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Tuesday, November 4
Has Holyfield learned his lesson?




LAS VEGAS -- After outboxing and outhustling Evander Holyfield to a dominating and hard-to-watch ninth-round stoppage Saturday night, James Toney refused to put weight limits on who would be next on his "Lights Out" hit list.

"I'll beat anyone's butt from 105 pounds to 299," Toney said at the postfight press conference.

Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield may have taken his last hurrays at Mandalay Bay.
When asked to be more specific, Toney turned the tables on reporters -- as deftly as he had spun Holyfield into counter-punches and one-two combinations -- and asked them to give him some names.

"Mike Tyson!" yelled out more than one scribe.

"Bring him on!" Toney said.

A heavyweight bout between the two thug-life tough guys does not sound as ludicrous as it would have before Toney outclassed Holyfield, who owns two wins over the former heavyweight champ from Brooklyn.

Tyson, when in his prime and in shape, used to weigh around 217 pounds, which is what Toney weighed in for his bout with Holyfield. And although Tyson is still a feared puncher, his reflexes have slowed -- much like Holyfield's -- in recent years. It wouldn't come as a surprise if odds makers tabbed Toney a slight favorite over the troubled and inactive Tyson.

Aside from a lucrative bout with Tyson, there are two former middleweights, who happened to be present at the fight, who would provide Toney with interesting matchups.

A showdown with Roy Jones, a former middleweight champ (like Toney) who currently holds the WBA heavyweight title, would make for a highly anticipated rematch, especially considering the grudge between the two boxers has had ten years to marinate since their first bout.

"I have no problem fighting Roy," said Toney, who currently holds the IBF title at cruiserweight. "We can put his belt AND my belt on the line."

The third possible bout for Toney would not produce the money or mainstream press of a Tyson fight or the anticipation of a Jones rematch, but it might be possible due to location.

A fight with the IBF heavyweight title holder would be matchup between the two best defensive stylists in boxing. Toney says he would be interested because Byrd is from Flint, Mich. and he has a desire to stage a title bout in his home state. Toney hails from Grand Rapids and also spent time growing up in Detroit.

Plus, there's a matter of Michigan pride.

"Michigan fighters make the world go 'round, baby," Toney said, pointing to Thomas Hearns, who was sitting among the reporters. "The best fighters of all time come from there, you got the Hit Man, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson and me!"

Toney may not be the all-time great that those Detroit fighters were, but he beat an aging all-time great in Holyfield.

What's next for Holyfield? Despite being undressed by Toney, the aging warrior says may not retire.

"I'm going to go back to the drawing board. I'm going to pray and give it some serious thought," Holyfield said at the postfight presser.

"One thing James Toney did was make me think more in the ring than fight. All I did was think to myself 'How in the world am I going to hit him?' If I can't get that motivation and fight in there and make adjustments, then maybe I should think about retirement. Because if did that same thing with a big puncher then I would have got tore up.

"I wasn't hit that much in a fight since 1986 when I fought Dwight Muhammad Qawi."

That statement tells the story of his fight with Toney.

Holyfield seems set to do some serious soul searching. Hopefully, he will find the right answer.