ESPN Mixed Martial Arts Blog

Posted by Jake Rossen/Sherdog.com

Donald Miralle/Getty Images

James Toney, left, thinks lack of heart is what's hurting boxing these days.

I'll explore the joys found in a site named BallerStatus.com later. At the moment, my attention is on their interview with boxer James Toney, an accomplished heavyweight preparing to make a comeback.

And since you can't interview a boxer anymore without bringing up mixed martial arts, Toney was helpful enough to introduce the topic on his own.

"[Boxing's] gone downhill because look at the fighters we got," he said. "Everybody is scared to fight each other. That's the main reason why people are going from boxing to MMA, because MMA is putting on the fights that everybody wanna see … My daddy was one of them MMA guys. I love it. I like watching it. They putting on the best shows. That's why the boxing people get mad because they getting all the fans. They're giving the fans all the good matches, which should be done in boxing. I watch it, but they can't mess with me … I like [Quinton] Rampage [Jackson]. I like watching … not Brock Lesnar. He's phony. Fedor Emelianenko, he aight. Georges St. Pierre."

Boxing's problems are well-documented by now. If you want a big fight, be prepared to wait two to 10 years for it to cut through the bureaucracy of promoters. At least Toney is honest about it.