[FIGHT BIO] James “Lights Out” Toney | The Dark Emperor

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Who Is James Toney?

James Nathaniel Toney, aka “The Dark Emperor”, aka “Lights Out” was born on the 24th of August 1968 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

James walked into a boxing gym for the first time in 1979, at the age of 11, but only started following his dream of boxing professionally after high school.

Not only was Toney talented in the ring, but he was also considered a future star in American football.

He was even offered scholarships to play college football, which he turned down to become a boxer.

James didn’t have an easy upbringing as a child.

His father who was also a boxer at the time wasn’t around while he was growing up.

Without the proper guidance, Toney got involved with bad things, like street fights and selling drugs (cocaine).

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Toney had a remarkable amateur career, winning 33 fights and only losing 2.

James was known for being among the greatest defensive boxer of all time.

He was coached by Bill Miller, a veteran trainer who coached many champions during his time.

Toney started his professional career in 1988 at the age of 20 and eventually stopped fighting in 2017 when he was 39.

He held multiple world titles in three different weight divisions, including a Heavyweight title which he was stripped of for failing a drug test.

James had a crazy counterpunch and was an exceptional inside fighter.

Toney was ranked 10th as the best Middleweight titleholders in 50 years by The Ring magazine and was listed as their Fighter of The Year in 1991 and 2003.

He even had a fight in the UFC in 2010, but lost by submission and never returned.

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What Happened To James Toney?

The first question people ask is “How did James Toney Handle his first loss?” because he was so dominant in the ring and losing seemed almost impossible.

He explains in this video that it wasn’t easy for him, but he had to accept the loss and carry on.

Another question many people ask is “What happened in the John Ruiz fight?”

John Ruiz won the fight because James Toney tested positive for anabolic steroids, but very few people know that he was actually cleared after the fight for this accusation.

James’s doctor sent a long letter telling the Boxing Federation that he had an operation on his bicep and tricep 2 weeks before the fight, and was given medicine that would show up as steroids in the test.

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What Is James Toney Doing Now?

Toney has been training and keeping fit in the boxing gym with his two sons. He’s also part of a company called Blue Moon Entertainment, along with Zab Judah and Buddy McGirt.

They organize celebrity boxing matches and at the time of writing this article, Toney was scheduled to fight former Heavyweight World Champion, Jeremy Williams in October 2021.

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So he’s still active on the boxing scene, even if it’s only for celebrity exhibition fights.

There have even been some back-and-forths between James and Mike Tyson, who’ve been talking about facing each other in the ring on social media.

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James Toney’s Net Worth?

James Toney has an estimated net worth of around $2 million. Officially, Toney doesn’t receive an income as he’s currently considered retired. He lives off the money he’s made from boxing, and also gets a pension from the Boxer’s Trustee Fund.

Having said that, it’s safe to assume he does make some level of income from his work with Blue Moon Entertainment.

Interestingly, he’s even made some of his money through acting.

He featured in the 2001 film Ali starring Will Smith, in which he played Smokin’ Joe Frazier.

Toney also appeared on Celebrity Family Feud in 2016.

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How Many Fights Has James Toney Lost?

James Toney only lost 10 of his 92 fights in his professional career.

These are the 8 fighters Toney lost to:

1. Roy Jones Jr.

2. Montell Griffin (Twice)

3. Drake Thadzi

4. Samuel Peter (Twice)

5. Denis Lebedev

6. Lucas Browne

7. Jason Gavern

8. Charles Ellis

Let’s take a look at his most memorable professional fights.

James Toney Vs Mike McCallum

This fight for the WBU Cruiserweight title happened in Montville, Connecticut on the 22nd of February, 1997.

It was a tremendous fight between James and Mike, a war some would say.

There were heavy blows taken and given by both fighters, but both kept standing until the end.

James Toney was more dominant in the fight, landing more punches than Mike.

