Америкалық боксшы Феликс Тонидің өмірі мен мансабы

American boxer (born 1968)
the Ghanaian boxer

Toney was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, U. S. At around age 11, Toney first entered a boxing gym, but did not seriously pursue the sport until graduating high school. Growing up, Toney lived alongside the families of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Buster Mathis Jr., and Toney's father himself (who was absent for Toney's upbringing) was a boxer. As a teen, Toney was often involved in street fighting and sold crack cocaine. Prior to his career in boxing, Toney was also a star football player; after high school he received scholarship offers from Western Michigan to play quarterback and from Michigan to play as a defensive back. But Toney said, "I wasn't a team player and wasn't good at taking orders. So I went into boxing."

Toney had a brief but relatively successful amateur career, compiling a record of 33 wins (32 KOs) and 2 losses. Toney had his first professional fight on October 26, 1988, beating Stephen Lee by a technical knockout in the second round. As a teenager, Toney was scouted and trained by Gregory Owens, who also was his trainer through the mid nineties. His moniker of "Lights Out" was also given by either Gregory or his son. In his 7th pro fight, Toney's manager, Johnny "Ace" Smith, was killed. Afterwards, Jackie Kallen was hired as his manager. Toney also employed the services of legendary Detroit based trainer Bill Miller. Miller, a former boxer himself who worked in Detroit's famed Kronk Gym and assisted hall of fame trainer Emanuel Steward at times, is credited with developing Toney's famed "old school" or "throwback" style of fighting.

Toney won the IBF and lineal middleweight titles by knocking out Michael Nunn in eleven rounds in May 1991. Toney, who entered as a 20 to 1 underdog, was down on all three judges' scorecards, but landed a left hook that put Nunn on the canvas in the eleventh round, and eventually scored a stoppage victory. The win also earned Toney the Ring Magazine Fighter Of The Year award. Toney continued a regular fight program over the next 18 months at middleweight, before outgrowing the division, where he made several successful yet disputed defenses. The most noteworthy was Toney's split decision win over Dave Tiberi in a fight that many experts feel Toney lost. The decision was so controversial that it prompted United States Senator William Roth of Delaware to call for an investigation into possible corruption in the sport. Toney also won a split decision title defense against Reggie Johnson in June 1991, retained his title with a draw against former WBA champ Mike McCallum in December 1991, and again against McCallum, this time by a majority decision, in December 1992. The McCallum fight would be Toney's last as a middleweight. Toney won five fights throughout 1993, then defeated Tony "The Punching Postman" Thornton in his 1st title defense in October, via a landslide points victory. In his second defense, Toney beat the 24–0 Tim Littles by a 4th round KO. During this bout, Toney suffered a bad cut which caused the referee and ringside doctor to intervene before round 4, allowing him one more round to try to end the fight. His next defense was against former IBF Light Heavyweight champion Prince Charles Williams. Despite having a point deducted for hitting Williams after the bell in one round and having his left eye completely swollen shut, Toney knocked Williams out in the 12th and final round. This win paved the way for his fight with undefeated 1988 Olympic silver medalist Roy Jones Jr.

Jones won a landslide decision over Toney, an upset at the time, briefly flooring Toney for the first time with a flash knockdown in the 3rd round. Jones used one of his "cockfighting" feints to lure Toney in, and as Toney mocked Jones, Toney got caught with a leaping left hook. After the fight Toney blamed making the weight for his flat performance and the loss of his cherished unbeaten record. It was his last fight at the weight.

His next fight saw him lose to Montell Griffin at light heavyweight in February 1995. After then winning a series of fights at light heavyweight, cruiserweight, and even heavyweight, he again faced Montell Griffin in December 1996 and once again lost a close decision. He beat old foe Mike McCallum in February 1997, but then lost to journeyman Drake Thadzi in his next fight.

