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Toney says MMA is where matches are made

by jeff cain/mmaweekly.com

James “Lights Out” Toney won his first major boxing title in 1991. He’s held boxing belts at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight, and heavyweight. He is the current titleholder in both the IBA and NABO.

He makes his mixed martial arts debut against UFC legend Randy “The Natural” Couture at UFC 118 in Boston, driven to MMA by the state of boxing.

One of the many criticisms about the current boxing landscape is the lack of major match-ups happening. We’re witnessing this now with Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. negotiations.

“Everybody, all the big guys in boxing are scared to fight me. I can’t get a fight with the Bitch-ko sisters (Vitali and Waldimir Klitschko). I can’t get a fight with David Haye. I can’t get a fight with the top two contenders,” Toney told MMAWeekly Radio.

“Look, I have a legitimate heavyweight title and nobody wants to fight me. What’s the problem here? So I see that MMA is doing their thing. Everybody is fighting each other. It’s just like the glory days of boxing like in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Everybody is fighting each other. That’s how MMA is. Everybody is fighting each other. I said, let me get in on some of this,” added the 41-year-old mixed martial arts rookie.

Toney sees mixed martial arts as the way combat sports should be, the top fighters competing against the top competition.

“You got my man Dana White, you got Scott Coker in Strikeforce, and they’re putting the fights together,” said Toney. “I’m in the UFC. They put the fight together, the fight with me and Randy Couture. I couldn’t come in the UFC and fight a bum, or a tune-up fight. I had to fight the best. I am the best.”

Stylistically the match-up is a throwback to the early days of mixed martial arts with singular fighting backgrounds pitting their skill sets against each other.

Of course Couture is more than just a wrestler, but in this fight his wrestling ability will be his strongest asset against a boxer who has made a career out of knocking people out with 10-ounce gloves. On Aug. 28, he’ll be equipped with four-ounce gloves.

UFC 118 will be Toney’s MMA debut and multi-division and multi-time UFC titleholder Couture will be competing in his 29th professional MMA bout.