James Toney (apparently) retires with (apparent) knockout victory

It might, possibly, conceivably, finally be over. Assuming the stars are properly aligned, of course.

Nearly 29 years after his professional debut, James Toney called it quits this past Saturday with a, well, let’s just call it “suspect” knockout over journeyman Mike Sheppard. The win marked Toney’s first since 2013.

Here’s the finish:

If you squint, tilt your screen, and inject an appropriate amount of ketamine, you might see a tiny bit of chin contact from that right hook, maybe 2% chin to 98% armpit.

If Toney (77-10-3, 47 KO) does actually stay out of the ring, which I would not put money on, he’ll have left behind a truly remarkable career, having either bested or at least competed with the best from middleweight all the way to heavyweight. His cruiserweight battle with Vassily Jirov remains one of the all-time great scraps and he holds standout wins over the likes of Michael Nunn, Mike McCallum, Iran Barkley, Evander Holyfield, and Fres Oquendo.

Not a bad body of work, champ. Now stop putting on the gloves so you can remember it.