After taking some time off from the ring, Toney came back in 1999, seemingly focused on reclaiming his status as an elite fighter. He defeated former title holders and title contenders Adolpho Washington, Steve Little, Ramón Garbey, Saul Montana, Sione Asipeli, Courtney Butler, and Michael Rush. In August 2002, Toney beat Jason Robinson in an IBF Cruiserweight title elimination fight. This set up a fight between Toney and the champion, Vassiliy Jirov. After a postponement, the fight happened on April 26, 2003. Going into the 12th and final round, with the scores fairly even and the fight in the balance, Toney knocked the undefeated Jirov down in the 12th. The Kazakh rose from the canvas to go to the distance, but Toney got the judges verdict and was now a three weight World Champion. For Toney's performance he was awarded comeback of the year and named fighter of the year. The fight itself was named "Fight Of The Year" by The Ring magazine. Immediately afterward, Toney moved up to heavyweight, where he campaigned for the next 7 years.

As far back as Toney's middleweight years, he insisted that he would one day be the heavyweight champion of the world. His October 4, 2003, victory over aging former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield was Toney's entry into the heavyweight division. After a shaky first round, Toney picked apart Holyfield with shots to the body and head before stopping him in the 9th round. After the fight Toney declared he was "undestructable", that he "got milk baby" and didn't want any "bad ass questions" from announcer Jim Gray. On September 23, 2004, Toney faced off with Rydell Booker. Although Toney injured his left arm, he was still able to defeat the clearly outmatched Booker, getting a 12 round unanimous decision for the fringe IBA heavyweight title. On April 30, 2005, he defeated John Ruiz by a unanimous decision in a 12 round match for the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight Championship. However, Toney failed his post fight drug test, testing positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. This led to the New York Athletic Commission changing the bout's official outcome to a "no contest", deducting the win from Toney's career record and banning him from boxing for 90 days. The WBA ordered that Ruiz be reinstated as its champion and that Toney be ineligible for another WBA Heavyweight title shot for two years. Toney defended himself by claiming that the steroids were given to him by a doctor to treat the arm injury he suffered during the Rydell Booker fight. In his bout after the Ruiz fight, Toney won a unanimous decision victory over former heavyweight contender Dominic Guinn. Toney next fought against Hasim Rahman on March 18, 2006, for the WBC Heavyweight title. The result was a twelve round majority draw. Toney's next two outings were losses to Samuel Peter. The first fight was held in Los Angeles, California, on September 2, 2006. Toney lost by split decision. The return bout was held in Hollywood, Florida, on January 6, 2007, and Toney once again lost to Peter, this time by unanimous decision. Both fights were WBC eliminator bouts for the belt held by Oleg Maskaev. Toney's next bout came on December 13, 2008, against Fres Oquendo. Oquendo was penalized one point in round eight for a rabbit punch, which would prove to be the deciding factor in the fight. Toney won a close, controversial split decision. On September 12, 2009, James fought heavyweight fighter Matthew Greer (12–5–0 11KO) at the Pechanga Resort & Casino. James won via TKO victory in round two. On February 24, 2011, Toney made his return to boxing and won a ten round unanimous decision against Damon Reed. All three judges scored the bout 100–90. For this bout Toney weighed in at a career high of 257 lbs.

After stepping back down to Cruiserweight, on November 4, 2011, Toney stepped into the ring at 199 lbs, the lowest he has been since 2003 against Russian star Denis Lebedev in Russia for the interim WBA World cruiserweight title. Toney was never competitive throughout the bout after encountering problems with his left knee during round two, and the judges all had it 120–108 for Lebedev. A week after the fight it was revealed Toney needed surgery to repair his knee.

On April 7, 2012, Toney fought Bobby Gunn and won by a fifth round stoppage due to a hand injury sustained by Gunn. This was recognized as a world title by the International Boxing Union, a minor boxing organization. Toney travelled to Australia in April 2013 to face Lucas Browne for the WBF heavyweight title. Toney lost the fight by wide unanimous decision. Seven months later on November 14, Toney travelled to London, England to compete in the heavyweight Prizefighter Series held at the famous York Hall venue. It was a special UK vs USA tournament with six fighters facing off in three round bouts. In the quarter final, Toney faced English journeyman Matt Legg, and won by TKO in the third round, advancing to the semi finals. In the semi final, he faced fellow American Jason Gavern and lost by majority decision, and was eliminated from the tournament. Toney's final bout came on May 13, 2017, at the age of 48. He defeated Mike Sheppard by sixth round stoppage; winning the WBF heavyweight title. After a career spanning 29 years and 92 professional bouts, Toney has confirmed he is officially retired.

