Glen Johnson replaces Mikkel Kessler in Super Six
Light heavyweight contender Glen Johnson, 41, will replace Mikkel Kessler and challenge Allan Green in the Group Stage 3 of the Showtime Super Six boxing tournament.
Johnson will have to trim down to the 168 super middleweight pound mark, a weight he hasn’t qualified for since 2000. The fight will be on 6 November at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as a co-feature to the
Juan Manuel Lopez-Rafael Marquez featherweight title bout.
Both other Group Stage Three bouts, Andre Ward-Andre Dirrell and Arthur Abraham-Carl Froch, are set for 27 November. While a location hasn’t been determined for the former, Abraham and Froch will meet
in Helsinki, Finland.
Johnson (50-14, 34 KOs) will enter the tournament with no points and opponent Green (29-2, 20 KOs) likewise has no points after suffering defeat in the second round to Andre Ward. That being the case,
the winner of the bout will only proceed to the next stage if other bouts figure certain ways.
Originally Kessler was set to fight Green, but had to pull out after a long-standing eye injury became intolerable. Because he held the WBC super middleweight title at the time of his withdrawal, he was
named champion emeritus, and is guaranteed a title shot when the tournament concludes.
Johnson rose to boxing fame when he knocked out Roy Jones Jr. and then tactically outpointed Antonio Tarver to obtain the light heavyweight title. For his achievements he was the 2004 fighter of the year.
His last fight was a close loss to current light heavyweight titlist Tavoris Cloud.
"I want to thank Showtime for including me in their Super Six tournament," Johnson explained. "Having dedicated so many years to the sport of boxing, it is gratifying to still be considered worthy of competing
with some of the top fighters in the world and on such a prestigious platform."
Johnson said he wasn’t concerned about making weight. "I typically weigh in at 172 pounds for my light heavyweight fights. I will have no trouble making the 168-pound limit as a super middleweight."
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