Glen Johnson: Super Six Begins on Saturday for the Road Warrior
By Gina L. Caliboso
As I’ve continued to follow the soap opera that is the Super 6 Tournament, and yes, what a drama it has been in the last year, replacement boxer and fight veteran Glen “Gentleman” Johnson, 50-14-2, 34 KO’s, now finds himself in a showdown against the other replacement boxer, Allan “Ghost Dog” Green, 29-2, 20 KO’s. The winner of the bout will go into the next stage of the tournament.
Let me begin by saying that I like Johnson. I consider him to be the journeyman boxer that has never quite been able to close out bouts. Johnson always comes out strong, has good legs, solid punching combinations, but notably, in the championship rounds, Johnson simply hasn’t been able to convince himself and the judges, he should be the winner of the bout. When you look at Johnson’s fight record, his title bouts have been notable losses but also shows some surprise victories.
Johnson’s fight record is impressive. With 50 victories under his belt, he has managed to stay in the boxing game and give the youngsters a hard time by pushing his younger opponents. When I tuned into the Showtime’s Fight 360 and also being a fan of Lucian Bute, Johnson has been Bute’s sparring partner as well. Johnson is a humbled, hardworking fighter with a good hook. At the age of 41, he can consider retirement. But since he has been given shot, albeit a last minute shot within the Super 6, Johnson really has nothing to lose.
But looking back at Johnson’s fight record, I correct myself when I say he hasn’t been able to close out a fight. In fact, I fully give a nod to the veteran boxer. Back in 2004, he defeated Roy Jones, JR., for the IBF Light heavyweight title with a 9th round KO. Johnson followed up with a 1-1 win-loss to champion now commentator Antonio Tarver, 28-6, 19 KO’s in December 2004 with a 12 round split decision for the IBO Light Heavyweight title. His victory was short lived, however, when he lost to Tarver in June 2005 with a 12 round unanimous decision.
In September 2006, Johnson fought against Clinton Woods for the IBF Light Heavyweight title and lost in 12 round split decision. In April 2008, he fought his first bout against “Bad” Chad Dawson for the WBC Light Heavyweight title and lost with a 12 round unanimous decision. Nearly a year later in November 2009, he suffered a loss again to Dawson for the interim WBC Light Heavyweight title and IBO Light Heavyweight title. Most recently in August 2010, Johnson fought against Tavoris Cloud, 21-0, 18 KO’s for the IBF Light heavyweight title and lost in a 12 round unanimous decision.
If you notice the pattern here, Johnson may have lost the bouts, but he pushed the fights to 12 rounds and unfortunately left the decisions up to the judges. In between his losses, Johnson scored quick and easy KO or TKO victories over less than stellar fighters. Johnson is good, really good, because he knows the stakes for a championship fight. You have to love a fighter for sticking with it, but you also have to be a little frustrated by his inability to close out his fights for the title. I had always thought he suffered some bad judges’ decisions.
At 41, Johnson will always be the elder fighter. With all his experience, he is always a threat to win. But I’d have to voice concern over whether he should be taking a fight in the super middleweight division. All of his title bouts have been fought at light heavyweight.
For a boxer, whether moving up or moving down in weight, it is physically a challenge. The boxer can show up to the bout and make weight, but overall, by the time the fighter hydrates, he can often fight weak and lacking energy. As Johnson is a veteran, he wouldn’t have agreed to the fight if he couldn’t make weight successfully and without much adjustment. Johnson has obvious stamina and he puts together combinations to both the head and body. As I’ve always seen him fight as a light heavyweight, the 5 to 6 pound loss may affect his power. But if he can put enough punch and speed to his combinations, he could be a very effective winner over Green.
By contrast, Allan “Ghost Dog” Green, must fully redeem his ability and talent. In considering his last performance against Ward, Green should not take Johnson too lightly. Against Ward, he was unimpressive, barely putting together combinations and hardly showed why he belongs in the tournament. He failed to show up with his best performance and has a lot to prove to himself.
As I started thinking about how the Super 6 has continued to spiral down with the boxers facing some unfortunate mishaps. I’ve called it a curse, but maybe it is coincidence, I’d argue that both Johnson and Green have been given a second chance to see what type of fight they can bring to the tournament. Since I’ve followed the Super 6, the performances of each boxer have just always been better.
Ward has become better with each fight. Kessler managed to pull off a very tactical decision over Froch. And yes, even Abraham’s last round KO over Taylor showed some great boxing. More importantly, the tournament has put the stakes on boxers to a level of prestige that boxers do get better when they must.
For now, both Johnson and Green have been given the opportunity to show everyone, especially to themselves, they belong in the ring with only the best. I predict Johnson to win, but who knows, Green may surprise everyone. So, yes, the drama of the Super 6 continues, and I’ll be TV side, or at least DVR recording side, and I can’t wait for the outcome.