James Toney vs Evander Holyfield

A man who had begun his championship career at middleweight stopped one of the most accomplished heavyweights of the previous generation in his first contest in the division. James Toney accomplished the feat against Evander Holyfield at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on October 4, 2003, winning by technical knockout at 1 minute 42 seconds of the ninth round. The scheduled 12-round contest carried no world title, but its result placed Toney immediately among the leading heavyweight challengers.

Toney entered with a record of 66 wins, four defeats and two draws. Six months earlier he had taken the IBF cruiserweight championship from Vassiliy Jirov in a hard 12-round contest, flooring the champion in the last round. He weighed 217 pounds for his move into the heavyweight class. Holyfield, 40 years old and weighing 219 pounds, stood taller and entered as an 8-to-5 favourite. His record was 38-6-2, though he had won only twice in his previous eight contests and was coming off a clear points defeat by Chris Byrd for the vacant IBF championship.

Holyfield made the better beginning. He moved forward behind his jab, worked at a higher rate and attempted to use his greater height and strength. Toney remained compact, rolling his shoulders, catching punches on his arms and waiting for opportunities to counter. Holyfield took two of the first three rounds on two official cards and all three on the third, but his punches were already requiring more effort than Toney’s. The smaller man was comfortable at close quarters and showed no inclination to retreat from the heavier opponent.

The direction changed in the fourth. Toney began slipping Holyfield’s lead and returning short right hands, left hooks and uppercuts. Much of the work was done from near the ropes, a position in which Toney remained difficult to hit cleanly. Holyfield tried to rough him inside, but Toney turned with the pressure and struck through the openings. His punches travelled the shorter distance and reached the target first. Holyfield’s attacks became slower and more easily read, while Toney’s counters landed both to the head and beneath the elbows.

During the middle rounds, the contest became increasingly one-sided. Toney varied his attack, bringing the right hand over Holyfield’s lowering left and driving hooks into the body. A left hook downstairs in the sixth caused Holyfield to bend sharply, after which the former champion’s output declined further. He continued to advance but could no longer sustain an attack. Toney stood directly before him, made him miss by small movements of the head and shoulders, and answered in combinations. By the eighth, Holyfield’s face was swollen, blood was coming from his nose and mouth, and his legs lacked their earlier firmness.

The official scores after eight rounds were 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75 for Toney. The totals showed that the judges still credited Holyfield’s early work, but the immediate course of the fight was no longer in doubt. Toney had swept every round from the fourth onwards. The punch figures recorded the same superiority: he landed 217 of 418 blows, while Holyfield connected with 135 of 354. More important than the totals was the quality of the punches. Toney was striking cleanly and in succession; Holyfield was often pushing his blows or missing against the champion’s shoulder and gloves.

In the ninth, Toney resumed his attack to the body and again forced Holyfield backwards. A left hook downstairs folded the older man, and the follow-up sent him stumbling across the ring before he fell near the ropes. Holyfield rose from the knockdown, but trainer Don Turner had seen sufficient punishment. Turner called for the contest to be stopped, and referee Jay Nady ended it at 1 minute 42 seconds. Holyfield did not dispute the result afterwards, acknowledging that he had been beaten up, although he rejected immediate calls for his retirement.

The result was a notable triumph for Toney, not merely because of the names involved but because of the manner in which it was achieved. He had given away height and natural heavyweight experience, yet controlled the inside exchanges, defended with economy and broke down Holyfield with accurate counter-punching and sustained body work. For Holyfield, the defeat provided plain evidence of physical decline. The determination which had carried him through contests with Riddick Bowe, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis remained, but his reflexes and ability to maintain a pace had diminished. Toney, meanwhile, had passed directly from the cruiserweight championship into heavyweight contention and was later named The Ring’s Fighter of the Year for 2003.

I was genuinely shocked by this result, even though Holyfield had turned 40. I had always admired James Toney’s defensive ability, particularly the way he could stand in punching range, roll his shoulders and make opponents miss by inches. Even so, I could not see a former middleweight beating Evander Holyfield at heavyweight, never mind stopping him.

Toney had been outstanding against Vassiliy Jirov at cruiserweight, but Holyfield was naturally bigger and had shared the ring with men such as Riddick Bowe, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. I expected Evander’s strength and experience to be too much. For the first few rounds, that looked possible. Holyfield started reasonably well, but once Toney settled, the difference in timing became embarrassing.

Toney did not run or produce anything flashy. He stayed close, caught punches on his gloves and shoulders, then returned short rights, uppercuts and hooks to the body. Holyfield was working far harder to achieve far less. His reflexes had deteriorated, and by the middle rounds he looked like an old fighter trying to force movements his body could no longer make.

The stoppage in the ninth was completely justified. Don Turner did the right thing because Holyfield had nothing left except courage, and courage was only going to get him hurt. It was a tremendous victory for Toney, but also an uncomfortable confirmation that the great Holyfield had remained at the top level too long.