Ibarra on James Toney: This guy is a sponge
Posted on March 15, 2010, 07:46 AM by Anton GurevichJames Toney's manager and trainer Juanito Ibarra stated in his latest interview to Sherdog.com that he fully believes in the ability of James Toney to succeed in Mixed Martial Arts. Ibarra stated that James Toney's "Burger King habits" have magically disappeared after he began his training camp, praising Toney's determination to do well in the sport:
"He loves Burger King. I hope he gets a Burger King commercial out of it. But what I'm trying to say is this guy, since we've started training seriously in the last couple of weeks, his bad habits have gone away like magic. I know people doubt it. I'm telling you it's like giving candy to a baby. This guy is a sponge."
Ibarra stated once again that he wants "Lights Out" Toney to fight Kimbo Slice sometime between June or July, what would be a stepping stone before Toney faces a tougher competitors like Chuck Liddell or Tito Ortiz. Juanito Ibarra expects James Toney to move up the ladder in the UFC, sooner than later:
"We'll fight Kimbo after his fight against Matt Mitrione. And then we'd like to move on and there's guys like Chuck Liddell, who's been learning jiu-jitsu and I respect Chuck ultimately. I love that guy and I like the way he fights. You've got him and Tito Ortiz fighting and who knows maybe down the road at the end of the year we'll fight the winner of that fight and keep moving up."
Many people already doubt the seriousness of an idea to book a decorated Heavyweight Boxing Champion against a 4-1 fighter who made his name fighting on the streets. Forty-one year old James Toney made his professional Boxing debut 21 years ago, on October 26th 1988.
Comments
The fact is that no matter how crappy Kimbo's ground-game is, it's vastly superior to Toney's. Toney could still win... He hits like a dump-truck, and Kimbo got dropped by the lightest jab that has ever dropped anybody in MMA history. And that was from a fruity guy who took the fight on zero notice, with pink toe-nail polish, and with tattoos of unicorns and flowers across his butthole (literally).
It was a little limp-wristed tap, and Kimbo got dropped. Toney will hit him 700x harder than that. But, I bet Kimbo can take him down and control him on the ground. Probably submit him.
So did you get rid of all that meanwhile...or did you decide to keep the toenail polish?
OT: Toney by accidental ko when they touch gloves ;p
I gave you a sharp vote though I would have to disagree slightly...I do not think Kimbo will take Toney down due to Toney's resilience. I think the fight will end with Kimbo getting 'Iced'... ;)
DUDE I KNOW HES A SPONGE!! HE EATS BK ALL DAY
the truth is toney is a world class striker!
while bimbo slice is a street fighter!
hes ground game sucks!
i remeber Dana white , rampage and evans saying the same shit about kimbo! hes learning ground game!
ooo but hes getting better after nelson kick his ass on tuf 10!
and when he fight houston a smaller guy! a light heavy
it was a joke!
o bet Toney is getting the same hype! about his ground game !
but still hes way better than kimbo!
Forget BK. McDonalds for the win baby!
you know what, i totally disagree about the houston fight, he basically gave kimbo no choice but to have a boring ass fight, and he wasnt much smaller, it was a catchweight no? 215 i think? wow 10lbs heavier than normal, the diff between 155 and 170 is much more than 205 and 220 lets say.. so i dont buy it, sorry.. kimbo does suck, but u cant knock him on that fight, he tried, and the little bit of action there was, i was impressed.. if he beats mitrione (which im not sure will happen, mitrione sucks too but has about 3-4mins of good KO power in him, so if he catches him in those first few mins nitey nite bimbo splice).. but why are they calling out kimbo and tito ortiz? theyre talkin bout him being so great, why not call out someone a little better? and is he fighting LHW or HW? sounds like lhw to me
mitrione will have more gas in his tanks this time... he has the pro athlete mentality and he will continuously train and train til he improves
If it was a boxing match, he would be better than Kimbo. It isn't boxing. And I don't usually defend Kimbo, but crying about weight classes is stupid. If someone fights out of their class, that's their problem. If someone can cut down and make weight, then good for them.
