Not Johnson, he’s all fighter.
Like the construction worker he once was( and perhaps, at heart, still is) he just packs his lunch, puts on his hard hat and gets to work where ever he can find it. He gives you a hard days work each and every time out. He doesn’t receive paydays- he earns them.
Case in point, after their hotly contested first bout in April of 2008, while Dawson was able to parlay that unanimous decision into two multi-million dollar paydays against Antonio Tarver- who it turned out had nothing more than his mouth- Johnson, who was never deemed glamorous or sexy enough for the premium cable networks, notched two victories against the likes of Aaron Norwood and Daniel Judah, for a fraction of what Dawson received in his next two outings and minuscule exposure.
But as Dawson collected a huge check from HBO for his rematch with Tarver that unfortunately netted a microscopic rating, the heat was turned up on everybody involved to make Dawson-Johnson II. For a stretch, it seemed like this would never become a reality as Dawson’s management tried to make Johnson persona non grata.
" I definitely had that belief, it crossed my mind," admitted Johnson, of the possibility he would never get this return bout." Just the fact they were trying so hard to not even mention my name to avoid talking about me in any way." But in an interesting twist, the usually soft-spoken Johnson was proactive in rounding up support by calling boxing scribes himself and stating his case. This most old-fashioned of viral campaigns worked. The heat was turned up on Dawson." HBO listened and really told those guys,’ Hey, listen we need to have this rematch done.’ Basically, put them on the spot and they finally stepped up. It happened sooner than I thought it was going to happen. It went from zero to hundred in a matter of minutes."
While Dawson called out the usual suspects( like Bernard Hopkins, Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones) that were never going to entertain the thought of facing him, he was basically shamed, to a large degree, in taking this rematch with Johnson.
" Oh, I know for sure they were put on the spot. They didn’t have much of a choice. HBO was never going to pay them for another situation like what happened with Antonio Tarver. They needed to have Dawson in a real fight." said Johnson." So they know that the one guy that they can depend on to bring them a real fight is Glen Johnson. So the phone call happened."
His most vivid recollection of their first go-around is clear.
" I remember getting robbed badly at the end of the fight. That’s what stands out to me the most. Chad Dawson, he’s a good fighter, I respect his skills and everything but I believe I did what I’m supposed to do and won the fight. And the judges, it’s like they fell asleep while the fight was going on and wake up at the end of it."
Johnson did what he always does: apply steady and constant pressure, with a two-fisted attack, while employing his cross-arm defense that make Archie Moore proud. More than once, Dawson was buzzed by the booming right-hands of Johnson. There is a debate as to who really won this fight( all three official judges had Dawson winning by the scores of 116-112) but there’s no denying that this was the most harrowing experience of his professional life.
" I walked him down and beat him up and he was just basically running and trying to survive and trying to avoid a confrontation and I wouldn’t allow him," stated Johnson." It was obvious who was trying to make a fight and who was trying to avoid a fight."
But here’s the thing, that fight took place in ’the Sunshine State’, in Tampa, not too far from the 305 where Johnson resides. If he can’t even get close on the scorecards there, what realistic opportunity does he have in Connecticut? Does he even stand a chance of getting his hands raised if this should go the distance this weekend?
Johnson, answers," You want to say yes because you believe the human mind and the human heart and we being in America we’re supposed to be a serious country and serious people in the world, you want to say yes. But with my experience and what I’ve gone through with judges in boxing and all over the world- and even right here in America- I would really have to say, no. You have to really go in there and really look for the knockout and try to win this fight by a very, very wide margin. I know that we’re supposed to set an example in America, we’re supposed to be fair people.
" But I can’t leave it up to faith, I can’t leave it up to that, at all. I really want to take in my own hands and just go with that. That’s the only sure way of winning in my own mind."
Getting fleeced on foreign or hostile turf is nothing new to this guy. In addition to being an old-school fighter, he has an old-school record that reads: 49-12-2. Many of those blemishes on his ledger have been miscarriages of justice and/or driven by the politics of the prizefighting business.
In reflecting on his losses and draws, Johnson opines," The Bernard Hopkins( loss) is certainly a legitimate loss. But everything else on my record is a toss-up. All of those fights I was clearly in those fights, I believe I won most of those fights and most of them are robberies. And a few are pick’em fights. So maybe two or three you can say are losses, it depends on who you like that night because I believe I was in every fight and then the rest of them are pure robbery."
He’s been robbed so many times he could be called the ’First Bank of Jamaica’. Only the FDIC couldn’t have given him any protection for what he’s been through.
" Just judges who decided that there was too much money in the guy they expect to win and here comes this guy they thought was this opponent but he beat up our guy but we can’t give it to him because he was brought here as an opponent. We’re just going to do to him, what we do to opponents, which is to rob him blind."
