Photo Credit: Esther Lin
Ready for round 3? Conor McGregor stole the show in Toronto. Tonight, Floyd Mayweather will look to return the favor in Brooklyn as the two fighters face off for their final U.S. press conference. The live stream begins at 6:30 p.m. The fight airs on Showtime pay-per-view on August 26.
Idle time is the devil’s playground. Not even a full year into his “retirement,” Floyd Mayweather is apparently entertaining another nine-figure payday. But instead of looking to boxing, Mayweather is flirting with the idea of facing UFC star Conor McGregor.
The news was shot down a few days back by Dana White, but Floyd was right back to fanning the flames last night during a Mayweather Promotions card on ShoBox. According to Mayweather, the fight will eventually happen and take place in a boxing ring.
Do you believe him, or this a bait and switch before he announces a comeback against Danny Garcia or Manny Pacquiao rematch (cringe)?
Mandatory Credit: Matt Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
This morning the MMA world is still coming to terms with the destruction of one of its biggest stars in Ronda Rousey, who was outclassed and executed last night in Melbourne, Australia by former boxing world champion (and now UFC queen) Holly Holm.
An 11-year veteran of combat sports, Holly Holm is not your typical story of a faded boxer trying to find glory in MMA. Early in her career, she spent two years fighting professionally as a kickboxer(going 2-1) and prior to last night’s bout, had amassed a 9-0 record in MMA. She had her last boxing match in 2013 not because she couldn’t compete, but due to needing more consistent opportunities to make a living wage. Her 33-2-3 record featured a distinction of winning the unified WBA/WBC welterweight titles, and being one of the most accomplished female boxers in history.
That made last night’s beatdown no surprise to most boxing fans, who were already soured on Rousey for RING Magazine’s dubious decision to make her the first woman to grace the boxing publication’s cover in its 100-year history.
“It was a slap in the face to the history of women’s boxing,” said five-time flyweight women’s boxing champion Ava Knight.
No Laila Ali, Cecilia Braekhus or even the last American Olympic boxing gold medalist, Clarissa Shields, has been given the distinction of a RING cover.
This reality gave way to the brutal irony in Holm’s elite boxing ability being the cornerstone of her victory. Foolishly, Rousey attempted to stand early on and blitz with hard shots. Holm used her mastery of distance and footwork to keep Rousey on the end of stiff straight lefts and counter right jabs. Within a few minutes, Rousey was bloodied and flailing punches in desperation.
The most embarrassing of these moments signaled the end of Rousey’s chances to win. Showing firsthand how valuable a Floyd Mayweather-like defense can be, Holm deftly slipped a telegraphed left hook and sent Rousey falling over herself.
When you mix the aforementioned boxing skills with Holm’s superior physical strength and takedown defense, you get definitive conclusions like this.
Is Ronda Rousey a fraud? Not at all — the woman is an elite judoka and one of the best fighters in MMA. But her biggest weakness, striking, was placed in neon lights Saturday night. The test of any great fighter is how they come back from defeat. We’ll find out soon enough if Ronda Rousey has the heart and burning desire to come back better, is if she’s a modern version of Gina Carano.
In meantime, if this is how you shadowbox, the boxing gods will not look favorably on you being lauded in Sweet Science publications.
Photo Credit: Al Bello/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images
James Toney’s nine months of MMA training were no match against MMA legend Randy Couture, who easily submitted the former boxing champion in one round.
Toney came to the ring looking immensely confident to the sounds of Rick Ross’ “BMF.” Despite scattered boos, Toney should no visible apprehension about stepping into a new combat arena.
Couture look determined and took less than 10 seconds before he shot on Toney’s legs and got the boxing star on his back. From there Couture was methodical, working short hooks to a hapless Toney’s midsection and head. Toney tried to stifle the attacks by covering up and pulling on Couture’s head, but the Natural had no concern for Toney’s defense. After pushing Toney into the cage, Couture punished him with more ground and pound before locking in an arm triangle. The crowd knew Toney was out of his depth, and carried on “UFC” chants throughout the drubbing.
Toney tried in vain to make it to his feet, but only got to a knee before being pushed back down. Toney motioned to the ref he was ok. Couture seemed impressed and could be heard audibly stating “you didn’t want to tap out, huh?”
