Toney is training seriously for Couture
I watched James Toney go through an intense workout at the M-1 Global training center in Chatsworth, Calif., a few…
I watched James Toney go through an intense workout at the M-1 Global training center in Chatsworth, Calif., a few weeks ago.
Before I go into details of the visit, it’s fair to explain why I’d focus a Gym Notes column on a 41-year-old veteran who hasn’t scored a truly significant victory since he stopped Evander Holyfield (who was just a few days shy of turning 41) in 2003.
Toney’s next fight isn’t even a boxing match. The former three-division titleholder’s next fight will be a five-round mixed martial arts heavyweight match against UFC legend Randy Couture in the co-main event in UFC 118 on Aug. 28 in Boston.
So why am I writing about the 21-year veteran?
Toney’s a real fighter. Yes, he’s a shadow of the marvelous middleweight who took on all comers in the early 1990s, but when he says he’ll fight anybody, anywhere, anytime — even after 83 professional boxing matches — you can believe that he means business.
And when he says that he’s going to beat Couture, a 5-to-1 betting favorite, you can at least believe that he believes what he says.
And to be honest, I’d rather write about Toney than spend any amount of time pontificating on or complaining about the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao negotiations.
So what did I see when I visited M-1 Global (a gym that shares the name of the MMA promoter but isn’t owned by it) on July 1?
