By: Sean Crose
Being inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame, James Toney was in Vegas this weekend, where he had a chance to speak with Fight Hub. Toney, who was an extraordinary talent in his time, had a terrific career for himself, winning world titles in three separate weight divisions before finally hanging up the gloves in 2017. Asked to speak about some contemporary fighters, the man who was known as “Lights Out” didn’t hold back. “If that fight happens it’s going to be a wonderful fight,” he said of a potential welterweight match for all the marbles between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence. “But you know what?” he continued, “Errol Spence can’t beat Terence Crawford. It ain’t happening.”
While some may be torn trying to predict who would win a Crawford-Spence match (should one ever come to pass), Toney made it clear that he believes Crawford simply operates on a higher level than the popular Spence. “Terence Crawford right now in my mind,” said Toney, “is the best pound for pound fighter in the world.” Toney was then asked what he thought of a much hyped potential matchup between Ryan Garcia and Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Once again, the former ring master didn’t pull his figurative punches.
“Are you serious?” he asked kiddingly. “Are you serious? Dang,” he said, turning to someone off camera with a smile, “he is serious.” Toney then went on to put matters bluntly. “Mismatch,” he said. “Murder.” Not holding back, Toney let it be known that he isn’t much impressed with Garcia’s ring skills in general. “He can’t fight,” Toney said of Garcia bluntly. Toney was certainly in a number of high profile matches himself in his time, facing off against the likes of Roy Jones and Evander Holyfield. He even once battled UFC star Randy Couture in a mixed martial arts contest.
