James "Lights Out" Toney

Before your eyes can even adjust to the light in the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif., you can hear James Toney. "Lights Out" is big — his personality bigger. He bounces around the crowded gym talking to everyone, and sometimes no one, in particular. Fight posters from many of the 70-plus fights of his 15-year career plaster the walls all around him. Since his debut in 1988, Toney has seen and done it all. He has held belts as a Middleweight, Super-middleweight, Cruiserweight and Heavyweight, and most recently recorded the 69th victory of his career in convincing fashion.

After spending the day with him at Wild Card, and then later at his palatial home in Calabasas, Calif., we sat down with James Toney to talk about his career, the state of boxing, and his plan to lure Lennox Lewis out of retirement.

Everlast: How did you first get into boxing?
James Toney: My mom tried to teach me a lesson when I was 12 because I was street fighting a lot. So she took me to the gym and just dropped me off. I’ll never forget it. The very first day I fought this kid named Anthony Davis who was 16 years old and had already had 14 amateur fights. I beat him bad, man. I nearly took his head off. Afterwards I was thinking, "I can do this without getting in trouble? Sign me up." My first amateur fight I lost. Can you believe that? It was when I was in high school, and I remember I ran back to the hotel and for hours I didn’t come out because I was so embarrassed. At the time I was playing football and boxing on the side. I was good at football – Michigan wanted me to be a defensive back and Western Michigan wanted me to play quarterback. But after that fight I made up my mind to stick with boxing because I didn’t want that feeling of losing on me any more. I’ve been absolutely in love with it ever since.

E: "Lights Out" is one of the best boxing nicknames ever. Where did it come from?
JT: Yeah, it’s good isn’t it? The nickname "Lights Out" came from my old trainer Greg Owens. We were training in Michigan and I was putting people away. One day he said to me, "I got the perfect name for you – 'Lights Out.'" At first I didn’t like it, but then it stuck.

E: Part of the "Lights Out" persona is the ever-present cigar...
JT: I’ve been smoking cigars for years and years. My saying is, "Four sticks a day, everyday, keeps the doctor away."

E: Are you ever nervous before a fight?
JT: Nah, I never get nervous. I’m more hyped than anything. I try to get hyped up when I come out to the ring. My song is "Stomp" by Young Buck. Makes me want to stomp the stuffin’ out of somebody.

E: Even though you have 43 career knockouts, you’re not really known as a big puncher, but more of a boxer. Is that a fair assessment?
JT: Put it this way: in the ring, my main focus is to get him out of there. Boxing is 50 percent mental. You have to outthink your opponent. It’s like chess – move and counter-move. If he throws a jab, I’m gonna come back with an overhand right. You have to stay a step ahead of the other guy.

E: Tell us about how you prepare for each fight.
JT: I basically do three types of training sessions. In between fights, I work out to stay in shape. But when it gets to be eight to 10 weeks before the fight, I turn it up. I’ll go 14 days straight of training hard with one day off. I do Tae-Bo for stamina. I do strength, conditioning and preparation at Wild Card and Gold’s Gym in L.A.

E: Your record – 69-4-2 – is as impressive as anybody’s. Out of all of those victories, is there one that stands out for you? One that you’re most proud of?
JT: The fight I’m most proud of is the John Ruiz fight because of the controversy before and after. I had hurt my arm before the fight and still won. And then there was the whole drug scandal after but I rose above it.

E: How do you think that has gone over with your fans and boxing fans in general?
JT: I think it’s fine. There are always going to be people who don’t like me, but you know what? I like being the villain. I’m like a professional wrestler. I feed off of it. Please keep booing me.

E: You’ve stepped in there with so many guys over the years, is there one guy that you’d still like to fight?
JT: The one guy was Roy Jones, but he’s no good to me anymore. And the other guy is Lennox Lewis because he was overhyped. He was there when Tyson was down and out. Holyfield struggled while Lewis was on top. I don’t buy it that Lewis was so great. If I get [Vitali] Klitschko out of the way, I think Lennox would come back to fight me. I really do.

E: You think Lewis would come out of retirement just to try to knock you off? Why?
JT: Because he’d hate to see a guy like me on top, a middleweight with the belt. Plus, I talk a lot.

E: Before you get to that point where there would be a potential Lennox Lewis scenario, what has to happen? Who do you have to beat?
JT: Well, I think I’d have to fight Byrd, Klitschko, the other Klitschko (Wladimir). Probably four or five more fights.

E: You are definitely known for your trash talking. Is there ever such a thing as too much talk? Does it ever cross the line?
JT: No way, man. If you have a problem with me or anything I say, there’s two ways to deal with it – my way or their way. My way is violence.

E: You’re obviously an intimidating guy and you definitely have a tough-guy aura about you. But we see you here today with your family, playing with your kids. Is there a side of "Lights Out" that people don’t know at all?
JT: Don’t believe what you hear about me. People who spread negativity about me, they just want to put me down. Those people have never seen me with my family. My family, my kids, they’re my cornerstone. I’m where I am because of them, man. And I’ll say it right now - I don’t want my son to box. I hope he’s seen what I’m going through. This is such a treacherous business.

E: How so?
JT: It’s the greatest sport in the world. It’s one-on-one combat. We have the best fans in the world. But politics are ruining the sport.

E: You’ve been in the game so long, you’ve made your money, you’ve won on so many different levels, what keeps you motivated? What makes you get up every morning to work out hard?
JT: The thought that another guy thinks he’s better than me. I’m serious. I’ve been hearing forever that I’m too short or that I’m too small. It eats me up and it geeks me up. You think you’re better than me? Then sign a contract and we’ll figure it out. I honestly think I’m one of the best pound-for-pound fighters ever. I’m the only person ever to come from middleweight to heavyweight and stay there. Other guys like Roy Jones have done it, but it was just for one fight. I’ve stayed here. And I’ve won here.

E: What’s one thing that people don’t know about you? JT: That James Toney is a great person. If you see me, don’t be afraid to come talk to me.