Whoever questions the reliability of the adage "styles make fights" ought to have a look at the diametrically opposed results achieved by Mike Tyson and James Toney against "The Children's Champion" (we both know they could fill a stadium) Evander "Real Deal" Holyfield. 

When Evander Holyfield first squared off against Tyson, besides stacked odds against him winning the fight, many predicted his very survival was on the line. Since Tyson's release from prison, he'd fought his way to two championships against questionable opposition. But Tyson had left plenty of wreckage behind him. Tyson also talked up his role as the most fearsome character in the sport, and far too many people bought into it.

Holyfield never did.

He was the first opponent since Buster Douglas who fought Tyson to actually win the fight rather than avoid defeat. Tyson sustained a bad beating in their first fight, capitulated in their second. Back in 1990, when their first fight was supposed to have happened, would things have been different? We'll never know.

James Toney, arguably the laziest man in boxing and had nothing of the tools Tyson brought to the table against Holyfield. "Well-conditioned athlete" isn't the first thing that comes to mind when you lay eyes on "Lights Out" Toney.

Toney isn't remotely a hard puncher—he's slow, obese and painfully short for a heavyweight. But, oh yeah, he also might be the most talented natural boxer who ever lived. That was Freddie Roach's opinion.

Breaking down the mechanics of James Toney's dominance over "The Children's Champion" comes down to a toolkit any boxer would readily appreciate and admire and which most fight fans would overlook. It's easy to get distracted by just how much Toney loves to beat people up. The Toney-effect is a bit like Kurt Cobain's music: you're distracted by velocity of the noise, but it's the melodies that distinguish his greatness. Inside of Toney's bravado is a stellar technician who's as much a defensive master as any other fighter whose ever lived.

It may not look as pretty as Mayweather, but given Toney's size, his elusiveness is even more remarkable. He never gets hit clean. And his willingness to fight and his love of dominating other fighters in terms of willpower, is, as much anything, something that just ripped the heart out of Holyfield in their fight. 

Toney's KO over Holyfield, scored on a body shot, remains something special.