James Toney Has Big Plans: Be the First UFC and Boxing Heavyweight Champion

James "Lights Out" Toney has always been one of the most quotable and entertaining boxers in the game, and in a recent exclusive interview on ProBoxing-Fans.com, he proved he still has plenty to say, and plenty more that he wants to accomplish. Toney is making his mixed martial arts debut at UFC 118 on August 28 against Randy Couture, a legend in MMA, who's still largely at the top of his game. Make no mistake about it though, Toney isn't entering the Octagon to walk away with a loss.

"I'm going to be the first man to hold the UFC Heavyweight championship and the [IBA] boxing heavyweight championship," Toney stated. His entrance into the UFC marks the first time that a top flight professional boxer is attempting to make the switch into mixed martial arts.

Toney has a three fight agreement with the UFC, but he's far from done in the boxing ring. Instead, he says he just can't get any worthwhile fights.

According to Toney, fighters such as champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, along with David Haye, have avoided him. Combined, those three fighters hold all of the four major sanctioning belts, while Toney holds the IBA heavyweight title, which is not recognized as a major belt. Still, he was eager for a unification bout, but found that none of the other champions was knocking on his door.

Therefore, for Toney, the decision to move into the domain of mixed martial arts was an easy one to make, despite the fact that he's been boxing all of his life and has never trained in the discipline until just months ago at the age of 41. "I was seeing everything popping off in the UFC with everybody fighting each other, and I thought, oh man, let me try this."

Toney believes that part of the reason why the UFC has been generating more buzz than boxing over the past few years is the lack of noteworthy, exciting matches. "In MMA, you get the whole card filled with great fights, and if you've watched an MMA fight you see during the prelims everybody's asses are in the seats... That doesn't happen in boxing anymore."

While many individuals on both sides of the boxing vs. MMA debate like to discredit the opposing sport - UFC honcho Dana White often takes shots at boxing, which Toney has used as added motivation and incentive - Toney says he's actually a fan, and isn't fighting to try to make mixed martial arts look bad. Instead he stated that, "I'm here to make a statement for boxing. I love [MMA] and I think it's good for everybody. It's good for [boxing] because they make the best fights and boxing can use that."

Toney's opponent, Couture, is 47 years old, which means he's not at an age-disadvantage in this particular bout. However, Couture is one of the most seasoned MMA fighters in the game, a still-active UFC Hall of Fame battler with a renowned will to win, who's now on a two fight winning streak.

Meanwhile, Toney is still working on learning basic MMA moves and strategies, and cites wrestling as his biggest problem area. This is an unfortunate weakness considering it's Couture's strength.

Couture is also known for his conditioning, which has been a sore subject for Toney over the years, as he ballooned from a top ranked middleweight boxer into a heavyweight contender weighing as much as 237 lbs. For this fight and this challenge though, Toney says that he's "in great shape" like he was for his 2003 stoppage victory over Evander Holyfield, when he weighed about 20 pounds less. "I'll be spectacular, and when you see me you'll think I'm a bodybuilder like Mr. Olympia."

As far as Toney's thoughts on any MMA fighters making the reverse move and campaigning in the boxing ring, Toney doesn't recommend it. "They don't have the full skill set... Coming to the boxing game? That would be a big mistake."

Not everyone agrees with Toney though. Former UFC heavyweight Andrei Arlovski has been training with Freddie Roach, planning to eventually make a leap into the boxing ring. Other rumors have circulated involving the likes of UFC champion Anderson Silva meeting former boxing great Roy Jones Jr. in the ring.

Whether or not Toney attempting to conquer the UFC world is a big mistake has yet to be seen, but his fight with Couture on August 28th will help to clear up any lingering questions. Of course, Toney doesn't have any doubts about the fight himself, "He's going to try to take me down, and he's going to get knocked out."