(Vitor Belfort is so badass that Mike Tyson wears his t-shirt. Meanwhile, James Toney’s shirt has been discounted from $49.98 to "free with any purchase at the Salvation Army.")
Since James Toney allowed himself to be humiliated (for a large paycheck) in a cage-fight at UFC 118, it’s only fair that a representative from the UFC should let Toney try to redeem himself in a boxing ring. Could an MMA star hang with a boxing champ with 12-ounce gloves, no leg kicks, no takedowns, player? If Vitor Belfort gets his way — and we sincerely hope he does — the MMA vs. boxing freak show timeline may get a unique new chapter. As the Phenom tweeted this weekend:
"Dana let me fight James Tony on 6 round boxe Mach I think I can catch him with my speed…Dana will be the 1 boxing match in Ufc I promise he will fell my power and we will show the world the a Ufc fighter can do better"
Okay, we all know that the UFC isn’t in the business of putting on six-round boxing matches, historically speaking. But giving Vitor a day-pass to box James Toney outside of his UFC contract sounds like great publicity to me. I know the dude has a #2 middleweight contender’s match lined up for November, but come on, Belfort wins this fight nine times out of ten and goes home to his nude model wife completely unscathed. And it shouldn’t surprise you that the Dark Emperor is down with the idea…
As Toney told FightHype, in response to Belfort’s public call-out:
“Tell Vitor Belfort let’s make it happen. I like that because he ain’t no scared little bitch. He wants to come to my world and I’m more than willing to welcome him into my world.”
When I think of this Toney vs. Belfort fantasy boxing match, all the advantages seem to lie with Belfort. He’s younger, in much better shape, and his hands have left a trail of knockout victims that include Rich Franklin, Matt Lindland, and Wanderlei Silva. He’s actually boxed professionally once before, scoring a 61-second TKO over a guy named Josemario Neves in 2006. But one advantage sticks out more than the rest. When James Toney started training for MMA, he knew so little about the sport that he let some bald fraud con him into being his sensei. Belfort has had a top-flight boxing coach since he was 19 years old — Al “Stankie” Stankiewicz, the inspirational/cranky former trainer of Oscar De La Hoya, TUF 8 assistant coach, and original inspiration for Shit My Dad Says. To be honest, I wouldn’t even put money on Toney in a match against Stankie. But against Belfort? Dios mio, man. Make it happen, hypothetical crooked boxing promoter…
And by TKO I mean Technical Kock Out.