James Toney, a former multi-weight champion and Hall of Famer, took a shot at Oleksandr Usyk. Toney claims the current undisputed heavyweight champ wouldn't have made the cut in his day.
In a chat with MillCity Boxing, Toney didn't hold back. He said Usyk's skills don't stack up to fighters from his era.
"Usyk, he is a good-ass amateur fighter. He's the heavyweight champion, that's cool, but you know what, at cruiserweight, in my era, he'd be a bum."
Toney's words might raise some eyebrows. Usyk has made quite a name for himself in the boxing world. The Ukrainian fighter turned pro 11 years ago and hasn't lost a fight since. He cleaned out the cruiserweight division before moving up to heavyweight.
Despite being smaller than most of his opponents, Usyk became the undisputed heavyweight champion. He pulled off this feat in May with a points victory over Tyson Fury. It's a move that puts him in the same league as Evander Holyfield.
Usyk's got a rematch with Fury coming up on December 21 in Saudi Arabia. Another win might change Toney's mind.
Toney knows a thing or two about moving up in weight. He won the IBF cruiserweight title in 2003. After that, he stepped up to heavyweight and had some big fights. He beat Steve Little, Vassiliy Jirov, and Evander Holyfield. He also fought John Ruiz, but that win got ruled a no-contest after Toney failed a drug test.
You can check out Toney's full interview on the MillCity Boxing YouTube channel. It's clear he's not impressed with today's fighters. But Usyk's got a chance to prove him wrong in December.