Toney’s defense and body movement was great, which made it hard for Mike to land any meaningful shots.

“Lights Out” Toney won the fight by Unanimous Decision.

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James Toney Vs Iran Barkley

Toney fought Barkley in Nevada on February 13th, 1993 for the IBF Super-Middleweight Title.

Iran came out thinking he could overpower James, but he wasn’t able to.

James took full control of the fight, dominating the entire time and making it hard for Iran to gain any momentum for a counter-attack.

Barkley was hurt in the 8th round, forcing the referee had to call the fight.

Toney won the fight and claimed the IBF Super-Middleweight Title.

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James Toney Vs Evander Holyfield

James and Evander fought in Paradise, Nevada on the 4th of October 2003.

The fight was scheduled for 12 rounds but was stopped in the 9th.

Holyfield was very strong and dominant in the first few rounds of the fight, landing more significant blows than James.

Toney wasn’t shaken, he started coming back with some power shots of his own.

This was an extremely exciting fight to watch.

James pushed the pace later in the fight, exhausting and hurting Holyfield.

Holyfield was dropped in the 9th and struggled to get back up.

The fight was stopped and James Toney won by TKO.

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James Toney vs Randy Couture

Toney’s first and last MMA fight was against Randy Couture at UFC 118.

It happened on August 28th, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Toney entered the octagon as the most feared boxer in the UFC, attempting to make his mark on the MMA scene.

Randy took the challenge to fight Toney, motivated to show the world what MMA is all about.

Within the first few seconds of the fight, Randy took Toney down with a single-leg attack and started controlling Toney on the floor.

Couture dominated the entire match, not allowing any space for James to fight back.

Randy worked his way to Toney’s neck and finally submitted him in the first round.

James Toney never fought in MMA again.

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James Toney’s Profile

Born	August 24, 1968
Nationality	American
Division	Middleweight Super middleweight Light heavyweight Cruiserweight Heavyweight
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	99kg
Reach	78 in (198 cm)
Debut	October 26, 1988

