I've never in my life seen a fighter more calm and relaxed then Toney
Thats so true, its unbelievable to see how calm he is in the ring. When you're panicking it takes a lot of your stamina, anybody who have done boxing or mma will tell you that. Be calm and think is something you learn with experience, but even with years of boxing you wont be as calm as Toney
i think toney is a prick now.. but he was a great fighter.. just simply great..
combos, and defense was just sick..
He wouldve ****ed calzaghe up if they fought
certainly not Cro Cop or Mark Hunt, but yea, the Brazilian strikers generally do have backgrounds in both.
trust me, I know that Toney is going to fail miserably at MMA. his style is not suited to it, hes not a natural HW, hes fat, and hes shot. he is very ill-suited for MMA, and even crap at boxing right now.
BUT...someone like Cintron, with the wrestling fundamentals down, I still think would do at least pretty good in mma. While hes certainly not NCAA quality, his boxing ability more than makes up for that, and when the opponent is a far superior striker than you and also has solid takedown defense, its pretty hard to close the distance quickly and more importantly safely.
MMA is all about styles, really. and its easy for upsets to happen with small gloves on too, especialyl for good strikers. I remember some mediocre guy named Sokoju or something KOing Ricardo Arona and Rogerio Noguiera back to back, and they were top ten. He only pulled that off because he was explosive and athletic, not even a particularly good striker.
...whats my point...? Im not sure anymore lol. but I think boxing could transition to mma much easier than some people think.
Oh I agree there are a lot of good things that you can take from boxing and transition over very well. But first boxers have to get it out of their heads that they are gonna dominate on boxing skill only they have to realize they are not just fighting a bunch of street fighters. They have to get it in their head that these guys are just as proficient in their fighting style as they are.
But not to the extent that you think. Strikers that have had success in MMA are usually Mu Thai fighters that have a Ju Jitsu Background. It's a common combination.
certainly not Cro Cop or Mark Hunt, but yea, the Brazilian strikers generally do have backgrounds in both.
trust me, I know that Toney is going to fail miserably at MMA. his style is not suited to it, hes not a natural HW, hes fat, and hes shot. he is very ill-suited for MMA, and even crap at boxing right now.
BUT...someone like Cintron, with the wrestling fundamentals down, I still think would do at least pretty good in mma. While hes certainly not NCAA quality, his boxing ability more than makes up for that, and when the opponent is a far superior striker than you and also has solid takedown defense, its pretty hard to close the distance quickly and more importantly safely.
MMA is all about styles, really. and its easy for upsets to happen with small gloves on too, especialyl for good strikers. I remember some mediocre guy named Sokoju or something KOing Ricardo Arona and Rogerio Noguiera back to back, and they were top ten. He only pulled that off because he was explosive and athletic, not even a particularly good striker.
...whats my point...? Im not sure anymore lol. but I think boxing could transition to mma much easier than some people think.
thats why kickboxers have had success in mma in the past, and lets face it...someone who kicks is easier to take down, because their equilibrium is all messed up after a kick. after all, youre on one leg.
But not to the extent that you think. Strikers that have had success in MMA are usually Mu Thai fighters that have a Ju Jitsu Background. It's a common combination.
well, Marcus Davis has done OK in mma, and he was a mediocre boxer.
its not like I think the top boxers can stroll along and be dominant champs in mma, but yea, I definitely think they could hold their own with the top guys(depending on the fighters in question)
theres jsut no point, its a waste of talent to make a great boxer into a good mma fighter, and vice versa
you dont need huge amounts of wrestling experience if all youre doing is solely evading a takedown. I did wrestling in high school...if all youre focused on is staying up and away, its not too hard, even against experienced guys.
thats why kickboxers have had success in mma in the past, and lets face it...someone who kicks is easier to take down, because their equilibrium is all messed up after a kick. after all, youre on one leg.
