James Toney has named the one fighter in boxing history that he believes was even greater than he is in a sensational claim.
Toney captured world titles across three weight classes throughout the course of his storied career and is often credited with being one of the sports greatest ever defensive fighters.
‘Lights Out’ rose to prominence during the 1990s where he racked up wins over the likes of Iran Barkley, Mike McCallum and Anthony Hembrick, although he failed to get the better of both Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr.
Perhaps the most impressive win of Toney’s career came in April 2003 when he made the move up to cruiserweight to dethrone IBF world champion Vassiliy Jirov at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.
Speaking on the WiseNuts Podcast, Toney didn’t hesitate to name the late, great Sugar Ray Robinson as the only fighter in boxing history that was greater than himself.
“I’m an Ali fan myself but I’m sorry, he is not the greatest fighter of all time. It’s [Sugar] Ray Robinson and James Toney second, period. If you look at how we did, we did it the right way … I fought, Ray Robinson, we fought. Where is he from? My hometown, Detroit. We do it like nobody else can.”
Having fought on no less than 201 occasions during his professional career, Robinson is often credited with being one of, if not the greatest fighter to have ever laced up a pair of boxing gloves.
The Georgia-native reigned as the world welterweight champion between 1946 and 1951 before eventually making the move up to middleweight where he would capture world title on five occasions within a 9-year period prior to his retirement in 1965.
