There are a lot of things that stand out about former champion James ?Lights Out? Toney, including his amazing ring awareness, beautiful body-punching and counter-punching ability. But more than anything, it has been the rough demeanor and trash talk from the 42-year old that has defined him throughout his career.
Never one to shy away from hyping his own skills while bashing other fighters, Toney was in rare form recently during an interview with Elie Seckbach of ESNewsReporting.com. Asked what set him apart from some of his contemporaries, Toney insisted that fighting has always been in his blood.
?I was born to fight like this,? Toney would state. ?I?m a born fighter, everybody else is taught to fight. That?s the difference between me and Bernard, Antonio Tarver, Roy Jones, all those guys. They were taught to fight, I was born to fight. I?m a born warrior. You can?t teach what I know.?
Toney went on to show reverence towards another legend of years? past, Robert Duran, whom he could be found mingling with a few weekends back at the Cosmopolitan Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the two men were ringside for the Lamont Peterson-Victor Cayo clash. Toney went on to add that today?s crop of fighters were heading down the wrong path and specifically pointed towards WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz, whom defends his belt against Floyd Mayweather on September 17th.
?All the new shit, if you look at that shit you are heading for a disaster. Victor Ortiz, he already quit once and it?s going to happen again,? Toney said, pointing to Ortiz?s June 2009 TKO loss to Marcos Maidana. ?Did you hear what I said? Victor Ortiz quit once and it?s bound to happen again. You know what I?m saying? A leopard never changes its spots.?
