A child of the forties and fifties, my father didn't care much for the modern fighter. For him, quality boxing ended with fighters like Rocky Marciano and Sugar Ray Robinson.

But James Toney was an exception.

The former middleweight and super middleweight champion was one of his rare favorites, and one of the few fighters he believed could compete back in his Golden Age. And for the now cruiserweight contender, carrying the mantle of the "old school" remains a high priority.

"Rocky Marciano, Ezzard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott, those guys were real fighters and they fought everybody," said Toney, who is preparing for an August 18 cruiserweight title eliminator against Jason Robinson. "They were willing to work on their trade, and they were hardcore fighters. Ray Robinson and Archie Moore were the guys I patterned myself after. I don't pattern myself after the new style of fighters. The fighters of yesterday fought when they were injured, with a broken foot or a broken hand. Those were real fighters. That's what I am. I will break somebody down. I can go short and end it early, or I can go late. If I take you deep, you'd better know how to swim. If you don't you're gonna drown."

"Lights Out" is old school. Blessed with the type of subtle skills lost on all but the hardcore boxing junkie, Toney has gained the respect of not only his peers, but also the old-timers and the gym rats.

Want a couple of Toney moments? How about his come from behind 11th round KO of Michael Nunn in 1991? Or maybe his patient dismantling of Iran Barkley to win the super middleweight title in 1993?

My favorite has to be his fight with Tim Littles in 1994. Cut early on, Toney was a round away from having the bout stopped in his opponent's favor. The Michigan native made sure Littles didn't see another round, blitzing the challenger and stopping him in a time honored tradition of bringing your own judges to the fight - the ones inside your padded mitts.

Unfortunately, those fights happened 8-10 years ago, and to relatively new fans of the sport, James Toney is the guy who was nearly shut out by Roy Jones Jr. and who ballooned to almost 300 pounds while fitting sporadic fights into his schedule.

But no longer, says Toney, 64-4-2, with 41 KOs.

"Fans of boxing want to see great fights and that's what I plan on giving them over the next year and a half or so," said Toney. "I'm at the top of my game. I don't look at any of these guys as serious threats. None of them - Jirov, Jones, or whoever. I'll fight anybody, anytime, anywhere."

Armed with a new focus and a new promoter (Goossen Tutor Promotions), Toney is gearing up for what may be his final run at a title. A win over Robinson on the 18th puts him in the number one spot for a shot at IBF champ Vassiliy Jirov, and no, says Toney, his much discussed waistline won't be a problem.

"It's been really overblown," said Toney about his weight. "They don't want to give me my props. That's because I don't kiss their butts. As far as the press trying to belittle me and always making excuses about my weight, I haven't had a fight in the last two years without a set 190-pound weight limit."

Against Jirov and his debilitating body shots, Toney can't afford to have a weak belly. But even though the champion has the advantage over Toney in youth, the 33-year-old's experience will insure that Jirov will have a long night, and very possibly a losing one.

"I think I've gotten better as far as my technique goes," said Toney. "When I was young, I was just going through the motions. I perfected the art a lot better than I did when I was younger."

If Toney does make it back to the top, eleven years after beating Nunn for the title, it will be one of the more remarkable stories in boxing. Dan Goossen agrees.

"It's sweeter the second time around," said Goossen. "James has said that he's a lot more mature, a lot smarter. And once you had it and kind of lose it, you understand the reasons why you lost it. It makes it that much sweeter when you overcome the obstacles that you have to to get back there."

Obstacles for Toney included not only his fluctuating weight, but also squabbles with his management, his wife, and even his mother. Add assorted layoffs to the mix, and you've got a fighter who is lucky to be in the spot he's in - lucky, or good. Guess what Toney thinks he is?

"I always felt positive about myself," said Toney. "I'm still the best fighter in the world. There is no one in the boxing game today that has skills like I have. Roy Jones, Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya - these guys are pretending to be fighters. I'm the best."

Sure Toney talks outrageously about his standing in today's boxing landscape, but then again, he's always been cocky about such matters. But these days, Toney's boasts have less of an edge on them than in his championship days, when his mouth earned him notices as one of the meanest fighters in boxing, a reputation the California resident feels is undeserved.

"The biggest misconception about me is that I'm mean and I can't be talked to," said the engaging Toney. "Once people meet me they see a different side. A lot of people say 'James is mean, he can't be talked to, he's unreasonable, uncontrollable.' When you meet me, you'll see it's entirely different. Whoever said that bad stuff about me is full of BS. What they tell you, they won't tell me to my face. It's just like a snake. If you mess with a snake he's gonna sting your ass. Same with me."

But what about those notorious press conference rants of yesteryear?

"I never started it back in the day," said Toney. "They would always talk stuff to me and I would retaliate back. Then everybody would say that I'm crazy and that I'm a nut. I'm not. As I got older, I learned to channel it a little bit better, but I'm still rough and wild."

Though he may be rough and wild outside the ring, inside the ropes he's always been the epitome of cool. Goossen, a born promoter, likes the paradox of Toney, and wants to keep him talking.

"Those were attributes I don't want to change," said Goossen. "He's everything you want a fighter to be from the standpoint of communication

because he says it the way it is. Usually those are things that make people's ears swivel."

Toney has even shook off his most devastating loss, a 12 round drubbing by the current light heavyweight champion that made Jones' reputation, and shattered his. Though like most quality fighters, he refuses to accept the loss at face value.

"It used to bother me," said Toney. "But everybody knew what happened. I wasn't in shape. If I were in shape I would have knocked him out. But you know boxing. You've got to shake it off. Real boxing fans know what would have happened if I had been prepared. I don't worry about it. Right now I've got to worry about James Toney."

Fortunately, James Toney has a lot less worrying to do than he did a few years ago. "My kids keep me focused, and I strive to be the best, and fight the best opposition out there," said Toney. "Whatever Goossen puts in front of me I'm knocking them out and having fun doing it."

He's having fun all right, in and out of the ring. Toney received strong notices in the movie Ali, where he played Joe Frazier, and he also has a role in the upcoming prison boxing drama "Undisputed". One role he won't be playing though, is himself.

In the 2003 film about his manager Jackie Kallen, Omar Epps is slated to play an amalgam of Kallen's fighters, including Toney. So does "Lights Out" have any advice for Epps?

"Do a great job," Toney laughs. "Make me look good."

Goossen is going to do his best to make Toney look good outside the ropes, while "Lights Out" does his job inside of them. It's the type of boxing marriage that can make cash registers ring with the right amount of blood, sweat, and luck. It's what both men are counting on - Goossen for his growing company, Toney for his legacy.

"One of the things I've noticed is that one of the strongest ingredients for a fighter to have is peace of mind," said Goossen. "And peace of mind comes in a lot of different layers. One is personal, at home. The other layer of it is from a business end. Nothing against whoever was with James for the last few years, but if everyone is just kind of going through the motions, you're not going to be able to reach the levels that you are really capable of reaching. James was going through the motions from the standpoint of just doing what he had to do to win, but not really having the motivation, for whatever reason, of re-achieving that greatness. Maybe it was because he knew in the back of his mind that the team wasn't set yet. He was still going through that growth period. What I see now is a man that knows that if he does his job, and everyone else does theirs, he's going to receive the benefits of it. And because of that, the weight's not a problem and the motivation's not a problem."

"If me and Goose do our thing, we're going to be the ones smiling at the end of the tunnel," said Toney. "I'm excited about this."