James Toney Claims Weight Gain Due To 'Thyroid and Low Testosterone' Problems

When James "Lights Out" Toney showed up for his latest fight against (not so) "Dangerous" Damon Reed a few weeks back, some boxing writers (myself included) ripped the veteran fighter for showing up in the ring at an obese 257 pounds. That's 20 pounds higher than his previous high weight.

Toney, 42, responded angrily, calling out Bleacher Report and several other publications—and offering $10,000 to any writer willing to spar three rounds with him.

Apparently, though, Toney took some of the media criticism to heart, and soon began to try and solve his issues with weight and conditioning.

Toney now tells his usual press organ, Fighthype.com, that while he trained hard for the Reed fight, he found himself unable to take off pounds, and was actually putting them on instead.

"I went to the doctor on the advice of some people that work closely with me and found out that I was suffering from thyroid problems as well as low testosterone problems," Toney told Percy Crawford at Fighthype.

Toney claims that medication he was given following surgery (to repair two torn bicep muscles after his 2004 victory over Rydell Booker) was the culprit in this weighty problem.  

"They gave me a lot of medication and it caused me to have a low testosterone count as well as thyroid problems. My weight has been hit and miss ever since then and I didn't understand why," he says.

Toney is now on medication to correct his health issues, and says his weight is now in the "low 240s" after being 257 only weeks ago.

Feeling reborn and confident, Toney has now resumed his usual obscenity-laced trash talking, setting his sights a little higher than boxing writers this time, but not as high as the Klitschko brothers.

Thus, former light-heavyweight king turned heavyweight Antonio Tarver.

"I'm about to be back to the Rydell Booker and Holyfield form," Toney says.

"Tarver is the guy we're looking at and that's the fight that I want.  I can't f*ck like I want to right now, so I will take it out on Tarver's *ss.  I'm ready to release this stress on somebody's *ss, why not Tarver?"