James Toney American boxer Date of Birth: 24.08.1968 Country: USA

Biography of James Toney

James Nathaniel Toney was born on August 24, 1968, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His father left the family when James was only three years old, and he and his mother, Sherry, moved to Detroit. Most of his childhood was spent in a typical ghetto environment. However, in high school, he had a reputation not only as a drug dealer armed with weapons but also as a talented athlete.

Toney excelled in both football and amateur boxing and became one of the best football players in his school team. But during a training camp at the University of Michigan, he realized that he was not meant to be a team player and decided to focus all his attention on boxing. Toney ended his amateur career with a record of 31-2 (29 KOs) and decided that he wanted to make a living in the ring.

On October 26, 1988, James Toney turned professional and had a record of 7 wins and 0 losses when his manager, drug dealer Johnny Smith, was shot and killed. Jackie Kallen, former publicist for Thomas Hearns, became Toney's new manager. Within two years, Toney had 26 wins, 0 losses, and 1 draw in his career.

On May 10, 1991, Toney fought for the IBF middleweight title against undefeated champion Michael Nunn. Despite being considered an underdog, Toney surprised everyone by knocking out his opponent in the 11th round. Over the next three and a half years, Toney became one of the most active champions in boxing, with about 20 fights between his bout with Nunn and his showdown with Roy Jones Jr. in November 1994.

Toney successfully defended his middleweight title five more times. In 1991, he was named the Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year. However, his biggest challenges were not in the ring but with his weight. His weight between fights reached 195 pounds and it became increasingly difficult to drop down to the middleweight limit of 160 pounds. After his second fight with Mike McCallum, Toney moved up to super middleweight (168 pounds) and then to light heavyweight.

In January 1994, Toney officially moved up to light heavyweight and fought Anthony Hembrick, winning by a seventh-round knockout. However, he still wanted to defend his title in the super middleweight division and two months later, he faced Tim Littles, winning by unanimous decision. After a series of victories, Toney faced Montell Griffin in a rematch and suffered his first two career losses. This led to tension between Toney and his manager Jackie Kallen and trainer Bill Miller.

After a fight with Karl Willis, Toney hired a new manager, Stan Hoffman, and a new trainer, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. With his new team, Toney defeated Anthony Hembrick and Freddy Delgado to win the USBA and WBU titles in the light heavyweight division. He defended his titles several times but struggled with weight issues.

In December 1996, Toney fought Montell Griffin for the second time and once again lost a controversial decision. After this fight, Toney changed trainers and began working with Freddy Roach. He won the vacant IBA Super Cruiserweight title in March 1999 while also starring in the movie "Ali" as Joe Frazier.

Toney continued to fight in different weight divisions, winning the IBA Super Cruiserweight title and defeating Wesley Martin. He returned to light heavyweight and defeated Vasily Jirov to become the IBF champion. Toney then moved up to heavyweight and defeated Evander Holyfield. He aimed to become a five-division world champion but faced difficulties finding opponents.

Despite personal problems, including a divorce and legal issues with his mother, Toney persevered. He won several more fights, but his career was marked by weight struggles and difficulty securing high-profile opponents. Nevertheless, he established himself as one of the most skilled and versatile fighters of his generation.