Speculation about a money-spinning mega fight between MMA superstar Conor McGregor and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. has only been intensifying in early 2017, but it remains to be seen whether the sides will ever be able to jump over all the hurdles necessary to make this dream match-up a reality.
Even if a deal could be reached, it’s already clear there’s no chance Mayweather would risk his undefeated 49-0 boxing record by agreeing to fight ‘The Notorious’ under MMA rules, but there are examples of other boxing champions in the past who threw caution to the wind and put their reputations on the line by testing themselves in the cage.
Of course, that’s led to some well known boxing stars being handed humbling defeats over the years, and that’s no great surprise given that MMA is such a multi-faceted sport with kicks, knees, and elbows bringing a completely different dynamic to striking, while grappling disciplines like wrestling and jiu-jitsu are the stuff of nightmares for the untrained.
That being said, as you’ll read in the pages to follow, there are also a few boxing champions who have successfully managed to compete in the sport of MMA, whether it’s due to having had previous martial arts experience in the past, having benefited from favorable match-ups, or simply being in the right place at the right time to land a fight-ending punch!
James Toney
A three-division champion who held IBF titles at middleweight, super-middleweight and cruiserweight, James Toney is considered to be one of the best boxers of his generation.
In fact, famed boxing coach Freddie Roach once stated that Toney had the most natural ability of anybody he’d ever trained, and with more discipline could have been the best of all-time.
Toney has always been known for being outspoken and supremely confident, two attributes which led to him talking Dana White into giving him a fight in the UFC back in 2010 despite him being 42 years old and having no prior MMA experience at the time.
White paired Toney up against 47 year-old UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, who was only too eager to disprove ‘Lights Out’s’ pre-fight boasts that MMA fighters were “inferior” and that he’d become a UFC world champion.
Within seconds of the fight commencing at UFC 118, Couture had effortlessly managed to take the boxer down and from there, he toyed with him for several minutes like he was a small child before forcing him to tap out due to an arm triangle choke.
Toney earned $500,000 for what would prove to be his only MMA fight, though the IRS confiscated his fight purse that same night due to the fact he was under investigation by them at the time.
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