By Mark Vester
BoxingScene's Brent Mattero Alderson recently spoke with former three-division champion James "Lights Out" Toney (70-6-3, 43KOs), who gave his honest thoughts on a variety of current topics in the sport.
Toney, currently serving a suspension for testing postive for a banned substance that was found in the urinalysis for his split-decision win over Danny Batchelder, (suspension recently reduced by the California Commission), is targeting December for his return.
"The suspension is up in October. I'm going to fight on December 1st. We are going to fight on December 1st either out here in Los Angeles or Detroit. Me and my camp are working on a few things right now. I want the toughest opponents out there, I expect nothing less. I want come back big, pay-per-view style," Toney said.
Almost four years after Toney stopped Evander Holyfield to instantly make a name for himself as a legit heavyweight contender, Holyfield is facing Sultan Ibragimov for the WBO heavyweight title on October 13. Toney is shocked that Evander has been able to land a title shot, but likes his chances.
"That right there is shocking; I'll let you know that. It shows that anything can happen. Anything can happen because the heavyweight division is so watered down now. Everybody don't know who the champion is. But, when you talk about James Toney, they will say he’s a great fighter who will fight anybody, anywhere," Toney said. "I think Evander beats him. Evander and myself are the only two real fighters out there. We'll fight anybody and we don't complain. "
He had plenty to say about Samuel Peter, who beat him in two WBC elimination bouts for the right to fight champion Oleg Maskaev. Even after two hard fights, Toney is far from impressed with Peter.
"To be honest with you, Oleg Maskaev might beat him. I ruled Samuel Peter for twenty-four rounds. I messed him up real bad in both fights. The second fight he ran. He's supposed to be the bigger man, but he ran for the last six rounds. What kind of sh*t is that? I'm a little guy coming up; he's not supposed to run from me. I put it on him. He couldn’t believe the shit I was hitting him with. I was shaking him too, had him doing the wobbles," Toney said.
Felix Trinidad is making a return to the ring in 2008 to fight an old foe of Toney's, Roy Jones Jr. Toney thinks the fight should have never been made, but also expects some exciting drama.
"That right there is what I'm saying. Anybody can get a fight. Another BS fight they put together. Trinidad is a great fighter in a smaller division. Now he's fighting Roy Jones who's past his prime supposedly, but you can never say that about anybody. It can be a better fight than De La Hoya-Mayweather. Somebody is getting knocked out that night," Toney said.
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