Freddie Roach Thinks The UFC Is Just Using James Toney To Make a Point

James Toney W/ Via Flying Triangle.

The truth of the matter is, if Toney has a straight up boxing match with any of the fighters in the UFC, he'll probably knock most of them out in the first or second round. So in that sense, Roach is correct. It'll be interesting to see if whoever the UFC puts against Toney wants to stand and bang or be safe and take it to the ground right away.

Personally, I think the best way for the UFC to look better than Boxing is to have them put a pure striker in there to stand and bang with Toney as much as possible to not give the naysaysers ammunition like "he just took him to the ground and laid on him the whole time." It's a strategy someone like Randy 'The Natural Bore' Couture would be guaranteed to use to win. But in a standup fight I'm pretty sure Toney would try to close the gap and box as much as possible but he won't be expecting a surprise kick to the head from long range as much as a straight punch. Then BOOM, you have a highlight reel, first round KO of a boxing legend by a near or top level MMA fighter, it would shut the critics up and possibly be the gateway to MMA being more mainstream than Boxing.

that would be funny to see him get mercered

Ugh... standing with him would be idiotic. If he had a questionable chin, that would be one thing.

He can fight inside with anyone.

Anyone who thinks that if "you put any highly skilled boxer in a ring with a mixed martial artist and allow it to be played out on the feet, (the) boxer will come out on top every time" is smoking some good shit.

It's a borderline retarded statement made all the more ridiculous by its generalized nature.

...caption ftw...anyone?

I think we all saw what happens when an MMA practitioner with an inflated sense of ability and even an old washed-out boxer agree to "stand and bang" when Mercer destroyed Sylvia with one punch. Anyone who chooses to go there, even an accomplished striker (like Kongo^), needs to know how good Toney is at closing distances and evading shots and keep these things in mind without discounting him as "one-dimensional" (which, arguably, he is). Look at some of his early heavyweight fights and then remember that he started as a middleweight. He can still move pretty damn quick for a 40+ fat guy.
That said, if he's in there with anyone with a decent ground game, he'll tap the instant he hits the canvas.

Relating to the post though, it's slightly ridiculous that Roach would even mention this, seeing as how the boxing camp started the shit-slinging in the first place, and that Toney was the one going out of his way to harass White for a contract. It all reeks of desperation, honestly.

I disagree with the statement that a boxer would win in a stand up fight everytime, like has been siad someone has decent enough leg kicks they are going to break down the boxer. Enough leg kicks are going to slow down the boxers base easily.
Also, lets face it, why would they keep it a stand up game? I am willing to bet a takedown on Toney will be cake for whomever he fights. I do not think he has trained enough MMA to learn enough takedown defense and simply put he is going to spend the whole fight on his back. A boxer is great at punching when he is standing but striking off your back is a lot different.

@cloiselle
A. Silva isn't just a MMArtist who uses boxing synergistically with his other tools to dominate people. He really is a boxer. He had his boxing debut a while ago, and if you watch the fight, he totally clowns on his opponent. He even does some trademark A. Silva showboating (pointless footwork, and does the hands down dancing). Silva ends the fight in the second frame.

It only make sense that a guy who has boxed all of his life and has never had to worry about being taken down would be much better on his feet throwing hands. As far as the UFC using Toney...I call B.S. on that. Toney practically stalked Dana White trying to get in the MMA game. If the UFC is using Toney then he wanted to be used in the first place by handing Dana White toilet paper every time he wiped his ass.

Most of the boxing community seems to have this reactionary attitude towards MMA. They neither understand nor appreciate it but nonetheless see that it's quickly replacing boxing as the pre-eminent combat sport. They give useless points about how MMA guys "have no chin," they would lose against a boxer in a stand-up brawl, or the classic "they're just laying on each other" argument. It's annoying. MMA is the new era of martial arts and these old ass dudes need to get with the times.

CroCop, Pat Barry, or Kongo are the only logical opponents. For you fuckwits saying a boxer will dominate striking with an MMA guy, you obviously forget that striking in MMA includes legs kicks, head kicks, front kicks, elbows, knees, spinning back fists, dirty boxing, and even bitch slaps are legal. All things which Toney has no clue about.

This shit belongs in Strikeforce.
5min round=Toney not making it past the first round.
Roach is upset because he's a boxing guy and a 41 boxer simply should not be fighting anymore period.
My only hopes are that maybe Houston Alexander may be available to fight Toney and that I will either have the urge to piss, blaze or fix a drink as the fight starts.

It really doesn't matter if Tony wins or loses, where is he going..... No where, he'll never be a belt holder and he sure the hell isn't Randy, It's MMA not boxing, it's a fucking joke. same with jose canseco and herschel walker, where are they going to go.......NO WHERE!

Baby J, Spider and Rampage have the best boxing skills in the UFC. Granted, they also have some of the best BJJ, overall striking and wrestling to round out their game, but more often than not just utilize their superior boxing to eff people up.

