Despite going his entire career without suffering a stoppage defeat, James Toney once named the fighter that hit him so hard he ‘saw triple’.
‘Lights Out’ became a world champion in three weight divisions during his memorable professional career, beginning his tenure at middleweight before eventually making the jump up to heavyweight.
He held the IBF world title at both middleweight and super-middleweight during the 1990s, defeating the likes of Iran Barkley, Mike McCallum and Tony Thornton during both reigns.
The Michigan-native later captured world honours at cruiserweight when he defeated IBF champion Vassiliy Jirov via unanimous decision at Connecticut’s Foxwoods Resort Casino back in April of 2003.
Whilst he was known for being arguably the toughest fighter in boxing history, Toney once named the fighter that punched him harder than anyone else in an answer that may come as a surprise.
Speaking to The Ring Magazine, Toney didn’t hesitate to name Merqui Sosa as the biggest punching opponent of his entire career, as he claims the 45-fight veteran made him ‘see triple’.
“Pound-for-pound it’s Sosa because he hurt me the most. I’ll never forget that fight, we fought on an ESPN show in Atlantic City on a Sunday.
“I went at him like I did everyone back then and that mother f****r hit me so hard in the third round I was seeing triple for the next three rounds. He knew how to hit and he was so awkward that I couldn’t time him and he caught me high on the head.”
Sosa produced 27 stoppages in his 34 victories as a professional, boasting an impressive win-to-knockout ratio of just under 80%. The tough Dominican shared the ring with the likes of Michael Nunn, Glen Johnson and Roy Jones Jr prior to his retirement in 2000.
