Toney says Klitchsko date has been arranged.

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 21 Jun 2005, 12:23

Klitchsko hasn't signed, but contract is in his hand.

From Fightnews.

James Toney, meanwhile, sat ringside in Johnson's corner for the main event and, as is uaually the case, he had a few things to say. "Vitali Klitschko is next on September 24. Hopefully we can announce it soon. I am not holding anything up, the contract is in his hands. I am the draw for the fight, he's just a generic fighter. I deserve the money. I will knock him out and make it his last fight. I'm not gonna' fight for the organizations. I will take away his WBC belt and after I do, I'm gonna' throw it in the trashcan," stated the always-opinionated Toney.

I don't know how serious this is, or if Klitchsko is negotiating - but Rahman is worried some fighter other then the winner of the WBC interim title will fight Klitchsko first, he's gone to the WBC to seek "justice".

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 21 Jun 2005, 12:31

That's a bit like relying on the pope to line you up with some tarts......

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 21 Jun 2005, 14:36

jamesmcdonnell wrote:That's a bit like relying on the pope to line you up with some tarts......

I do realise, but find it odd that team Rahman are speaking to the WBC - I thought they made their situation clear. If Klitchsko doesn't fight Rahman by September, he is stripped.

Edit - I should say the Rahman / Barrett winner.

Hesketh Vampire · Post by **Hesketh Vampire** » 21 Jun 2005, 14:50

I'm surprised Team Toney are so keen to fight Klitschko, Vitali is nothing spectacular but he is pretty useful, brings a lot of power and makes good use of his size. I'm sure Toney could make him look pretty clumsy for long periods, but Vitali has a decent ability to get on top and he is naturally a much bigger guy. Were Toney a teak-tough and super-fit 210lb fighter in the mould of small heavies of days gone by I'd strongly favour him with his talents, but no-one could describe James as super-fit. Personally I wouldn't put my money on "Lights Out" to get the win in this fight.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 21 Jun 2005, 15:09

i can see vitali getting tirec in there too

Max Molyneux · Post by **Max Molyneux** » 21 Jun 2005, 20:50

I think Toney would be tough for him and Vitali wouldn't easily stop or might even take him the full rounds since he ain't been stopped in 75 bouts and the fact that Vitali's Ko's are mostly Tko and only few might be decent.

Would go for Vitali just because he's bigger though.

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 22 Jun 2005, 03:51

What has Toney done to deserve a shot at Klitschko? The guys a fuckin cheat and he gets a title shot straight after? Ridiculous.

He shouldn't even be in the top 10 in reality considering he still hasnt beaten a legit heavyweight other than old man Holyfield. Nobody mention the Ruiz fight as he blatantly cheated.

This sport sucks sometimes.

Lets see how good he is without the 'roids when he comes back....

Vitali by TKO.

DIRT SUGAR · Post by **DIRT SUGAR** » 22 Jun 2005, 04:56

Toney's a great fighter, no doubt and I used to love watching him back in the day, but what I love about him is that if he were to beat Klitchsko I'd marvel at him, but I'd just as much enjoy seeing him get a whupping. Is Toney the first love/hate fighter – you can love and hate him at the same time?

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 22 Jun 2005, 05:47

nickd wrote:What has Toney done to deserve a shot at Klitschko? The guys a fuckin cheat and he gets a title shot straight after? Ridiculous.

He shouldn't even be in the top 10 in reality considering he still hasnt beaten a legit heavyweight other than old man Holyfield. Nobody mention the Ruiz fight as he blatantly cheated.

This sport sucks sometimes.

Lets see how good he is without the 'roids when he comes back....

Vitali by TKO.

Hmm, does Toney really look like a roid freak to you. Roids or no Roids he would have whupped john Ruiz.

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 22 Jun 2005, 06:05

jamesmcdonnell wrote:
nickd wrote:What has Toney done to deserve a shot at Klitschko? The guys a fuckin cheat and he gets a title shot straight after? Ridiculous.

He shouldn't even be in the top 10 in reality considering he still hasnt beaten a legit heavyweight other than old man Holyfield. Nobody mention the Ruiz fight as he blatantly cheated.

This sport sucks sometimes.

Lets see how good he is without the 'roids when he comes back....

Vitali by TKO.
Hmm, does Toney really look like a roid freak to you. Roids or no Roids he would have whupped john Ruiz.

That's a moot point, he tested positive. There's no saying whether he would have beaten Ruiz or not as we dont know how long he may have been using the roids - could be months could be the last couple years. Despite him not being ripped he has bulked up from fighting at 190lbs to 230lbs. And not all of that is fat, on past performance he'd have been a blubbering whale at 230 so he may well have used them go gain muscle mass as he has put on quite a bit of muscle.

My mate used to use them bodybuilding and he was always a bit of a chubber.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 22 Jun 2005, 07:49

He did test positive, but the tests for the substance he supposedly took, was it nandrolone I seem to remember, are notorious in giving false results as there are other substances, including red meat which can give higher than usual readings.

Toney was a 200lb+ football player at college, and always looked pretty gaunt at middle and SM.

Maybe I just don't want to believe that one of my favourite fighters was a drugs cheat, although If you want to see someone who is suspiciously beefy, look no further than Vitali, who was only 205 as a kickboxer and fornicating lanky, and has turned into a rock solid slab of 250lb muscle, and who has been previously proven to be on anabolic steroids.

DIRT SUGAR · Post by **DIRT SUGAR** » 22 Jun 2005, 08:54

Agree with JamesMcD here – Toney and drugs is not a new concoction, so's to speak because didn't he use duretics when he was a middleweight trying to keep his weight down? Didn't he put his sluggish performance against David Tiberi, where he looked so bad, down to these?

Don't know what effects nandralone has on a fighters' durability, ability to recover though and even though he didn't look body-beautiful, Toney has never been a muscular boxer in the Eubank/Benn mould and surely it would have helped him during his preparation for the Ruiz fight if he was on it, if only to help him recuperate – could it have been a calculated risk taken by Toney or the fighter and his team were willing to take, seeing as he's no spring chicken and the cash involved in the heavyweight division?

From what I've read in mags/papers and yes I know that may not count for much, the nandralone situation over recent years does indicate some uncertainty over how and the levels of it in athletes' systems.