Houston was legitimate real MMA competition, and Kimbo beat him fair and square.
i agree kimbo will try to take him down, jus like he did ray mercer,...
we will have to wait and see what happens
Beating Kimbo will not prove anything, if he wants to prove that boxing is better he needs to fight and beat people like Couture, Cain, Dos Santos or Anderson
prove boxing is better..... there is no boxing vs mma you are SAD
only reason Toney came to MMA is because Dana said MMA is better than boxing, watch any interview with James Toney after he signed with UFC, all he talks about it proving boxing is better
No the reason he came to MMA is because he can't make any money in boxing anymore, also far more people care about MMA then Boxing these days.
tell that to mayweather
toney is sad too then aint he. There both good sports just different. i dont see how people could like one without the other
He wants to fight Chuck and Kimbo?
He came to UFC to fight ppl who traditionally like to stand up and bang? He should have never left boxing then. To prove to himself and everyone that he is MM Artist he should first fight Randy and then Mir.
out of all the combat sports out there i would have to say that boxing has to be the worst one to transition into mixed martial arts. as far as strikers goes, their not that great. there great boxers, dont get me wrong, but their not great strikers. they want to plant their feet too much and when kicks are involved as well as takedowns they loose that edge. kick-boxers are far better for that transition.
i think this is a freakshow. i love james toney the boxer, but mma is a new animal. the ufc needs to hand pick his opponents a lot like strikeforce did with hershal. toney's being thrown right into the fire cause the guys he has to fight other than kimbo have ground skills to combat his strength. if a fighter vows to stand and box with him, it will be exciting. otherwise he can be taken to the ground and pummeled.
He must of been killing the Triple Whoppers w/ Cheese!
that crroked bastard ibarra!!
crooked!! typo!!
Pro boxer against a street fighter........hmmmm, I wonder how that's going to turn out. Toney says that he wants to fight the best and they are gonna throw him an easy win right off the bat. Give him an MMA fighter!
"THIS IS NOT A CIRCUS SHOW"...only if Strikeforce would've done it...but not if I'm doin it...this is a Dana show.
A washed up boxer against a never-been mma hype. How exciting. What's Toney's next big challenge, a second-rater from a tuf episode? Or no wait, a title shot - that's what the last wwe freak got after his first win too! Toney for UFC champ!
Pleaseeeeeeeee don't let him fight Kimbo! If James Toney is such a great boxer and the "ultimate figher" then why the hell are they calling out Kimbo Slice??? One of the newest and worst(no offense) fighters in MMA???
This has to be a joke. He wants to prove he's the 'best' and stupid ass Ibarra keeps trying to set up a fight with friggin KIMBO?? WTF!? Kimbo is NOT a mixed martial artist! He's a street fighter and a rookie in training when it comes to MMA, so what the hell is it gonna prove when Toney beats him?
Toney will most likely beat the crap out of him and the shit talking will NEVER end! He'll keep bragging about how he destroyed an MMA fighter and do his best to shit all over the sport.
Dana - DO NOT MAKE THIS FIGHT HAPPEN!!
On a side note, I would live to see Nogueira submit him in 0.2seconds...or watch a CroCop destroy his legs and/or head with those awesome kicks.
New to this awesome site. Can't believe it even exists. Free fights just hours after live ppv events is incredible to an old man like me(34). I sparred with many top heavyweight boxers in my 20's and still do from time to time. Ray Mercer is one of the toughest men who has ever lived, no BS(Chin of steel and hits like a mac truck). He gave me a 3 day headache from hell. I dont believe that fat ass James Toney will ever develop any type of ground game or successful takedown defense. If Kimbo Can take him down, he's done. Kimbo has been reluctant to take guys to the ground because most of his opponents have had superior ground games. If Kimbo can submit my nigga Ray, then he can choke out that chubby shit-talker aswell.
Ibarra wants to secure a paycheck. He will probably leave Toney and offer to train Kimbo next!