robinson to the floor. Knockout. Tony got a chance at a title fight with Zhirov.
Vasily's record was impressive: 31 victories, 27 of them by knockout. He was 29 years old, while James " knocked" 34. The fight was scheduled for April 26, 2003 in Connecticut. Zhirov was the favorite at the rate of 2 to 1. This fight was the moment of truth for both. Zhirov urgently needed big victory, and for James it was a great chance to re-establish himself.
| “I will beat Jirov. He is open to right hands. You will see everything in the ring.” - James Toney before the fight. |
The champion started the fight as number one, actively throwing a series of punches. But James skillfully overlapped and answered accurately from the right, clearly confirming his words with actions. Zhirov increased the pace to the limit and took the second round. He remembered very well how Montell Griffin won his victories over Tony, and now he tried to apply his tactics: constant pressure. However, James was not afraid to get into the corners and calmly controlled the situation under a hail of enemy blows. " Find"His head with the glove was incredibly difficult.
Tony infuriated the champion with his defiant behavior. In the third round, Vasily deliberately hit the groin and received a warning from the referee, Steve Smuger. James began to change tactics, increasingly going on the attack. He " took aim" right hand. Right hand punches after dodge, " crown"The famous master's defense. Time after time, these punches reached the goal. All this shackled Vasily and he lost the third and fourth segments, missing a strong left hook at the end of the fourth. It was this blow that knocked out Jason Robinson, but the champion survived.
The fifth and sixth rounds also went to James. He was more accurate and practically missed no punches. In the seventh three-minute period, Vasily increased the pace to the limit and took the round due to his activity.
In the eighth round" Balkhash Tiger" struck low again, and Smuger deducted one point from him. A significant punishment in a tense fight. This moment discouraged James a little. The champion snatched the ninth segment due to the frequency of his attacks. He simply did more. However, already in the tenth round everything returned to its previous course Tony landed a powerful right hand from below and shook his opponent. telephone booth"The huge guys threw a lot of punches. But the picture remained the same: Zhirov did more, and Tony was noticeably more accurate. The eleventh segment also turned out to be equal. Everything was decided in the final round.
Vasily again did the maximum of technical actions, but in the end James threw a powerful right hand to the temple. He added a few more side kicks. Zhirov was shocked and after another right side kick he ended up on the floor. Knockdown. This happened a few seconds before the final gong. The champion rose, but the round was lost with a score of 10-8.
All three judges gave verdicts in favor of James: 117-119 twice, and 116-110. Tony became the new IBF world champion. A rematch was planned, but James left the title and moved up to heavyweight. In his next fight he knocked out the great Evander Holyfield. Vasily, after the defeat, also moved to " royal weight", but, after two victories, he controversially lost to Joe Mesi, and then unexpectedly lost by knockout to Michael Moorer.
The fight between Tony and Zhirov became a real highlight of 2003 and one of the best fights in the history of the first heavyweight division.
