"Let me tell you something, I came to the UFC to do one thing and that's to fight the best out there. If it's Couture, so be it. If it's somebody else, so be it. Let's get it on and popping. When Dana White said MMA fighters are better than boxers, come on now, you know better than that...The fights start standing and that's my comfort zone all day, you heard me. If they think they going to rush me to the ground and think it's going to be easy and I don't know what I'm doing, come on man. I'm a very strong man. I know what I have to do and if they shoot in on me, they getting launched into outer space like a satellite," stated future Hall of Famer, current IBA heavyweight champion and now MMA fighter James "Lights Out" Toney as he talked about his recent signing with the UFC. You don't want to miss what the always colorful Toney had to say in this explosive interview as Toney blasts certain members of the boxing community and puts the MMA world on notice that he's here to stay. Check it out.
PC: You have been the hot topic for the last 24 hours. Hate it or love it, James "Lights Out" Toney is in the UFC! Tell us about it my man?
JT: It's actually been going down for the last couple of months. At first, negotiations was tough, but we got it down yesterday. I will be fighting in the UFC, but I can still box and I'm still the IBA world heavyweight champion. They fail to realize that I do have a world title. Nobody wants to acknowledge it. These bitch ass promoters out there, hell, my own promoter Dan Goosen refuses to acknowledge that I am the IBA heavyweight champion of the world. He wants me to fight on undercards. Ain't that a bitch? I'm a legend and he wants me to fight on undercards. You don't put a legend on an undercard. That's totally disrespectful. I knowÂ…we friends and everything, but this is business. You don't do somebody like that. You don't do somebody of my caliber like that.
PC: I agree, especially when we're about to get a Jones-Hopkins pay-per-view.
JT: Exactly! I got a heavyweight championship and everyone wants to act like they don't want to recognize James Toney as the IBA world champion, but you know what? I'm going to do my thing regardless. I got mad respect for Dan Goossen and I thought he had mad respect for me until he started trying to put me on undercards, so we had to go another route.
PC: How long did you wait for a boxing date to become available before you went back to the UFC to negotiate?
JT: The thing is I'm going to do both at the same time, but I said whoever comes with the most money, you know what I'm saying? Dan came backÂ…they was bullshitting me at first and the UFC was bullshitting me at the negotiation table and then me and Dana got together, money was right and the timing was right, so me and Dana White are on good terms right now. Me and Dan Goossen, we still on good terms, but my thing with Dan is he trying to treat me like I'm an up-and-coming fighter. Here I am, I got a world title and he don't want to recognize it, you know what I'm saying? He keeps talking about the WBC, man, fuck them motherfuckers. They ain't nobody. The thing is everybody so caught up on titles. It's not the titles, it's a person. Klitschkos don't got no respect. They keep fighting these bums. What the hell Eddie Chambers gonna do? Let's just be realistic, Eddie Chambers ain't going to win; we know that. Chris Arreola ain't shit. He might get beat by the white boy [Tomasz Adamek].
PC: That's what I wanted to ask you because it has to be frustrating to be under the same promotional banner as Arreola and he continues to get dates.
JT: Yeah! He crying, "Oh fuck!" He crying like a bitch on TV and he gets star status, you know what I'm saying? I'm supposed to be a legend and they put these 2 motherfuckers [Chambers and Arreola] over me? Then Dan going to tell me, "Well, the TV don't want to see you." That's bullshit! I tell all of the promoters this, "If you want to see me, come holla at ya boy because I want to fight and I want to fight top contenders." I don't want to fight nothing but the best; I've always been that way. Same thing goes for the UFC. I don't want to fight nothing but the best. If I can't fight the best, it ain't worth it, you know?
PC: Randy Couture has already put on his Twitter page that he hopes to be your first opponent.
JT: DamnÂ…oh really? That's what I'm talking about. That's right up my alley. Oh, hell yeah!
PC: Let it be known that you are not looking for an easy road in the UFC and that you are looking to fight the best.
JT: Let me tell you something, I came to the UFC to do one thing and that's to fight the best out there. If it's Couture, so be it. If it's somebody else, so be it. Let's get it on and popping. When Dana White said MMA fighters are better than boxers, come on now, you know better than that.
PC: It's funny because a lot of MMA fans will give a decorated wrestler, who has no boxing or Jiu Jitsu training, a chance to be successful in MMA, but they won't give an established boxer a shot in MMA even though the fights start in your comfort zone: standing.
JT: All day! The fights start standing and that's my comfort zone all day, you heard me. If they think they going to rush me to the ground and think it's going to be easy and I don't know what I'm doing, come on man. I'm a very strong man. I know what I have to do and if they shoot in on me, they getting launched into outer space like a satellite.
PC: I understand you are working with my man Juanito.
JT: Juanito Ibarra, he's good man; that motherfucker know his shit. He got Rampage to the top and we gonna do the same thing. I'm going to destroy these dudes. If Randy Couture put on his Twitter page that he wants to see me, tell him it ain't shit. Let's make it happen. If not in June, he can be the one after that.
