The 46 year-old, who at his peak was rated one of the best fighters of his generation, suffered a fourth loss in his last seven bouts at the hands of relative novice Ellis and has defiantly asked for a second chance despite similar calls for him to step away from boxing.
Representative Steve Tannenbaum and his manager John Arthur believe the reverse could have been avoided and Toney himself blamed too little sparring on his lacklustre showing in what was the American’s first bout in 21 months.
“I was trying to cut off the ring with him but he didn’t want to fight. He had his track shoes on trying to take potshots at me. I had only 8 rounds of sparring for this fight and it was the first time I had sparred in two years,” Toney exclusively told World Boxing News.
Tannenbaum then gave his view on the performance and says a more sustained preparation could have made it a considerably easier night’s work for Toney.
“In my discussion with John Arthur, we talk about how James had difficulty getting a lot of sparring for the fight at the Power House boxing gym in Burbank CA. The promoter did not provide James with any training expenses for this bout, and although James came in at a good weight at 233 lbs, he was not in boxing shape,” he admitted.
“James went through with the fight against the wishes of his manager but felt he would just bang this guy out early. James had the guy hurt in the second round, but ran out of gas.
“He is definitely going to fight again and we are looking at a date of October 24th, whether it be the immediate return with Charles Ellis or an interim fight.
“There really isn’t any excuse and it’s his own fault, but James has to be in shape at this stage of career. He still takes a great punch and has lots of power, but when you don’t have gas in the tank you are liable to be licked by any half decent guy,” added Tannenbaum.
