Columnists Surprise by Rooting for Glen Johnson in Upcoming Fight
This Saturday Don King sponsors a card with a lot to be excited about. For one, St. Louis fans will be treated to a main event with a local champion, Devon Alexander. But perhaps more exciting is another bout scheduled between former light heavyweight champion Glen Johnson and current IBF titlist Tavoris Cloud.
Johnson is well nigh at the end of his career, and Tavoris Cloud remains the heavy favourite, but that’s the boring part. What’s exciting in this case is that something odd seems to be happening, inconceivable even. People are starting to root for the “Old Warrior.”
Sure, there’s no denying that Cloud is the favourite. He’s got youth, speed, physical prowess, and a title on his side. And he’s undefeated, knocking out all his opponents save for two. Johnson on the other hand is 41 years old; he’s racked up half as many losses as Cloud has professional fights, and there’s no denying he’s slowed down quite a bit. At the same time, a glance at the kind of competition he’s defeated and his most recent win, and suddenly he looks like the top contender he is.
Why have people jumped on Johnson’s bandwagon? It is hard to determine, but there’s little denying that it’s happening. From ESPN’s Boxing Columnist Dan Rafael to The Ring Magazine, features are abound today on Johnson’s exceptional career. The fact is this fight, win or loss, could be Johnson’s last, and people are humble about that. Because it’s not every day boxing comes across a top-notch fighter who merely does what he gets paid for: fights for the love of the sport.
Everything with Glen Johnson has come late and unseemly, but it has come. Johnson was a relative nobody until he knocked out Roy Jones Jr. in 2004, a fight that became the unequivocal shocker of the year. With a follow up-decision win against Antonio Tarver that awarded him the light heavyweight title, he became the fighter of the year.
But some five years later, after racking up multiple losses to Chad Dawson, many thought he would retire. And then in February he defeated the solid Yusef Mack in a match that placed him in the races for the title. So he had to take up the offer.
"I took it just for the opportunity," he admitted. "A lot of times you fight for money, and then sometimes, in my situation, you have to fight for opportunities. That's how I look at that situation. So, just the fact that I was able to do what I did and come back strong after losing a fight to Chad Dawson, it was a good opportunity for me to come back and be able to make a statement. And looking forward to completing that statement now."
By many, Glen Johnson is considered to be of the “old school” variety of fighter, meaning he doesn’t goof around like a Floyd Mayweather, because unlike that type of fighter, his only business is in the ring. He’s the boxing definition of blue collar. And people always like that attribute in a fighter. Compound that with his rich history, a history that spells dedicating his soul to boxing, and it’s easy to see why he’s an underdog favourite. Just by virtue of the conditions of the fight, Cloud is the bad guy: the young guy seeking to halt an ongoing legacy.
It doesn’t help that Cloud seems irreverent of his senior. He recently said: “I don't think Glen Johnson is the fighter that he used to be, and I don't think I will have any problems winning the fight.” That may be, but it remains to be seen. One thing we do know is that nobody, save for one Bernard Hopkins, knocks Johnson out. So if Cloud thinks he’s in for an easy night, he better bet it’ll go all the way.
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