James Toney Makes $500,000 For Failed Mma Debut » Former champion boxer James (Lights Out) Toney made US$500,000 for his short-lived MMA debut, a first-round submission loss to Randy (The Natural) Couture at UFC 118 last weekend in Boston… Source: www.tsn.ca

Texas Official Explains Margarito Licensing » While Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito and the rest of the circus wind their way through this week’s three-city media tour, which concludes Friday at Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas, perhaps the most important person in the whole sideshow is missing. • William Kuntz, who most of you have probably never heard of, is probably working in his office somewhere deep in the heart of Texas while everyone else involved in the fight is off selling it… Dan Rafael, espn.go.com

Dan Rafael’s Weekend Notebook » Slowly but surely, the Devon Alexander-Timothy Bradley junior welterweight unification match, slated for Jan. 29 (HBO), is coming together… Source: espn.go.com

Pacquiao/Margarito photo: AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano

Bad Chad Dawson’s Loss Is Light-Heavyweights’ Gain » From most boxing reporters’ accounts Chad Dawson fought his usual safety-first fight and paid the price for his frustrating lack of gusto against Jean Pascal on Saturday night. Chad had been talking up the contest in the lead-up; saying he knew he had to be more aggressive because of the Montreal (Pascal’s adopted homeland) location. • Sadly for him, he didn’t seem to realize the urgency of the situation until it was far too late in the day, and even then, he didn’t pull the proverbial trigger when Pascal slipped groggily into the firing line in round 11. A big chance to leap on a wounded Pascal was also passed up in round nine… Source: www.boxingnewsonline.net

Boxing Needs Another Mike Tyson » It’s no secret that outside of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., boxing’s mainstream popularity has been in a downward spiral. The sport’s efforts (or lack thereof) of breeding new stars has failed. This past weekend saw Chad Dawson—who Floyd Mayweather Jr. coined as one of the best pure boxers in the sport—get soundly defeated by Canadian Jean Pascal. The weekend before that, Devon Alexander had a tougher than expected challenge when he defeated Alexander Kotelnik. Both fights saw boxers who played it relatively safe. In Dawson’s case, he paid dearly by losing… Andreas Hale, live.drjays.com

Boxing Vs. MMA Or Boxer Vs. Reality? » The Ultimate Fighting Championship was originally sold on the concept of fighting style against fighting style. Masters of kung fu, karate, Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu would battle to prove which fighting discipline was superior. • The elephant in the room during MMA’s discipline versus discipline days was the sport of boxing. A few boxers did compete in the UFC. Most memorably, Art Jimmerson wore one boxing glove for his bout with Royce Gracie at UFC 1. But a topflight boxer never competed in the UFC, and for many years top MMA fighters such as Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn would field questions about how they would fare against a Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield… Todd Martin, sports.espn.go.com

Toney photo by Matthew Felix Rosenthal

Jacobs Fighting For More Than Just A Belt » Daniel Jacobs, the 2009 ESPN.com prospect of the year, was an elite amateur but just missed making the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. • Making the Olympic squad was a dream for the 23-year-old New Yorker, who is one of the best prospects to come out of the Big Apple in years and hails from the same Brooklyn neighborhood that has produced many fighters, including former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and Riddick Bowe. • After his amateur disappointment, Jacobs turned pro at the end of 2007 and now, three years later, he’s set to face Russia’s Dmitry Pirog at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay on July 31 (HBO PPV, $49.95)… Dan Rafael, espn.go.com

Wladimir Klitschko Trying To Line Up Samuel Peter » FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Wladimir Klitschko’s management is trying to line up Samuel Peter of Nigeria for the IBF heavyweight champion’s next fight. • Klitschko also holds the minor WBO and IBO belts and was slated to fight Russian Alexander Povetkin in Frankfurt on Sept. 11. But Povetkin never signed the contract and Klitschko’s camp is looking to sign former WBC champion Peter… Source: www.usatoday.com

James Toney-Randy Couture Bout Pits Boxing Purists Vs. MMA » Jon “Bones” Jones takes on Vladimir Matyushenko in San Diego on Sunday, Aug. 1, in a UFC- sponsored card televised on Versus. • On Saturday, Aug. 7, middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva will defend the belt he has had since 2006 against No. 1 contender Chad Sonnen, at UFC 117. • Ho-hum. • The fight to watch, the fight that will catch the attention of even mainstream media, is on the card of UFC 118, set for Aug. 28 in Boston. • It’s not B.J. Penn trying to reclaim the lightweight title Frankie Edgar took from him in April, even though that is the top fight on the card. The fight to watch is James Toney going against former UFC heavyweight titleholder Randy Couture… Chuck Yarborough, www.cleveland.com

Jacobs photo by Howard Schatz; Peters photo courtesy of AP