Toney made a comeback to the ring at age 55 on November 11, 2023, when he fought 59 year old Donovan Ruddock, a former top ranked heavyweight contender, in Kingston, Jamaica. The fight went all six rounds and was scored a draw, with the first two rounds being a standard three minutes, while the later four were shortened to two minutes. Both men were criticized for their lousy athletic appearances and sluggish slow pace, as both were clearly showing their senior age. Nevertheless, the fight went the distance.

Toney is well known for his "old school" or "throwback" style of boxing, which consisted of frequent head movement and shoulder rolls to avoid punches, as well as his ability to fight off the ropes using slick upper body movement and in fighting. As such, he is said to have possessed a very high ring IQ. Although Toney was considered a defensive fighter by many, he still applied pressure to his opponents and usually forced his style against them; in some ways he could be considered a defensive pressure fighter. Because of his experience, defensive skills and extremely durable chin, he was never stopped in his 29 year professional career and was rarely knocked down.

Toney was spotted in attendance at UFC 108 on January 2, 2010, which led to talks between him and UFC President Dana White regarding fighting in the organization. On March 3, it was confirmed by White that the two had agreed and signed a multi fight deal with the company, at the age of 42. To help his transition into MMA, Toney was coached by trainer Juanito Ibarra. Toney was later coached by Trevor Sherman.

His debut fight was against UFC Hall of Famer and former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight champion Randy Couture at UFC 118 on August 28, 2010. Couture scored a takedown against Toney early in the first round, and went on to submit him with an arm triangle choke. Toney was subsequently released from his contract with the UFC. The match achieved notoriety, though it drew criticisms of being a freak show fight, among them by UFC President Dana White himself.