Like a cat playing with a doomed mouse, Couture rained down a few more punches before again locking in the arm triangle choke. Toney was now on his back and completely helpless, and had no choice but to tap out.
Couture conceded in the post-fight interview that it was unrealistic to expect Toney to become a capable MMA fighter after just nine months. In addition, he praised Toney for stepping into the Octagon and hopes more boxers will do the same.
“Boxing is awesome,” Couture stated. “I’m a huge fan of boxing…Hopefully there’s a lot of boxers that will step in MMA.”
“I didn’t think he was going to be so aggressive at first,” a sheepish Toney said afterward. “I think my ground game is ok.”
On whether he’ll continue his MMA experiment, James Toney promised a return to the UFC.
Segura Weathers Early Storm to Break Down Calderon
Ivan Calderon’s (34-1-1, 6 KOs) undefeated streak and seven-year championship run came to an end Saturday night (August 28) at the hands of a relentless Giovanni Segura (25-1-1, 21 KOs).
The first three rounds of the contest were vintage Calderon. The 35-year-old champion picked off the wild swinging Segura with sharp left hand counters. The huge 24×24 ring gave Calderon ample room to play matador, and he made Segura look foolish with counter shots. By the fourth, Calderon gained confidence that he had the fight in control and stood toe to toe with his younger opponent. Through quickness and accuracy, Calderon got the better of a late exchange off the ropes and seemed poised to possibly get a rare KO in the later rounds.
But in round five, it was Segura who nearly earned a knockout. He corned Calderon and strafed him with vicious body shots. Calderon got a brief reprieve after a questionable fall to the canvas was ruled a slip. But Segura went right back to work and emphatically took the round as Calderon went back to his corner looking like a fighter ready to quit. The fans in Puerto Rico thundered their support for the Iron Boy, chanting “Ivan! Ivan!” to re-energize their man who was clearly in trouble.
In rounds six and seven, the Calderon successfully avoided prolonged periods on the ropes and fought on even terms by countering and keep the action in ring center. The problem was Segura refused to concede, and continued to punctuate his constant pressure with debilitating body punching. While the rounds could arguably go to Calderon, the effects of Segura’s work downstairs made Calderon’s movement more labored and showed every observer who would have the momentum if the fight went late.
Round eight would prove to be the end for Ivan Calderon. Unable to use the darting movement he had earlier, Segura cornered Calderon and punished the Puerto Rican star with more thudding shots to the body. Calderon wilted and took a knee to stop the barrage. With both eyes swelling and a cut, Calderon took the 10 count and relinquished his WBO title.
The win makes Giovanni Segura the unified holder of the WBO and WBA straps at super flyweight. Before the fight Segura said he would chase his “prey,” and expressed satisfaction in executing his game plan.
“I know how it feels to wait for that super fight from your champion and that’s what I was thinking about,” he stated.
Calderon wasn’t impressed with Segura physical talent, but noted his conqueror succeeded tonight because he had the will to be champion.
“He doesn’t have style or good movement but he showed he’s a great champion,” he said.
Ivan Calderon also verified he does not plan to retire. He will rest for the remainder of 2010 before evaluating comeback plans next year.
Corley Gives Maidana All He Can Handle
Wily veteran DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley (37-14-1, 22 KOs) gave Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 KOs) all he could handle in a spirited unanimous decision loss.
Many expected Corley to be blasted out early by the hard-punching Argentinian, but grizzled contender showed no fear initiating exchanges with his younger foe. Despite being briefly buzzed in the second, Corley’s chin held up well and he continued to force Maidana into competitive firefights throughout the fight.
Maidana scored a knockdown in the eighth, but was buzzed himself when he recklessly rushed in to the end the bout. Corley refused to the yield in the championship rounds, and was actually the fresher fighter down the stretch. But Maidana’s knockdown and the benefit of fighting in his home country gave him wider scorecards than the fight actually warranted (117-110 twice, 115-112).
The lackluster win hurts Maidana’s profile, but still the clears the path for him to face rival Amir Khan for the WBA junior welterweight title on December 11.
Round 12 (No Sound)
The rumors of James Toney being in “good shape” were nothing more than smoke and mirrors, as the boxer known as “Lights Out” hit the scales yesterday for UFC 118 at a career-high 237 pounds.
