Toney also challenged twice for a world heavyweight title in 2005 and 2006, and was victorious the first time but was later stripped due to a failed drug test.
Stylistically a defensive boxer, Toney utilized the shoulder roll technique taught to him by veteran trainer Bill Miller, who had once trained heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles.
He possessed fast hand speed and respectable punching power throughout his career and is also noted for his toughness, having never lost any of his 92 professional bouts via stoppage.
Toney was supposedly involved in an altercation with future Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders while at a Michigan training camp.
[citation needed] Toney had his first professional fight on October 26, 1988, beating Stephen Lee by a technical knockout in the second round.
[9] Toney, who entered as a 20-to-1 underdog, was down on all three judges' scorecards, but landed a left hook that put Nunn on the canvas in the eleventh round, and eventually scored a stoppage victory.
[11] Toney continued a regular fight program over the next 18 months at middleweight, before outgrowing the division, where he made several successful yet disputed defenses.
The decision was so controversial that it prompted United States Senator William Roth of Delaware to call for an investigation into possible corruption in the sport.
[13] Toney won five fights throughout 1993, then defeated Tony "The Punching Postman" Thornton in his 1st title defense in October, via a landslide points victory.
After taking some time off from the ring, Toney came back in 1999, seemingly focused on reclaiming his status as an elite fighter.
After the fight Toney declared he was "undestructable", that he "got milk baby" and didn't want any "bad ass questions" from announcer Jim Gray.
Although Toney injured his left arm, he was still able to defeat the clearly outmatched Booker, getting a 12-round unanimous decision for the fringe IBA heavyweight title.
[18] On April 30, 2005, he defeated John Ruiz by a unanimous decision in a 12-round match for the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight Championship.
This led to the New York Athletic Commission changing the bout's official outcome to a "no-contest", deducting the win from Toney's career record and banning him from boxing for 90 days.
Toney defended himself by claiming that the steroids were given to him by a doctor to treat the arm injury he suffered during the Rydell Booker fight.
[19] In his bout after the Ruiz fight, Toney won a unanimous decision victory over former heavyweight contender Dominic Guinn.
The return bout was held in Hollywood, Florida, on January 6, 2007, and Toney once again lost to Peter, this time by unanimous decision.
Seven months later on November 14, Toney travelled to London, England to compete in the heavyweight Prizefighter Series held at the famous York Hall venue.
In the quarter-final, Toney faced English journeyman Matt Legg, and won by TKO in the third round, advancing to the semi-finals.
In the semi-final, he faced fellow American Jason Gavern and lost by majority decision, and was eliminated from the tournament.
[24][25] Toney made a comeback to the ring at age 55 on November 11, 2023, when he fought 59-year-old Donovan Ruddock, a former top ranked heavyweight contender, in Kingston, Jamaica.
Because of his experience, defensive skills and extremely durable chin, he was never stopped in his 29-year professional career and was rarely knocked down.
[35] The match achieved notoriety, though it drew criticisms of being a freak show fight, among them by UFC President Dana White himself.
[38] He would later be attached to a mix rules venture bout against MMA pioneer and UFC veteran Ken Shamrock scheduled for November 2011.