He’s now 40-years old. You’d have to think that if he doesn’t defeat Dawson, the career prospects for a guy his age with 13 losses are limited. And his toughness, is his curse, based on his track record, you just don’t bring him in as a notch on the belt or cannon fodder. You could almost be sued for managerial malpractice if you tabbed him to be a stepping-stone for your young boxer. This isn’t Antwon Echols, here.
But Johnson doesn’t look at Saturday night as a last hurrah. To him, even in boxing, 40 is the new 30. The man that they want to go away, refuses to go quietly into the night.
" Not at all," he says." I feel like as long as I go out there and represent myself well, beat up all these so-called top guys and make a splash, there’s no reason for me to retire. I know right now, they’re rallying to do the biggest favor they can for Chad Dawson. I know they’re doing this- that’s a fact. And we will see it November 7Th. And for them to be doing that for a 27-year old guy against a 40-year old guy, it goes to show you I have much more to offer than the 27-year old guy. It should be the other way around and I’m not rallying any crooked judges and looking for any favors. The only thing I’m looking for is justice, and that’s it. Why are the politics and everything else rallying around a 27-year old guys against a 40-year old guy? It goes to show you I still have a lot in the tank and there’s no need for me to walk away from this game that I invest so much time and I still believe there is sweetness in it for me and I’m hunting that.
" I’m seeking it and I intend to get it before I walk away."
RUGGED
So are you literally the last person who hasn’t heard the contentious interview between Floyd Mayweather and east coast M.C. ’RA, the Rugged Man’? All I can say is, move over Brian Kenny. I happened to know RA personally( seriously, I do) and he’s not just a respected lyricist, or a hip-hop historian( he’s like the Bert Sugar of this genre’), but he’s also a knowledgeable and hard-core boxing enthusiast.
This battle took place on Shade 45 which is on the Sirius Satellite Radio network, where RA was an in-studio guest to promote his upcoming album, when Mayweather called in. From the very onset, they got right into it. His first question to Floyd was when was he going to start facing pound-for-pound fighters his own size. Which then, predictably, set things off.
Yeah, I’ll say it, I thoroughly enjoyed it. So have many others who sent in links to the interview, making sure just in case I hadn’t heard it.
RA vs Money is more exciting than any fight Mayweather has ever been involved in inside the ring.
If you’re unfamiliar with RA’s work, here is a sample of his work:
JOHNSTOWN
I was in Johnstown, Pennsylvania this past weekend where I worked a show that took place at the War Memorial Arena( where the legendary movie ’Slapshot’ was filmed). It was a memorable show because the first four fights of the five fight bill ended in first round knockouts. Which meant that the ring-card girls weren’t seen till the main event( where Andres Taylor gained revenge by defeating Leo Bercier in eight rounds).
It’s a good thing that they weren’t paid by the round, huh?
I thought prospects Terrence Crawford and Jesse Lubash showed potential. I’d like to see how they develop down the road.
Johnstown, which is located about an hour-and-a-half east of Pittsburgh, is a quaint little town. It truly is a slice of rural, small-town life in America. Norman Rockwell would’ve loved this place.
The most memorable thing I saw going up there was a Subway that was advertising, not five, dollar foot-longs, but four dollar foot-longs. Yeah, seriously, I’m not kidding. That’s quite the deal. But in my opinion, four, four, four dollar foooootloooongs, isn’t nearly as catchy a jingle.
PAC ’UNDER THE HOOD’
The Swoosh( aka Nike) is throwing a special event featuring Manny Pacquiao next Saturday at the Montalban in Los Angeles, where ’the Pac Man’, his training staff and a crew of celebrities will be in attendance. This event will begin at 5 pm, Pacific time.
FINAL FLURRIES
I haven’t see Yonnhy Perez’s victory over Joseph Agbeko for the IBF bantamweight title, but you have to give Thompson Boxing Promotions, once again, they have helped develop a world titlist, like they did with Timothy Bradley. They’re like the small independent record label that can still find artists that eventually go platinum.....I can’t lie, I think the proposed bout between Chris Arreola and Brian Minto can be a very fun fight.....Are Shane Mosley and Andre Berto still tweeting each other? Will there fight on January 30Th be as entertaining?....Speaking of rematches, would love to see Oregon and Boise St. again...Is Texas the hottest team in college football?....So the game against Green Bay was just another ballgame to Brett Favre, right? Sure, it was.....Being that I was near Pittsburgh, yes, I had some ’Iron City Beer’....This upcoming edition of’
the Main Event’ will feature Glen Johnson....Any questions or comments for me, or any lingering technical issues with the site, please email me at
k9kim@yahoo.com....
Twitter.com/stevemaxboxing.....