Toney’s weight issues are nothing new to boxing fans who’ve followed his career since his standout days as a middleweight champion in the early 90s. But for nearly a decade, Toney has carried considerable flab going into significant fights. After coming at a good weight of 217 for Evander Holyfield in 2003, Toney’s average weight over his last 10 fights has been 230 pounds, far too much for his frame.
He seemed to be briefly redidcated last year, when he showed up to his fight against Matthew Greer back at his 2003 weight of 217. But yesterday (August 27), Toney was back to matching his career high of 237 pounds.
Randy Couture, 47, weighed in at 220 pounds. It will be his second fight of the year. In February, Couture submitted Mark Coleman with a rear naked choke at UFC 109. He has been installed as a -800 favorite to win.
James Toney, 42, is making his UFC debut tonight. He boasts a boxing record of 72-6-3, and is promising an early knockout.
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A sideshow at its finest. If you’re on this site you are likely an avid follower of boxing, and know James Toney is far gone as an elite boxer.
Randy Couture has no doubt seen better days, as now he is a 47-year-old athlete. But the Natural is facing Toney in a sport he’s dedicated his whole life to. Outside of an extremely foolish move (like attempting to trade with Lights Out), he should be able to take Toney down rather easily and end matters in the first round with either a submission, or a KO from mounted strikes. If he’s seeking to humiliate Toney, who’s never been knocked out despite competing from middleweight up to heavyweight, he’ll go for the latter.
Just like a UFC fighter would be out of his league against a veteran pugilist in a boxing ring, we’ll see the same tonight with James Toney in the Octagon. He’s getting paid roughly $750,000, so perhaps the payday is worth the embarrassment.
UFC 118 is available tonight on PPV starting at 9PM ET.
In the history of the fight game, not just boxing, from Muhammad Ali who was awesome back to Jack Johnson and all the other guys who have been great, there’s never been a more intimidating or imposing fucking figure or feared fighter in the history of the fight game than you.
Dana White to Mike Tyson
When you get past Dana White’s public bravado, you recognize that the UFC president is a big fan of all combat sports. Here he sits down with Iron Mike Tyson to get the former champ’s thoughts on Toney-Couture (UFC 118) and the importance of having an exciting fight style over simply being the best fighter.
Be sure to check out a funny story from Mike later in the video where he talks about a painful personal experience with Muay Thai fighting.
Boxing veteran James Toney remains supremely confident heading into his MMA debut this Saturday night (August 28) against UFC legend Randy Couture.
Toney has not fought in boxing since scoring a second round KO of journeyman Michael Greer last September. He believes the difference in this fight will be his skill, claiming that Couture has never faced a fighter of his caliber in MMA.
“I’m a superior athlete,” Toney said. “I’m the best fighter that Randy Couture has ever fought in his life…He knows that as a fighter.”
Toney’s UFC blog can be viewed below
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“The lion is king of the jungle, but throw him in a shark tank and he becomes just another meal”
Renzo Gracie
James Toney hasn’t been a king in any weight class for since the end of his cruiserweight run, but the above quote still applies.
Despite his wealth of boxing knowledge, Toney’s chances in this fight are very slim. Couture is not going to exchange strikes and will look to take Toney down immediately. And take down defense is not something you can become an expert at in just a few months.
James Toney is never going to have a body builder frame even when in shape, but what’s promising for his fans is the amount of work he’s putting into his upper body. He seems prepared for a lot grappling and may surprise Couture with his strength.
I’ve always believed that boxing and MMA could make some good money cross-promoting with each other. But this isn’t exactly what I had in mind. It’s definitely a side-show that’s not worthy of PPV.
But if James Toney somehow pulls off the win, the Sherdog forums would implode Saturday night.
On the boxing front, James Toney’s fall has been one of the biggest disappointments of the past decade. After he defeated Vassily Jirov in a cruiserweight war and then easily TKO’d Evander Holyfield in 2003, I thought heavyweight boxing might have had a modern-day Archie Moore on its hands.
Instead injuries, bad training habits, and steroid usage caught with Toney over the next three years. His last hurrah was a spirited split decision loss to Samuel Peter 2006. Since then (including the rematch), Toney has been unable to regain the slick counter-punching form that earned him Fighter of the Year honors in 2003. And now at 42, it’s unlikely that form will ever return.
Will James Toney turn back the clock this Saturday in another combat sport? I wouldn’t bet on it, but I’ll be rooting for the man known as “Light’s Out.”
