UFC 118's James Toney plans to KO Randy Couture, defend boxing title shortly after
Heavyweight boxing champion James Toney (72-6-3 Boxing, 0-0 MMA) wants you to know that he's taking his taking his forthcoming mixed martial arts debut against Randy Couture very seriously.
But that doesn't mean the 41 year old is turning his back on the sport that made him a star.
"I'm doing both (boxing and MMA)," Toney told MMAjunkie.com at a recent media session promoting UFC 118. "I'm a two-sport athlete. After I fight Couture on Aug. 28, I'm going to defend my (boxing) title against somebody in October or November."
After a well-documented courting period with the UFC, Toney will make his debut for the promotion at UFC 118 in Boston in the night's co-main event. Toney has openly admitted he welcomes the "boxing versus MMA" angle of the matchup, and he's happy to represent the sport in which he's been competing professionally since 1988.
"This is fighting," Toney said. "I can box. Ya'll say Randy Couture does 'dirty boxing,' whatever the [expletive] that means, and he's a wrestler. Hey, this is war for me – this guy, who ya'll claim is the greatest MMA fighter to put gloves on.
"[Boxers] are the superior strikers. ... I look at this as a way to let everybody know that boxing reigns supreme."
Many MMA observers, including UFC president Dana White, have predicted a short night for Toney. "Lights Out" laughs at the idea he might be easily dispatched.
"Why should I be scared of an MMA fighter?" Toney asked. "What's different? MMA ain't no different than boxing. Boxing is much tougher because you're in there constantly punching and pounding. Right here, you've got Randy Couture who's going to be scared and constantly try to hug me like a little girl, and I'm going to make him pay for that.
"Everybody knows that if you're going to stand with me, one mistake and that's your ass. Did ya'll tell Randy Couture that I'm wearing small gloves now? Did you tell him that? What do you think is going through his head right now? 'I need to stay the [expletive] away from his hands.' That's what he's thinking. Every night, he's going to bed thinking, 'What if I get hit?'"
Win or lose, Toney said he plans on defending his IBA and NABO heavyweight titles shortly after, though he has yet to sign an official contract. Toney said he hopes for a fight with WBO heavyweight champion David Haye.
"[Haye] ran his mouth about me and said I'm crazy, I'm going to get destroyed and choked out and all that," Toney said. "I don't mess with computers, but you get on computers and get online, you become a cyber gangster. That's what David Haye is. The sisters are, too – the Klitschkos."
Toney said he hopes to continue to bounce back and forth between boxing and MMA for the next four years and cement his place in history.
"I want to do this and boxing until age 45, then I'm done," Toney said. "I would have accomplished everything, and everybody would know that I'm the greatest fighter to ever put on gloves. That's my goal.
"It's going to set a standard – the gold standard. I've got a high standard."
Las Vegas oddsmakers have already installed Toney as an underdog of Fabricio Werdum proportions. Of course, if "Vai Cavalo" could overcome Fedor Emelianenko, could Toney shock Couture?
"They're trying to set me up to fail," Toney said. "That's why they're throwing Randy Couture at me. I've been set up to fail my entire life, so it's nothing new to me. I'm like, 'Good. Keep talking.'
"If Randy Couture takes me to the ground, I will knock him out. Ya'll ain't never seen nobody get knocked out from the floor, right? Ribs will be broken. I'm very comfortable from the floor."
And, Toney says, fans of both boxing and MMA better get used to seeing his face.
"If I do something, I'm all in," Toney said. "I'm not going to half do myself and do one fight – win or lose.
"I'm in this for the longrun. I'm serious. I'm not playing with people."
Source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/19830/ufc-118 ... -after.mma
