Thursday, October 02, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Toney, Holyfield debate Kronk approach

Toney says Detroit gym hardened him; Holyfield questions longtime strategy

By KEVIN IOLE
REVIEW-JOURNAL

James Toney, who takes on Evander Holyfield on Saturday in a heavyweight bout at Mandalay Bay, said he has benefited from his sparring wars at Detroit's Kronk Gym. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett. Evander Holyfield, speaking at a news conference Wednesday for his Saturday fight against James Toney, said many top Kronk Gym boxers have had their careers hindered through aggressive sparring with lesser skilled opponents at the gym. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett.

Evander Holyfield and James Toney agree on one thing: There are rougher fights every day in the Kronk Gym in Detroit than there are nearly anywhere else in the world.

But what the heavyweight contenders disagree on is whether that's good or bad.

Toney and Holyfield will meet in a 12-round heavyweight fight Saturday at Mandalay Bay. And though Toney has immense respect for Holyfield, a four-time heavyweight champion, he said nothing in boxing is tougher on a daily basis than fighting in the Kronk Gym.

"It's like you're in the ghetto and you're wearing the wrong color, but it's every day," Toney said. "All they want to see are wars in there. That's all you get."

Holyfield is from Atlanta, but he worked out at Kronk while being trained by Emmanuel Steward, who founded the gym. Holyfield said the overwhelming majority of fighters who work out at Kronk go in as if they are training to prove their manhood.

Toney, a 9-5 underdog at the Mandalay Bay sports book, said those without a stomach for fighting will be squashed when they walk through the doors and into the steamy gym.

It's hot inside, and there are a lot of big, strong men with bad attitudes waiting, Toney said.

"It's so hot in there, the walls sweat," Toney said.

And the blood flows. Toney grinned at that thought, but Holyfield questioned the wisdom of the Kronk approach. He said one reason many of Steward's highly touted Kronk fighters, particularly former world champion Tommy Hearns, have had hand problems is because they wind up hitting lesser skilled fighters on the top of the head.

He said fighters are never paired by ability, and it is not uncommon to see a highly regarded world champion working with a club fighter. He said the club fighters invariably attack, attempting to gain respect by bullying the champion. But those fighters often bend at the waist and go forward with their heads.

When the more skilled fighter throws a punch, it often lands on the top of the head, which can cause hand problems, Holyfield said.

Holyfield said Kronk's reputation is well-deserved, though he said he doesn't understand why it is perpetuated.

"It's an ego thing," Holyfield said. "A lot of brothers come down there and want to prove they're the baddest man just for that day. They'll get in the ring with anybody."

Toney said that's the point. He said he fought harder fights every day at Kronk than in an actual bout. He said there was nothing he hadn't seen and that nothing could surprise him in a fight because of his Kronk experiences.

That experience hardened him, he said. Holyfield will be the first major test for Toney at heavyweight, but he said he has been through it.

"I've been fighting heavyweights my whole life," Toney said. "This ain't new for me. I'm just getting paid properly for it now. That's all. When you've been where I've been, you learn to reach out and dig down deep. You got to have heart and intestinal fortitude ... or you have no chance to walk out of where I'm from."

• BLACKOUT LIFTED -- The pay-per-view blackout of the Holyfield-Toney fight in Clark County was lifted Wednesday. The fight will be available via Cox Communications, DirecTV and Dish Network for $44.95. Cable subscribers must have a digital cable box to order the bout. Mandalay Bay spokesman Gordon Absher said ticket sales in the arena were brisk, leading to the decision to make the bout available locally on pay per view.