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via Imago

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It is very uncommon to see boxers competing beyond the age of 50. However, there are certain outliers and two of them happen to be former professional boxers James Toney and Razor Ruddock. The former is 55 years old and the latter is 59 years old. Intriguingly, both of them faced one another over the weekend and their combined age is 114 years. Moreover, it bears a mention that the bout was not a professional one, but rather an exhibition.

The two went the distance and after six rounds, the match was declared a draw. But Olympian Tony Jeffries expressed his disdain towards this match-up. Why did he express dissatisfaction? Let’s find out.

Tony Jeffries weighs in on James Toney vs. Razor Ruddock

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Back in 2012, Jeffries was forced to retire from the sport after he suffered multiple hand injuries. However, his love and passion for the sport did not allow him to sever his association with the ‘Sweet Science.’ The 38-year-old, amongst other things, is a boxing analyst and a coach. Moreover, every now and then, he reflects and shares his opinions about the recent developments in the realm of boxing.

In a recent tweet, he claimed that Toney and Ruddock, given their age and other circumstances should not have fought. At the same time, he called out the people in charge for promoting such an event and was upset to see such veterans have to resort to fighting at this age. Reflecting on this, he stated, “James Toney (age 55) vs Razor Ruddock (59) just did a 6rd fight last night If you’ve heard these guys speak you’ll agree it’s absolutely disgusting they are doing this. The people around them should be ashamed So sad to see how much these achieved & now need to do this”

This opinion of Jeffries was shared by many in the boxing world. Many claimed that both combatants were not fit for the fight and ideally should have refrained from it. Moreover, the veteran boxer Toney was audacious enough to call out the current super-middleweight champion.

Throwback to the time when Toney called out Canelo Alvarez

Before he faced Ruddock in an exhibition, Toney called out Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez for a fight. Despite an age difference of more than 20 years. On top of that, his call-out was quite hostile, to say the least.  He said, “Man I’m not even gunna talk about that motherf***er, it pisses me off, He ain’t shit. If he had balls I will come out of retirement and we’ll meet right now. I’ll f*CK him up for real. I ain’t got a problem with that.”

Read more: ‘He’s Full of Sh*t’ – Shannon Briggs Blasts James Toney and Turns Down Triller Fight Offers

Toney’s call-out to Alvarez may be questionable just like his exhibition. As Jeffries has made his opinion on this issue known, we are curious to know, what are your thoughts on the Toney vs. Ruddock fight. Share with us your in the comments below.

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