James Toney has already engaged in one Fight of the Year candidate for 2003, against Vassiliy Jirov. Their battle was a classic, the second greatest cruiserweight fight in the roughly two decades-old history of that division. (The greatest ever was Evander Holyfield's 15 round epic win against Dwight Muhammad Qawi).

Toney beat Jirov on points, dramatically emphasizing his win with a 12th and final round knockdown. This was at the end of April.

Inside of six months since that epic, Toney will engage in another when he moves up to heavyweight and takes on a man who as a cruiserweight was the best the division has ever seen -- Evander Holyfield himself. October 4 will undoubtedly yield the second great James Toney fight of this calendar year.

In a perfect world Holyfield would not continue boxing professionally, and this fight would never take place. Evander is old by athletic standards, and has fought more brutal battles against top-flight opponents than any heavyweight of the last 20 years. He has declined noticeably as a fighter in recent years.

I am against his continuing his career.

Holyfield, however, is for it, and he will indeed continue fighting. The fact that he has slipped is actually a good thing when viewed in the context of his upcoming fight with Toney. As legitimately great a fighter as Toney is, were Holyfield in his prime this fight would likely be one-sided. After all, while a younger Toney won tough fights against top middleweights like Mike McCallum and Michael Nunn, a younger Holyfield won tough fights against top 220-pound-plus heavyweights like Mike Tyson and Riddick Bowe.

But Holyfield's recent struggles with John Ruiz and especially Chris Byrd coupled with Toney's magnificent performance against Jirov makes Toney-Holyfield truly appealing.

Critics of this fight point to the fact that Evander is now 40 years old and was thoroughly outslicked and outpointed in his last fight against Byrd. They point to the fact that Toney is not a natural heavyweight and does not have the height, reach or punching power to compete successfully in boxing's biggest weight class.

Ironic -- because the critics are pointing to many of the precise reasons why this fight will be so good.

Toney is not as slick as Byrd and does not move laterally to the extent that Byrd does. The fact that "Lights Out" generally presents his opponent with a stationary target bodes well for Holyfield and for fight fans. Toney usually lies against the ropes and sets traps, a strategy that results in good action fights.

Against Jirov, who is normally very effective when his opponent is on the ropes, Toney's counterpunching carried the day. But as good as Jirov is, Holyfield, even at 40, is light years better. And as tough as Jirov is, no one in the history of boxing has ever been tougher than Holyfield. Even Byrd, who is as comfortable fighting off the ropes as anyone in recent boxing history, found Holyfield difficult to deal with once Commander 'Vander backed him into that position

On the other hand, John Ruiz had some success disrupting "The Real Deal's" timing and often beat him to the punch, and Toney is a far more sophisticated fighter than Ruiz. The fact that Holyfield is 40 -- the flashpoint for criticism of this fight -- gives Toney a fighting chance.

Toney, who is more entertaining to listen to than most fighters are to watch, said in no uncertain terms that he will go at it with Evander. And while Evander will indeed attempt to box with slick fighters, he has seldom backed away from a slugfest, especially against a smaller guy.

The winner here will be an attractive opponent for Roy Jones, should Jones find a Lennox Lewis fight difficult to land. With another superfight on the horizon, Toney and Holyfield have a lot to fight for. And fight they will.

Win or lose, James Toney will have himself a brawl -- again. He will end the night with the rare distinction of having fought in two Fights of the Year in a single year.

Max Kellerman is a studio analyst for ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" and the host of the show "Around The Horn."