toney doing what roy jones did

[TheFlyingMan]

If you look at Toney's and Jones' careers, there are many similarities, both started at much lighter weights, around middleweight, and are now challenging for heavyweight title, against the same guy!
Why isn't there such a big deal being made about Toney? would he be one of the P4P greats if he beat Ruiz? Judging by what (comparitively) little hype there is about this fight, even if Ruiz got knocked out, I don't think Toney would get as much respect as Jones did when he beat Ruiz.
Which is a shame, cos Toney > Jones!

[NAB]

Probably 'cause Toney seems a bigger guy & has been fighting up at that weight.
Decent effort if he wins though.

[oldgringo]

One thing that Toney has over Jones is taking out 2 kings of their respective divisions. Toney beat Jirov and would have KO'd him...and he KO'd Nunn...something Jones has NEVER done.

[riz]

but look at other things jones has done
beat hopkins
beat toney himself
toney lost to griffin twice (wasn't an amzing fighter)
n sum other gy (can't remember, didn't hav an amzing record)
so thts my 2 cents gyz

[phallus]

if james would have got his **** together in the 90's and started training seriously he'd be seen today as the great talent he truly is, but after losing to jones he lost his motivation and just got fatter and fatter, if it didn't take him so long to come back everyone would be talking about how great james toney is

[Rockin']

Bill miller, james' trainer for the fight, told me some great stories about what was going on at the time leading up to the Jones fight. James deserved what he got and then cried after he had lost his title.............Rockin'

[Kid Achilles]

Maybe, but he only has himself to blame. He claims he was in horrible condition for the Jones fight too but who's fault was that?

[Rockin']

it was james fault completely. And then after the fight he threatens to kill jackie for making the match. That was a low point in james life, had to be.............Rockin'

[phallus]

it was james fault completely. And then after the fight he threatens to kill jackie for making the match. That was a low point in james life, had to be.............Rockin'

it sure was a low point in his life, he thought about quitting boxing

[mECHsLAVE]

Yeah, it's ironic that Toney is considered such a force now, and Roy is widely believed to be kaPUT and "exposed" by many. Yet of course Roy beat Toney definitvely.

Does it matter more what you do at the end of your career? I think it DOES- but only *if* they are your most memorable fights. Let's face it, the most dramatic Roy fights were his last two. Hehe, that sucks for him, and it's not to diminish and erase all his previous phenomenal performances, but let's face it- it may end up that he is remembered by laying there stiff as a board and paralyzed by Johnson, rather than dominating lesser fighters. Ali had so many memorable performances and dramatic wins, you could forget his last few fights easily. But Roy? I think they may stick to him.

Now with Toney, he beat Jirov is a tough war that was very close (but it was a war and Toney dropped him near the end) and then he takes out Holyfield (yeah, a dead man walking Holy, but still- the perception is there of a great performance and "memorable").

Jones had the opportunity to give these types of performances. Jones was begged to fight Jirov instead of Clinton Woods- and offered alot more money. Roy took the less money and the lesser fighter. Then after fighting alot of bums, he beats Ruiz, but without getting hit hardly other than the first round. Then he takes on 2 tough opponents and gets KO'd back to back.

Toney will be remembered as the greater fighter when his career is over, I believe, even though he lost to Roy.