When future Hall of Famer James “Lights Out” Toney defeated Damon Reed last month via unanimous decision, many boxing observers didn’t pay half as much attention to the win as they did Toney’s weight, a career high 257 pounds after an 18-month hiatus from the ring. Toney, who had assured FightHype that he trained very hard for the fight, was just as shocked as the critics were as he struggled to take the weight off during camp despite intense workouts. Looking to find answers to his weight problems, Toney recently paid a visit to a doctor to discover some alarming news. “I went to the doctor on the advice of some people that work closely with me and found out that I was suffering from thyroid problems as well as low testosterone problems,” Toney revealed.
According to Toney, his thyroid and testosterone issues have contibuted to weight gains ever since he had surgery to repair two torn bicep muscles shortly after his 2004 victory over Rydell Booker. “They gave me a lot of medication and it caused me to have a low testosterone count as well as thyroid problems. My weight has been hit and miss ever since then and I didn’t understand why. I’m on medication now to clear everything up and I’m back in the gym. I’m already in the low 240’s after being 257 less than a month ago,” he explained.
Toney believes this discovery will solve the puzzle as to why he’s struggled to shed pounds during camp and he guarantees that fans will be seeing the old version of Lights Out. “I feel good. I can’t make no more babies, but I’m about to start knocking motherfuckers out again and looking good physically while doing it. The old JT is back. I’m about to be back to the Rydell Booker and Holyfield form,” he promised as he continues to train in the gym in hopes of a late spring or early summer showdown with former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver. “Tarver is the guy we’re looking at and that’s the fight that I want. I can’t fuck like I want to right now, so I will take it out on Tarver’s ass. I’m ready to release this stress on somebody’s ass; why not Tarver,” Toney added.