PC: How soon are you looking into stepping inside of the Octagon?
JT: They talking about June or July, so I'll be ready. That still gives me plenty of time, you know what I'm saying?
PC: How important was it for you to have the clause to be able to continue to box?
JT: I told them, "Man, look, you are the one that said boxers would have to come to you. Ya'll scared to come to my game, so I will come to ya'll game. What do ya'll want to do? If ya'll want to do a deal, cool and if not, fuck it, let's go on about our business. You go out and say you're sorry and apologize; you be the bitch!"
PC: So Dana White and James Toney locked down a deal and are getting along.
JT: We good now. I told Dana...see, Dana used to be a boxer himself, so he knows what time it is, you know what I'm saying? As long as he don't treat me like I'm some outcast or nothing like that. I answered his challenge, now stand up like a man and do what you gotta do and I'm going to do what I gotta do. I'll give you my word if you give me your word. My word is bond. My word is goldÂ…nah, fuck that, my word is double platinum with diamonds.
PC: Dana knows the boxing game and there have been fighters that have gone to him in the past and he wouldn't entertain it, so he definitely has a high level of respect for you to allow you into the UFC.
JT: Exactly man! Dana is a business man and he's done a great job with the UFC and he brought it back to the top of the game. Now he has the top dog in boxing in his organization and it's going to flourish even more now. Like I said, I'm already a heavyweight boxing champion and now I'm coming to the UFC. I'm bringing everything: excitement, charisma and pizzazz. They gonna love it and they gonna need more, you know what I'm saying?
PC: I gotta see the pay-per-view numbers when you make your debut.
JT: Ah man, you know it's going to be through the roof. People want to see this. To all my haters out there, I love you. Keep hating because you gonna make my buy rate go up. If you hate me, fuck you! If you love me, much love to you. That's the way I look at it. I don't want to answer nobody but Percy. You know what Percy? That's why I call you "No Mercy". You can get it and don't have no mercy from nobody. I'm the same way. I'm going to go get these boys. They think I'm playing. I train every day Percy; 2 to 3 times a day. I'm doing my thing, so you know what? Whatever they bring, I got something for 'em.
PC: I have told everyone that will listen that an in-shape James Toney is a problem in any aspect of the fight game, bare knuckle, street fighting, in a ring or cage, but you gotta be in shape.
JT: I'm the most dangerous motherfucker in this world, period! Period! That's whyÂ…why you think Roy Jones and Bernard fighting each other instead of me? Bernard is a nobody. He talk all of that bullshit, but he a nobody. The Klitschko's manager told Dan Goossen that I'm still too good. I'm too dangerous. They are some hos. Tom told Dan Goossen, "James is too dangerous and we don't want to take the chance." That's a major defeat right there before the fight even happens. Dan and "Alvin and the Chipmunks" Haymon scared to see me against Chris Arreola. Everybody knows I will kill him. And Chris Arreola's trainer, what's his name, Ramirez was saying, "Well, James too old." If I'm too old motherfucker, come do it then. He couldn't do it 2 or 3 years ago when we sparred and Chris Arreola had a fish bowl over his nose when I fucked him up in a few rounds. What the hell they think going to be different in a real fight when I have small gloves on?
PC: So we could possibly see James Toney in the Octagon in June or July and then in a boxing ring in November or December?
JT: You can see me in a ring and a cage. You might see me in the ring in April and come back and see me in a cage in June. Who knows? I just want these boxers to come out and fight me and quit being scared. My own promoter, yes, my own promoter Dan Goosen scared to take a chance, but he will take a chance with a motherfucking Mexican dude who got on national TV and cried like a little bitch, you know what I'm saying? But he won't take a chance on me. And his favorite excuse is, "Man, you had your chances and fucked up." Man, fuck that! Them motherfuckers couldn't even beat me out of shape. Bottom line is James Toney can still fight and I could still beat anybody out there. They gave me a draw against Hasim Rahman and everybody know I beat him the first time. Then the Ruiz shit, they pulled the bullshit on me with the steroids. I was coming in that fight on short notice after the arm injury. He about to fight for a title and I beat him not even being 60%. I beat Ruiz with one arm. Come on dog. I done put in more work than anybody in this game has. I done forgot more than Bernard Hopkins even knows. These dudes are clowns dog. I'm going to tell you right now dog, in my own personal opinion, I think Roy Jones is going to beat Bernard Hopkins because you know why? Bernard took the scary way out, lil bitch! You can't call Bernard Hopkins no old school fighter man. I get tired of seeing people say that. The nigga runs in with his head down, hit and hold. No old school fighter has ever done that shit. He is an old fool.
PC: Hey man, I'm glad you gave it to me hot off the press. Congratulations on the UFC contract and good luck. I'm sure we will be speaking soon.
JT: "No Mercy" baby!
[EDITOR'S NOTE: If anyone is tempted to grab a "quick quote" from this interview, please do us a solid, give credit where credit is due and link back to the original interview with the CORRECT link.]
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