Give James Toney points for persistence.
People thought the 41-year-old heavyweight boxing champion was crazy when he first started pestering UFC President Dana White about a possible fight in the Octagon. Now … well, they still think the guy is certifiably nuts, but he's certainly not giving up on his vision quest to score a big-money fight with the world's largest MMA promoter.
Toney initially showed up at the post-fight press conference for UFC 108, interrupting White's interview with AOL's Ariel Helwani to demand that he wanted a shot in the UFC. White appeared bemused, but cautiously interested in Toney for his name recognition and his reputation as a bonafide tough guy. The question was: Did Toney have any of the necessary skills to compete in MMA?
The two met to discuss the particulars – and a portion of the meeting was videotaped by a boxing web site. In a now fairly infamous exchange, White asked Toney if he had any wrestling skills and if knew how to "check kicks" to the leg.
"Yeah," Toney responded. "Front kick, back kick, side check kick, all that."
White appealed to one of Toney's handlers.
"He's been practicing," the man assured White.
In the wake of this conversation, Toney publicly said the UFC had offered him a contract that he considered "a joke." The UFC denied it had made any formal offer to Toney. Everybody had a good laugh and learned some valuable lessons. Case closed. Right?
Wrong.
Toney didn't just fade away. In fact, he took a page out of White's own promotional playbook and began producing a series of video blogs which, once posted on YouTube, were quickly disseminated throughout the rabid MMA online universe. In the videos, Toney is seen flanked by a varying assortment of yes-men and handlers while he calls out everyone from current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar to Kimbo "Simba Spice" Slice.
But even still, after Toney's embarrassing response to White's questions about his MMA skills during their initial meeting, there's no possible way the UFC brass would let the guy fight … right? … right?
Astonishingly, Toney's inclusion in the UFC does not yet appear to be a dead issue, even from White's point of view.
"James Toney and I have talked and I've talked to his people, we've batted things back and forth," White said as recently as UFC 109. "I'm kind of interested, yeah … he's a tough durable guy. I've always said it a million times, I don't want to be the freak show guy, but James Toney is a real fighter. This guy is heavyweight champion. I know, we'll see what happens. I'm not saying we're going to come to an agreement with James Toney, but I've been talking to James Toney. "
Look, I have to admit that at first I was dead-set against the possibility of Toney fighting in the UFC. But the guy has shown such sticktoitiveness that I'm actually starting to support him. If he wants to get in the cage and let some 285-pound wrestler pin him to the mat and punch him in the head, I'm almost willing to watch.
There's a lot to like about Toney, outside of his quest to forge his was into the UFC. He's a three-weight champion in boxing and, in an era when most top fighters avoided the best competition, he fought anybody would get in the ring with him. Plus, he seems like such a genuine crazy person that it's hard not to root for him just a little bit.
More than anything, Toney's attempts to begin an MMA career may be a sad commentary on the state of boxing. While guys like Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are pulling down huge pay-per-view numbers, we're left to assume that Toney – who's still a great attraction, if no longer a great fighter – can't find a fight he considers worth his while.
Toney appeared on "Sports Soup" on the Versus Network this week, reiterating his public pleas for the UFC to give him a chance.
"If you ain't scared," Toney said to the camera, apparently addressing White, "put down the candy and let the little girl go."
What does that mean? Honestly, I have no idea, but I bet Dana was listening.
Chad Dundas is the Lead MMA Editor for The Sporting News and writes a weekly column for CraveOnline. He lives in Missoula, MT.
Source: craveonline.com
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