The Ultimate Fighting Championship didn’t become a billion-dollar enterprise by having its executives take crazy risks. The company was built methodically, with the larger goal always in mind.
But on Wednesday, the bus swerved sharply in a different direction when UFC president Dana White confirmed that the company had signed boxer James Toney to a multi-fight contract.
White conceded he’s certain of very little about his plans for Toney other than that the future boxing Hall of Famer will compete in the UFC as a light heavyweight. Toney, being the contrarian he is, said he wants to fight as a heavyweight.
As for when Toney will fight, the level of opposition he will face and other pertinent details, White admits he hasn’t mapped it out yet.
“We’ll figure something out,” White said. “I’m not really sure. Here’s the thing with James: We were sitting around finishing the deal and talking and he told me that he’d been talking to Strikeforce. He said they were talking to him about a fight with Herschel Walker. James said to me, ‘Do you know what I’d do to that [expletive]?’ He looked at me and said, ‘You know, I have a lot of pride and I’d never do anything to embarrass myself. I’m a fighter. I want to fight. And don’t ever underestimate me.’ ”
White, who remains a diehard boxing fan, clearly is infatuated with Toney, who is one of the greatest pure boxers who ever lived and among the five finest boxers of his era.
But Toney is 41, has twice tested positive for steroids and in recent years he’s often had a belly that has hung over his waist. And though the UFC has come a long way in convincing the masses that it’s a world-class sport and not some kind of a carnival sideshow, it’s hard to see much of an upside in this signing.
If Toney gets blown out in his UFC debut, his opponent won’t get much credit. Most of the talk will be that the opponent beat up an aged, over-the-hill boxer.