This is what marcus Davis a person who has actually done both says about Tony vs Coture and developing even minor take dow defense takes years and years not 9 monthes.
http://www.fightersonlymagazine.co.uk/news/viewarticle.php?id=5084
don’t think as a whole he(Tony) will do very well in MMA. You don’t do well as a straight-up boxer jumping to the UFC. It’s not gonna happen. I think he’s always going to have a punchers chance. Obviously, anyone who can punch like he can, has the speed and reactions he’s got, especially when wearing 4 ounce gloves, can be a threat to anyone. If he lands a punch he can knock Randy out.”
“But I don’t think that will happen. Either Randy will push him against the cage and beat him up, or he’ll shoot for the takedown. If he gets it to the ground, I don’t think Toney will get back up again.”
well, Marcus Davis has done OK in mma, and he was a mediocre boxer.
its not like I think the top boxers can stroll along and be dominant champs in mma, but yea, I definitely think they could hold their own with the top guys(depending on the fighters in question)
theres jsut no point, its a waste of talent to make a great boxer into a good mma fighter, and vice versa
you dont need huge amounts of wrestling experience if all youre doing is solely evading a takedown. I did wrestling in high school...if all youre focused on is staying up and away, its not too hard, even against experienced guys.
thats why kickboxers have had success in mma in the past, and lets face it...someone who kicks is easier to take down, because their equilibrium is all messed up after a kick. after all, youre on one leg.
well, Mercer did KO Sylvia that one time, and Sylvia was top ten.
the thing is that the worst possible types of boxers tranfer to mma. theyre always really old or really crap. Although it makes sense: why go over to mma when youre still somewhat relevant in boxing? same with Toney, hes crap now.
Guys that would have actually done well in mma:
Kermit Cintron(Got fully paid scholarships in high school for wrestling, which is rare if you didnt know, and the only wrestling he would have to truly use is really good takedown defence)
O'Neil Bell...for similiar reasons. although he was an odd one, lol
Kermit does have a wrestling background but the UFC has NCAA champions and NCAA all american wrestlers. There are plenty of Division 1 wrestlers in MMA who are nothing more than mid card jobbers.
The thing that a lot of you guys are not taking into consideration is that a lot of the things that work in boxing do not transfer over to MMA. Rules are diffrent and the sports are diffrent. It's not like they can just show up and succeed otherwise boxers would of already been doing it.
most boxers that go to mma go when they become washed up and their boxing career is over.
like Ray Mercer who knocked out a MUCH bigger top MMA heavyweight. LOOOOOOL wow it must suck to be in MMA.
Dude he lost to kimbo fuking slice who just got cut from the UFC.
well, Mercer did KO Sylvia that one time, and Sylvia was top ten.
the thing is that the worst possible types of boxers tranfer to mma. theyre always really old or really crap. Although it makes sense: why go over to mma when youre still somewhat relevant in boxing? same with Toney, hes crap now.
Guys that would have actually done well in mma:
Kermit Cintron(Got fully paid scholarships in high school for wrestling, which is rare if you didnt know, and the only wrestling he would have to truly use is really good takedown defence)
O'Neil Bell...for similiar reasons. although he was an odd one, lol
suuuure
mma fighters are chinny clowns LOL a boxer with a good take down defense is more then enough to handle in *mma*
Chinny? Ugh can you even prove that mindless fuking comment? And where are these so called great boxers that have transferred over to MMA?
Been waiting for them for years.
James Toney, the most underrated ATG ever... this guys clearly top 15 ATG
I don't think so. We sure as hell ain't getting another James Toney in many many years to come, he really did make it look easy.
Scared? You mean he used fuking stratagy and didn't play right into his opponents Hands like some stupid ass would?
You must think when a boxer blocks a opponents punch or slips the punch that he's afraid to get hit in the face?
Toney made the move to MMA and has enough balls to stand in the cage. Couture wants to prove MMA fighters are not horrible boxers, he should throw punches with Toney to prove his point.
15y ago
James Toney counterpunching virtuoso: VIDEO. | BoxingScene Community