Mumbles'z boxing is on a whole 'nother level then theirs but his lack of well roundedness(not really a word)will be his undoing. I know I'm being Mr. Obvious here, but it is what it is. The onus really falls on his opponent, in my opinion. Play with fire and stand with Fat Fuck or play it safe and risk getting called a "(Mumbling)Maf'kn biiiatch, nawmsayin. He a got on top a me like a fag do, put me in a wrasslin move like on them WWWFE."

Herschel walker isn't going anywhere, so are you saying he'll ever get into a position for a title shot??? Get fucking real, little late in life to change professions and go against guys who are half your age and been training since they were 5. Don't get me wrong he looked good in his fight but what is that saying..... NOTHING he fought who??????? exactly!

Derly.... Silva has 2 pro fights... 1 win (against an opponent with only that one fight) and 1 TKO loss (to a little better than 500 fighter)
Toney is past his prime and not properly prepared. It has NOTHING to do with boxing vs. MMA as a win or loss will prove nothing. As far as standing with Cro cop etc... my money would still be on a washed up Toney. On paper the fighter that can use more weapons is better, but in reality there is and has been more money in pure boxing than kick or thai, and as a result more talent over the years. Toney would do better at a lower weight like in his past... quicker on his feet increasing his chance to avoid a takedown, he fights too flat footed now and it will be exposed.

yes it's true, boxers have great success standing up with mma fighters. Like how Marcus Davis used his chin to block knees from Dan Hardy and Ben Saunders... the truth is James Toney would last as long as the first leg kick was landed to his doughy midsection, or until he found out how hard a leg kick from a ufc fighter is. He's out of shape, has no mma experience, and and did mention that he is fat. If he is serious about fighting (unlike that no talent ass clown Ochocinco) He should start off with some low talent fighters like Herschel Walker did, you know plow down some hood rats as that black guy from the Forty Year Old Virgin would put it. Then if he is still alive, he should retire, and go back to being the incoherent George foreman wannabe that we know and hate.

I skipped to the bottom without reading any posts after the first one, since I had to respond to that silliness right away:

Cloiselle - your statement makes sense if the person reading it knows nothing about MMA. If you think it was the boxing element that allows those fighters to dominate, let's go to Rich Franklin's nose and ribcage and ask them how good they felt after all those knees that Silva nailed him with while maintaining a beautiful Thai clinch.

To equate Couture with great boxing is, well, is to be an idiot. Research the guy a little bit, then get back to me.

Same for Frank Mir. The guy has eveolved his game by incorporating boxing into it as another aspect, but let's ask Brock Lesnar about Mir's boxing credentials on the night Mir submitted him. Or the time he broke Tim Syliva's arm with a submission. Again, do a little research, then you can join in the discussion.

Damn, fellas, some kid just got monkeyed, punked, and hulk smashed yeti stomped!

Someone get the enswell and the Avitene...

I can't wait till they announce who Mumbles'z opponent will be!! I'm honestly more intrigued by that than any fight already lined up. I know, sounds kinda silly. But it's true. (Jerry McGuire)"Fat Fuck, you had me at hello.."

Am I the only one who would find it funny to see Toney come in and submit somebody?

^^For the dumbasses who don't get that post:

Anyone who tries to stand and bang with Toney will lose (i.e. tries to outbox the fucking boxer)

Anyone who manages to grapple with Toney will win.

The only time freddy roach loses more credibility than when he opens his mouth is when one of his 'trained' fighters has to actually fight someone.

He seriously has not trained a winner in forever.

People stop to watch a fight between two drunk slobs outside a fast food store on a friday or saturday night, so it won't matter to most whether Toney is going anywhere in terms of a title, most people are fascinated by watching other people fight and promoters exploit this. I know that's not what seasoned MMA fans want to see but these organisations seem to be interested in appealing to the lowest common denominator.

Toney going to the UFC has more to do with keeping him away from Strikeforce than anything else i think, after all the attention Walker generated for them.

The argument of whether or not a boxer would beat a mixed martial artist is a classic and the very basis of the UFC and other similar contests for a very long time past, whatever is said on either side will only serve to generate more hype.

Also, people should remember that all decent boxers are familiar with what in boxing is considered 'dirty', i.e use of the elbows and other parts of the hand and forearm and I'm sure Toney has had his share of streetfights, so he won't be a total novice to what goes on in a cage on the inside.

As a further point on the subject of boxing's effectiveness, less is sometimes more, when the brain is under pressure, more options can slow down the speed of reaction. It takes years of training and repetition to commit a technique to muscle memory and make it instantly available in the heat of the moment.

Finally, pre-Marquess of Queensbury rules, Boxing was very similar to MMA, with elbows, throws, takedowns, pins, stomps and holding and hitting all being allowed, which makes this whole debate fairly ironic.