For weeks now, James Toney has been keeping his fingers crossed and his mouth shut in hopes of securing a showdown with IBF & WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. Just last week, the chances of the fight actually taking place were looking good. As the weekend approached, Toney informed FightHype that although there were some minor hurdles to get over, he was confident that everything would finally fall into place, stating, "December 11th, Wladimir Klitschko is going to sleep!" Unfortunately for Toney, however, those hurdles have proven to be too high to jump over and his dream of finally fighting one of the Klitschko brothers is now dead in the water. Moments ago, Toney told us that the IBF would not sanction the bout due to his "inactivity."
Toney last fought in a boxing ring in September of 2009, when he scored a second round knockout of Matthew Greer. While it's true he hasn't had a boxing match in over a year, it's certainly not from lack of trying. Since his last bout, the future Hall of Famer has been pleading his case for an opportunity at a meaningful bout, but with no top opponents eager to face him, Toney turned his attention to mixed martial arts just to stay active. This past August, making his MMA debut, Toney was defeated by UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.
Toney believes that there's much more to the story than his "inactivity" inside the boxing ring. "You know the Klitschko's run these sanctioning bodies and this is Wladimir's way of not fighting me once again. Its crazy man," Toney stated, expressing his frustration and belief that, for some reason, he's again being avoided while others with far less credentials are getting their shot. In fact, not only does Toney think he's being avoided by the Klitschkos, but he also believes he's being blackballed by certain individuals in a sport that he's done so much for. "I definitely feel like I'm being blackballed. You put your life on the line in this sport and these are the thanks you get," he continued.
With the IBF unwilling to saction a title fight with James Toney as the opponent, you have to wonder exactly who they do think is worthy of the challenge. According to Toney, the alternatives that they're looking at don't come close to having his skills, regardless of their level of activity. "It could be anyone of them 'Bum of the Month' members. I heard Jean Mormeck, Chauncy Welliver or some 14-0 dude out of the UK named Dereck Chisora. Whoever it is, they won't be James Toney and Wladimir knows that," a disappointed Toney added.
In the past 3 years, Wladimir Klitschko has scored wins over Samuel Peter, Eddie Chambers, Ruslan Chagaev, Hasim Rahman, Tony Thompson and Sultan Ibragimov. Just to put it into perspective, here's a look at those opponents' last fight prior to them getting their shot at Klitschko's title:
- Sultan Ibragimov UD12 Evander Holyfield
- Tony Thompson TKO2 Cliff Couser
- Hasim Rahman NO CONTEST James Toney (Originally ruled a TKO3 win for Toney)
- Ruslan Chagaev TD6 Carl Davis Drumond (Fight stopped due to accidental headbutt)
- Eddie Chambers MD12 Alexander Dimitrenko
- Samuel Peter TKO2 Nagy Aguilera
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]