James Toney Names The Current Pound For Pound Best Fighter In The World: “He Reminds Me Of Me”

James Toney has revealed who he believes to be the best fighter on the planet right now.

Toney, also known by his moniker ‘Lights Out’, fought on over 90 occasions during his professional boxing career which spanned between 1988 and 2017.

He captured world honours for the first time in 1991 when he dethroned IBF world middleweight champion Michael Nunn before going on to make a number of successful defences of his crown.

Toney made the jump up to 168lbs in February of 1993 where he would become the IBF super-middleweight champion, defeating Iran Barkley via ninth round stoppage at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

It wasn’t until 1994 when he suffered the first defeat of his career to Roy Jones Jr, but he would bounce back and go on to win the IBF cruiserweight title in 2003 with a victory over Kazakhstan’s Vassiliy Jirov. He now keeps a close eye on the sport from the sidelines

In a clip, Toney paid homage to pound-for-pound superstar Terence Crawford, crowning ‘Bud’ the best around, pound for pound.

“Yeah Terence Crawford. He fights southpaw, just like I used to fight southpaw. He’ll punch, slick boxer. He’s the best in the game right now.”

Crawford is 41 fights into an exceptional career which began back in 2008. Since making his debut, the 37-year-old from Omaha has won world titles in four weight classes, including the undisputed championship at super-lightweight and welterweight.

The unbeaten American is just three months away from arguably the toughest test of his career, as he prepares to challenge Mexican icon Canelo Alvarez for the undisputed super-middleweight championship on Saturday September 13 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s a fight Toney, perhaps unsurprisingly, believes Crawford wins by knockout.