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. . . from Coach Roach's PRESPECTIVE
Could it be that upon viewing the fight with Byrd, Toney does not fancy his chances against the 6ft 5 Klitschko?
Not so, says trainer Freddy Roach.
"Well I wouldn't fight Wladimir Klitschko for 1.5 million dollars", Roach told Secondsout flatly.
"That's not enough money to fight a guy like that for the world championship. For the right price he will fight the right guy. I know he is the mandatory for the winner of the Rahman fight, and maybe he'll get better paid for that," he said of Toney's proposed world title rematch.
And to be fair, this is a good point from camp Toney. Klitschko is probably the most dangerous heavyweight out there, and after all of Toney's training expenses, he would only walk away with a few hundred thousand. For the biggest fight of his life, that is not nearly enough motivation for a man of Toney's age and stature in the game.
And what of the weight? Coming in almost 80lbs over his former middleweight self, Toney has hardly looked serious about fighting someone of the skill and power of Klitschko. He may have been able to get away with it with the John Ruiz's and Hasim Rahman's of boxing, but Wladimir Klitshcko is definitely in a different league.
Will Roach put his foot down about Toney's weight if he was to fight Klitschko for the title?
"The thing is, I don't think I'm going to have to put my foot down", replied Roach quickly.
"I think that James realises that he needs to be in better shape, and if he doesn't realise then he never will. James is his own man, and I've had some talks with him, and he realises he needs to be in better shape. If that can't motivate him, then I don't think anything can. If that doesn't motivate James Toney then he's not going to be heavyweight champion of the world. He is 10-15 lbs away from that title, he knows that and he'll make the adjustments. I'm sure of it."
Having stated that he would come down to under 220lbs if he were to fight Klitschko, does Roach believe that Toney is actually physically capable of making decent weight?
"Its just like when he fought Jirov", he said referring to Toney's magnificent performance all the way down at 190lbs in 2003.
"He knows he can do it."
And if he can't, it would not be wise for him to get in the ring with someone as good as Klitschko.
Not so, says trainer Freddy Roach.
"Well I wouldn't fight Wladimir Klitschko for 1.5 million dollars", Roach told Secondsout flatly.
"That's not enough money to fight a guy like that for the world championship. For the right price he will fight the right guy. I know he is the mandatory for the winner of the Rahman fight, and maybe he'll get better paid for that," he said of Toney's proposed world title rematch.
And to be fair, this is a good point from camp Toney. Klitschko is probably the most dangerous heavyweight out there, and after all of Toney's training expenses, he would only walk away with a few hundred thousand. For the biggest fight of his life, that is not nearly enough motivation for a man of Toney's age and stature in the game.
And what of the weight? Coming in almost 80lbs over his former middleweight self, Toney has hardly looked serious about fighting someone of the skill and power of Klitschko. He may have been able to get away with it with the John Ruiz's and Hasim Rahman's of boxing, but Wladimir Klitshcko is definitely in a different league.
Will Roach put his foot down about Toney's weight if he was to fight Klitschko for the title?
"The thing is, I don't think I'm going to have to put my foot down", replied Roach quickly.
"I think that James realises that he needs to be in better shape, and if he doesn't realise then he never will. James is his own man, and I've had some talks with him, and he realises he needs to be in better shape. If that can't motivate him, then I don't think anything can. If that doesn't motivate James Toney then he's not going to be heavyweight champion of the world. He is 10-15 lbs away from that title, he knows that and he'll make the adjustments. I'm sure of it."
Having stated that he would come down to under 220lbs if he were to fight Klitschko, does Roach believe that Toney is actually physically capable of making decent weight?
"Its just like when he fought Jirov", he said referring to Toney's magnificent performance all the way down at 190lbs in 2003.
"He knows he can do it."
And if he can't, it would not be wise for him to get in the ring with someone as good as Klitschko.
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