No. (Number)ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes92WinMike SheppardKO6 (12) May 13, 201791LossCharles EllisUD10Aug 8, 201590LossJason GavernMD3Nov 14, 201389WinMatt LeggTKO3 (3), Nov 14, 201388WinKenny LemosUD8Jun 28, 201387LossLucas BrowneUD12Apr 28, 201386WinBobby GunnRTD5 (12), Jul 4, 201285LossDenis LebedevUD12Nov 4, 201184WinDamon ReedUD10Feb 24, 201183WinMatthew GreerKO2 (10), Sep 12, 200982WinFres OquendoSD12Dec 13, 200881NCHasim RahmanTKO3 (12), Jul 16, 200880WinDanny BatchelderSD10May 24, 200779LossSamuel PeterUD12Jan 6, 200778LossSamuel PeterSD12Sep 2, 200677DrawHasim RahmanMD12Mar 18, 200676WinDominick GuinnUD12Oct 1, 200575NC (No contest)John RuizUD12Apr 30, 200574Win68–4–2Rydell BookerUD12Sep 23, 200473Win67–4–2Evander HolyfieldTKO9 (12), Oct 4, 200372Win66–4–2Vassiliy JirovUD12Apr 26, 200371Win65–4–2Jason RobinsonKO7 (12), Aug 18, 200270Win64–4–2Michael RushTKO10 (10), May 31, 200269Win63–4–2Sione AsipeliUD10Mar 22, 200268Win62–4–2Wesley MartinTKO3 (10), Jul 30, 200167Win61–4–2Saúl MontanaTKO2 (12), Mar 29, 200166Win60–4–2Courtney ButlerTKO3 (10), Nov 3, 200065Win59–4–2Terry McGroomMD10Jan 21, 200064Win58–4–2Ramón GarbeyUD10Oct 8, 199963Win57–4–2Adolpho WashingtonTKO10 (10), Jul 30, 199962Win56–4–2Terry PorterTKO8 (10), Mar 7, 199961Win55–4–2Steve LittleUD12Jun 14, 199760Loss54–4–2Drake ThadziMD12May 14, 199759Win54–3–2Mike McCallumUD12Feb 22, 199758Loss53–3–2Montell GriffinUD12Dec 6, 199657Win53–2–2Duran WilliamsTKO9 (12), Aug 9, 199656Win52–2–2Charles OliverUD10Jul 3, 199655Win51–2–2Earl ButlerTKO4 (12), May 14, 199654Win50–2–2Richard MasonUD10Mar 1, 199653Win49–2–2Greg EverettKO2 (12), Dec 8, 199552Win48–2–2Ernest MateenDQ (Disqualification)5 (12), Sep 9, 199551Win47–2–2Freddie DelgadoTKO5 (12), Jun 18, 199550Win46–2–2Anthony HembrickRTD5 (12), Apr 30, 199549Win45–2–2Karl WillisTKO8 (10), Mar 20, 199548Loss44–2–2Montell GriffinMD12Feb 18, 199547Loss44–1–2Roy Jones Jr. UD12Nov 18, 199446Win44–0–2Charles WilliamsKO12 (12), Jul 29, 199445Win43–0–2Vinson DurhamUD10May 18, 199444Win42–0–2Tim LittlesTKO4 (12), Mar 5, 199443Win41–0–2Anthony HembrickTKO7 (10), Jan 16, 199442Win40–0–2Tony ThorntonUD12Oct 29, 199341Win39–0–2Larry PratherUD10Aug 24, 199340Win38–0–2Danny GarciaRTD6 (10), Jul 29, 199339Win37–0–2Glenn ThomasUD10Jun 6, 199338Win36–0–2Ricky ThomasTKO10 (10), Apr 17, 199337Win35–0–2Govoner ChaversTKO9 (10), Mar 23, 199336Win34–0–2Iran BarkleyRTD9 (12), Feb 13, 199335Win33–0–2Doug DeWittRTD (Corner retirement)6 (10), Dec 5, 199234Win32–0–2Mike McCallumMD (Majority decision)12Aug 29, 199233Win31–0–2Ricky StackhouseTKO3 (10)May 26, 199232Win30–0–2Glenn WolfeUD12Apr 11, 199231Win29–0–2Dave TiberiSD12Feb 8, 199230Draw28–0–2Mike McCallumSD (Split draw)12Dec 13, 199129Win28–0–1Francesco Dell'AquilaTKO4 (12), Oct 12, 199128Win27–0–1Reggie JohnsonSD12Jun 29, 199127Win26–0–1Michael NunnTKO11 (12), May 10, 199126Win25–0–1Alberto GonzalezTKO5 (10), Mar 31, 199125Win24–0–1Merqui SosaSD12Jan 13, 199124Win23–0–1Carlos SilvaTKO5 (10), Dec 10, 199023Win22–0–1Sanderline WilliamsUD10Oct 16, 199022Win21–0–1Kevin BrazierTKO2 (10)Aug 24, 199021Draw20–0–1Sanderline WilliamsMD (Majority draw)10Jul 26, 199020Win20–0Ricardo BryantTKO4 (12), Jun 27, 199019Win19–0Horacio Rene BrandanKO2 (10), May 23, 199018Win18–0Jose Luis EstevenTKO5 (10), Apr 27, 199017Win17–0Toby TylerTKO5 (6), Apr 5, 199016Win16–0Philip MorefieldKO1 (10), Mar 1, 199015Win15–0Danny ThomasUD8Jan 20, 199014Win14–0Joe JohnsonTKO4 Nov 29, 198913Win13–0Ron AmundsenUD10Nov 13, 198912Win12–0Robert ClintonKO1Oct 26, 198911Win11–0Ricardo SimpsonKO2Oct 12, 198910Win10–0Joe SummersTKO2Sep 21, 19899Win9–0Lemark DavisUD6Sep 7, 19898Win8–0Mark StephensTKO2 (4)Jul 20, 19897Win7–0Steve ChaneyKO1 (4)Jun 6, 19896Win6–0Arthur WillisSD (Split decision)4May 2, 19895Win5–0James FernandezUD (Unanimous decision)4Feb 16, 19894Win4–0Sammy JenkinsTKO4 (4)Jan 17, 19893Win3–0Carl PennKO1 (4)Jan 10, 19892Win2–0Ronnie YoeKO (Knockout)1 (4)Dec 6, 19881Win1–0Stephen LeeTKO (Technical knockout)2 (4)Oct 26, 1988

No. (Number)ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes1Draw0–0–1Donovan RuddockPTS6Nov 11, 2023