James Toney’s Professional Record

When	Opponent	Result
October 26, 1988	Stephen Lee	Win (TKO)
December 6, 1988	Ronnie Yoe	Win (KO)
January 10, 1989	Carl Penn	Win (KO)
January 17, 1989	Sammy Jenkins	Win (TKO)
February 16, 1989	James Fernandez	Win (UD)
May 2, 1989	Arthur Willis	Win (SD)
June 6, 1989	Steve Chaney	Win (KO)
July 20, 1989	Mark Stephens	Win (TKO)
September 7, 1989	Lemark Davis	Win (UD
September 21, 1989	Joe Summers	Win (TKO)
October 12, 1989	Ricardo Simpson	Win (KO)
October 26, 1989	Robert Clinton	Win (KO)
November 13, 1989	Ron Amundsen	Win (UD)
November 29, 1989	Joe Johnson	Win (TKO)
January 20, 1990	Danny Thomas	Win (UD )
March 1, 1990	Philip Morefield	Win (KO)
April 5, 1990	Toby Tyler	Win (TKO)
April 27, 1990	Jose Luis Estevan	Win (TKO)
May 23, 1990	Horacio Rene Brandan	Win (KO)
June 27, 1990	Ricardo Bryant	Win (TKO)
July 26, 1990	Sanderline Williams	Draw (MD)
August 24, 1990	Kevin Brazier	Win (TKO)
October 16, 1990	Sanderline Williams	Win (UD)
December 10, 1990	Carlos Silva	Win (TKO)
January 13, 1991	Merqui Sosa	Win (SD)
March 31, 1991	Alberto Gonzalez	Win (TKO)
May 10, 1991	Michael Nunn	Win (TKO)
June 29, 1991	Reggie Johnson	Win (SD)
October 12, 1991	Francesco Dell’Aquila	Win (TKO)
December 13, 1991	Mike McCallum	Draw (SD)
February 8, 1992	Dave Tiberi	Win (SD)
April 11, 1992	Glenn Wolfe	Win (UD)
May 26, 1992	Ricky Stackhouse	Win (TKO)
August 29, 1992	Mike McCallum	Win (MD)
December 5, 1992	Doug DeWitt	Win (RTD)
February 13, 1993	Iran Barkley	Win (RTD)
March 23, 1993	Govoner Chavers	Win (TKO)
April 17, 1993	Ricky Thomas	Win (TKO)
June 6, 1993	Glenn Thomas	Win (UD)
July 29, 1993	Danny Garcia	Win (RTD)
August 24, 1993	Larry Prather	Win (UD)
October 29, 1993	Tony Thornton	Win (UD)
January 16, 1994	Anthony Hembrick	Win (TKO)
March 5, 1994	Tim Littles	Win (TKO)
May 18, 1994	Vinson Durham	Win (UD)
July 29, 1994	Charles Williams	Win (KO)
November 18, 1994	Roy Jones Jr.	Loss (UD)
February 18, 1995	Montell Griffin	Loss (MD)
March 20, 1995	Karl Willis	Win (TKO)
April 30, 1995	Anthony Hembrick	Win (RTD)
June 18, 1995	Freddie Delgado	Win (TKO)
September 9, 1995	Ernest Mateen	Win (DQ)
December 8, 1995	Greg Everett	Win (KO)
March 1, 1996	Richard Mason	Win (UD)
May 14, 1996	Earl Butler	Win (TKO)
July 3, 1996	Charles Oliver	Win (UD)
August 9, 1996	Duran Williams	Win (TKO)
December 6, 1996	Montell Griffin	Loss (UD)
February 22, 1997	Mike McCallum	Win (UD)
May 14, 1997	Drake Thadzi	Loss (MD)
June 14, 1997	Steve Little	Win (UD)
March 7, 1999	Terry Porter	Win (TKO)
July 30, 1999	Adolpho Washington	Win (TKO)
October 8, 1999	Ramón Garbey	Win (UD)
January 21, 2000	Terry McGroom	Win (MD)
November 3, 2000	Courtney Butler	Win (TKO)
March 29, 2001	Saúl Montana	Win (TKO)
July 30, 2001	Wesley Martin	Win (TKO)
March 22, 2002	Sione Asipeli	Win (UD)
May 31, 2002	Michael Rush	Win (TKO)
August 18, 2002	Jason Robinson	Win (KO)
April 26, 2003	Vassiliy Jirov	Win (UD)
October 4, 2003	Evander Holyfield	Win (TKO)
September 23, 2004	Rydell Booker	Win (UD)
April 30, 2005(	John Ruiz	NC (UD)
October 1, 2005	Dominick Guinn	Win (UD)
March 18, 2006	Hasim Rahman	Draw (MD)
September 2, 2006	Samuel Peter	Loss (SD)
January 6, 2007	Samuel Peter	Loss (UD)
May 24, 2007	Danny Batchelder	Win (SD)
July 16, 2008	Hasim Rahman	NC (TKO)
December 13, 2008	Fres Oquendo	Win (SD)
September 12, 2009	Matthew Greer	Win (KO)
February 24, 2011	Damon Reed	Win (UD)
November 4, 2011	Denis Lebedev	Loss (UD)
July 4, 2012	Bobby Gunn	Win (RTD)
April 28, 2013	Lucas Browne	Loss (UD)
June 28, 2013	Kenny Lemos	Win (UD)
November 14, 2013	Matt Legg	Win (TKO)
November 14, 2013	Jason Gavern	Loss (MD)
August 8, 2015	Charles Ellis	Loss (UD)
May 13, 2017	Mike Sheppard	Win (TKO)

James Toney’s UFC Record

When	Opponent	Result
August 28, 2010	Randy Couture	Loss (Submission)

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Source

Wikipedia

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