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Updated: October 17, 8:27 PM ET Toney looks like Fighter of the Year By Max Kellerman Special to ESPN.com |
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This last Friday, on Friday Night Fights, I was asked -- I believe it was during the 2-The-Max segment -- whether James Toney should be the Fighter of the Year for 2003. My answer was something like "not only does Toney deserve that distinction, but there is no one else who really deserves consideration." After all, no fighter has accomplished more in 2003 than Toney. He registered a brutal points win against Vassiliy Jirov and then moved up to heavyweight and destroyed Evander Holyfield. Joel Casamayor had a big 2003. He established himself as probably the best 130-pounder in the world (in spite of a close loss in 2002 to Acelino Freitas). Casamayor beat an at-the-time undefeated Nate Campbell, and stopped Diego Corrales. But the Campbell fight was close (I had it a draw) and the Corrales stoppage (due to cuts) was controversial. I do not think those two wins quite stack up with wins over Jirov and Holyfield. Rafael Marquez had a big 2003, too. After steamrolling Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson last year, Marquez established himself as 118-pound kingpin in 2003 by knocking out bantamweight top-dog Tim Austin. Marquez followed up that win with a decision victory against long-time contender Mauricio Pastrana. Had the Johnson knockout come this year, Marquez would have a very good case for Fighter of the Year, but it did not. Shane Mosley beat Oscar De La Hoya for the junior middleweight championship of the world, but the fight was very close. Mosley's only other fight in 2003 came against Raul Marquez - a No-Contest due to a clash of heads. Not a bad year for Sugar Shane, but not nearly good enough to take honors ahead of Toney. Yes, were 2003 already over when I made my Toney-for-Fighter-of-the Year comment, I would have been absolutely right. At this point in 2003, no one else has accomplished what Toney has. Of course, what I somehow failed to consider at the time, is that the year is not yet over. There are several fighters who can make a run at Fighter of the Year before December 31st. Let us take them one at a time.
Roy however, would likely lose that case. Holyfield fought Ruiz three times, and officially went 1-1-1, but most observers agree that if anyone proved themselves the better man over the 36 Holyfield-Ruiz rounds, it was Holyfield. So Toney's win against Evander has to count for at least as much as Roy's win against Ruiz. Toney also dominated "The Real Deal" to a greater extent even than Jones dominated Ruiz. Tarver is, other than Dariusz Michalczewski, Roy Jones' most worthy light heavyweight opponent, and a win against Tarver would certainly be a very good win. Jirov however, was the world's top-rated 190 pounder, when Toney dramatically beat him in 2003's likely Fight of the Year. Even should Jones dominate Tarver, it would be difficult to argue that a win - even a dominant win - against the overall third rated light heavyweight in the world (after Jones himself and then Michalczewski) is better than a dramatic win in an epic battle against the world's top rated cruiserweight.
Mayorga has a fight coming up in December against top-five welterweight Cory Spinks. Should Mayorga pole-axe Spinks the way he did Forrest in their first go-round, there will be a compelling case to be made that he had the best year of any fighter in boxing. My vote though, would still go to Toney. Mayorga knocked an over-confident Forrest out in their first fight (a fight Forrest was winning) and I thought was lucky to get the decision over a seemingly frightened Forrest in their rematch. Spinks is a nice fighter - a fast boxer - but not a world-beater. Many would argue that Jirov is no world-beater either (though his Olympic Gold Medal makes his status world-beater status difficult to argue against), and that Toney's competitive win against him should not be overrated. It is also possible to argue that Holyfield finally got ancient during the Toney fight, and that Evander was bound to be knocked out by someone sooner or later. Going into the Toney fight though, Jirov was undefeated, with almost all of his wins by knockout. He was the consensus top guy in his division. Much has been made of Holyfield's recent slippage, but I know serious boxing people who believe that Holyfield beat Lennox Lewis in their rematch and beat Ruiz in all three fights. Evander actually officially beat Hassim Rahman and though he was mostly dominated by Chris Byrd - a very tricky southpaw - he rallied late in that fight. Evander did indeed look ancient in the ring against Toney, and it was Toney's airtight defense and pinpoint counters to the body that made him look that way. I just do not see where the Holyfield Toney rose in weight to dominate was that much different than the Holyfield who beat Ruiz and Rahman. Mayorga can make a good case for himself as Fighter of the Year should he look great against Spinks, but like Roy Jones, I see him losing that case to James Toney. Toney wins, with Mayorga runner-up. Unless, of course, Tarver beats Roy Jones. Didn't consider that possibility did you? Were that upset to actually occur, this entire issue would of course, be moot. Max Kellerman is a studio analyst for ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" and the host of the show "Around The Horn." |
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