Some guys take four rounds to get into their groove but you don't have a chance to do that. I fought a cruiserweight tournament in Australia but got robbed - I thought that I deserved two out of three rounds against Israel Adesanya. But you have an adrenaline dump between fights. The unique format of fighting three bouts in one night had caught up to some…īrian Minto said: You've got to put a lot of energy into those three rounds, that's a must. I won it with my jab, my movement, my experience. He caught me on the ropes a few times but it wasn't enough for him to win. If I knocked him down, I would have definitely won. I wobbled him all over the place and thought he'd go out but he held on. I let him get off with his jab, I was trying to feel him out. Sprott got the nod against Minto in their semi-final…īrian Minto: I thought I edged Sprott and deserved to go to the final. Image: Sprott defeated Minto in their quarter-final He wasn't a massive one-punch knockout artist at his age, but he caught me on the chin. In the third round he let a few big ones go. I underestimated him but he wasn't going full-on. I was blocking his shots and thought: 'He doesn't have any power'. I threw some careless right hands and he slipped and countered, one of his most famous punches. I caught him with a couple, warmed into it. Gavern didn't have the respect that I had. He knew him quite well inside and outside the ring. Gavern had the advantage of not being in awe of Toney. Gavern knew these things because he had been Toney's sparring partner.
Touch him lightly and move because he's not good on his feet anymore'.
But when we were sat at dinner the night before, Jason Gavern gave me some advice. Matt Legg said: My normal style of fighting is to attack. That had something to do with the way he lost. Jason Gavern said: In Matt's mind he was thinking: 'Oh my god it's James Toney'. Initially Shannon Briggs was meant to be in it. I was 38 and, luckily, I got the call about Prizefighter so said "definitely". He was an unknown quantity but I beat him. I had one comeback fight when I beat an unbeaten Latvian who Hughie Fury was supposed to fight. Matt Legg said: I'd just come back after six years out of boxing. Toney, aged 45 and woefully out of shape, won his quarter-final against Legg with a third-round TKO. Me and the British lads said: 'We can't let an American win this'. Over three rounds I could have had his name on my record. I didn't want to have a legend on my record who was over the hill. I told him: 'You are an old man and I'll splatter you but I'd never lace the gloves of a young James Toney'. I wasn't having a dig at him but I said to him: 'This is a disgrace to your legacy because a man who has achieved what you have achieved should be at home with a pipe and slippers, watching the boxing not taking part!' Tom Little said: Me and Toney got into an altercation. He was only included because they wanted the name 'James Toney'. I felt like it was a gift to even be in the tournament - he was old and inactive. He had a persona that he had to be an asshole the entire time. Any time I've been in camp with him, he has been difficult.
Jason Gavern said: He was extremely difficult the whole time - but he always has been. Image: Toney was 'past his best' at Prizefighter He came across that way but, actually, he was cool. 'No I won't do that! I'm going back to my room!' When we did a photoshoot he was shouting and making a fuss. Michael Sprott said: Everyone bonded well but the only person who didn't was Toney. He probably expected to win the whole thing. Toney was friendly to me but we didn't have much conversation. One time, when I was training in LA with Freddie Roach, he called me on the phone and was talking all kinds of smack! Saying he was going to kick my ass! That's just him, he's a clown. The British lads were a bit put off but the Americans said: 'That's just James - he's unpredictable and temperamental'.īrian Minto said: He's always like that! In sparring he talks smack, that's the way he is. He kept himself in his room and stayed away from all the fighters. He was a bit… erm… he upset a few people beforehand. We all had dinners together apart from Toney. Matt Legg said: We stayed in the hotel with the American fighters the night before. Toney's personality and conduct rubbed some people up the wrong way… Haye has been around longer and should knock him out in three or four rounds.
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