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It took only a few weeks of rigid training with Tae Bo fitness guru Billy Blanks to do it.
Hall-of-famer Mike "The Bodysnatcher" McCallum couldn't do it. Roy Jones, Jr. couldn't do it nor could Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield for that matter. What is it that Billy Blanks has done you ask?
Fulfilling the Christmas wish of many, Billy Blanks has finally gotten James Toney to stop talking.
Toney and Blanks recently formed an unlikely alliance where opposites did attract. Toney, often appearing portly and rotund has teamed with Tae Bo creator Blanks who, according to his own web-site, is "Out of bed by 5:30am and still teaches at least two Tae Bo classes and a few martial arts classes each day at his studio in Los Angeles." Blanks sports a tight, chiseled physique that looks like it may have been carved from either black diamond or mahogany.
These two mismatched souls have teamed up in order to prepare Toney for his rematch with heavyweight contender Samuel Peter. It's a pairing of the ultimate underachiever in Toney and the ultimate disciplinarian in Blanks. "It's like that old show the Odd Couple," chuckled one jaded observer, "Toney is the crude and messy Oscar Madison while Blanks is the tidy and polished Felix Unger."
In the short time the pair has been together, Blanks has put Toney through a grueling program of regimented training coupled with clean eating. When asked if he was doing anything differently under Blanks' tutelage, Toney responded, "Yes, throwing up. Everything has changed."
For Toney, whose mother is a pastry chef, the lust of deli shops and calorie rich food has always been one of his sweet temptations. One must remember that the 5'9 1/2" Toney fought as a 157-pound middleweight when he began his career, but he has scaled close to 240 pounds for recent heavyweight bouts. Whatever the case, the connoisseur in Toney maintains the Blanks diet hasn't been a real issue for him. "It hasn't been a challenge. I just haven't been going (to the deli). I've done everything Billy said to do. I've been getting the proper rest and I've just been doing it. You will see on January 6th."
"Lights Out" has become nearly as famous for his mouth and forked tongue as he has for his fists during his eighteen years in the ring. He claims the training has been so painful and arduous that he is too tired to talk much anymore. Sure, Toney still talks, but he's mime-like compared to his former self. "I am being quiet because of training," says Toney. "I'm too busy working with Billy killing me everyday. I've been quiet because I've been working. We've been at it seven hours a day, seven days a week." [details]
Hall-of-famer Mike "The Bodysnatcher" McCallum couldn't do it. Roy Jones, Jr. couldn't do it nor could Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield for that matter. What is it that Billy Blanks has done you ask?
Fulfilling the Christmas wish of many, Billy Blanks has finally gotten James Toney to stop talking.
Toney and Blanks recently formed an unlikely alliance where opposites did attract. Toney, often appearing portly and rotund has teamed with Tae Bo creator Blanks who, according to his own web-site, is "Out of bed by 5:30am and still teaches at least two Tae Bo classes and a few martial arts classes each day at his studio in Los Angeles." Blanks sports a tight, chiseled physique that looks like it may have been carved from either black diamond or mahogany.
These two mismatched souls have teamed up in order to prepare Toney for his rematch with heavyweight contender Samuel Peter. It's a pairing of the ultimate underachiever in Toney and the ultimate disciplinarian in Blanks. "It's like that old show the Odd Couple," chuckled one jaded observer, "Toney is the crude and messy Oscar Madison while Blanks is the tidy and polished Felix Unger."
In the short time the pair has been together, Blanks has put Toney through a grueling program of regimented training coupled with clean eating. When asked if he was doing anything differently under Blanks' tutelage, Toney responded, "Yes, throwing up. Everything has changed."
For Toney, whose mother is a pastry chef, the lust of deli shops and calorie rich food has always been one of his sweet temptations. One must remember that the 5'9 1/2" Toney fought as a 157-pound middleweight when he began his career, but he has scaled close to 240 pounds for recent heavyweight bouts. Whatever the case, the connoisseur in Toney maintains the Blanks diet hasn't been a real issue for him. "It hasn't been a challenge. I just haven't been going (to the deli). I've done everything Billy said to do. I've been getting the proper rest and I've just been doing it. You will see on January 6th."
"Lights Out" has become nearly as famous for his mouth and forked tongue as he has for his fists during his eighteen years in the ring. He claims the training has been so painful and arduous that he is too tired to talk much anymore. Sure, Toney still talks, but he's mime-like compared to his former self. "I am being quiet because of training," says Toney. "I'm too busy working with Billy killing me everyday. I've been quiet because I've been working. We've been at it seven hours a day, seven days a week." [details]
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