Boxing’s “Road Warrior” Glen Johnson Speaks of his Super Six Plans
Exclusive Interview by Marc Anthony
“All I want to do is to get a victory in a decision or in a knockout or something but I don’t want to do any permanent damage to anyone.”- Glen Johnson
Glen Johnson “The Road Warrior” travels anywhere to compete, entertain, and make a living in from the sweet science. Starting from 1993 through 1997 Glen fought in twenty-one different locations going 32-2. From 1998 to present, he won WBC Continental Americas super middleweight title, IBF Inter-Continental super middleweight title, WBO Inter-Continental light heavyweight title, USBA light heavyweight title, IBF light heavyweight title, IBO light heavyweight title, and IBA light heavyweight title.
Now he’s in the prestigious Showtime Super Six tournament, pitting the best of the super middleweights against each other, and making it to the Semi-Finals and scheduled to fight WBC Champion Carl Froch.
He has a chance to write an incredible story.
MA: You said: “There is a trend of glorifying a fighter’s undefeated record (which is hurting the sport),” how can we change this?
I don’t know… how we can change it as far as, you know, as just changing it. I believe that if you allow the fighter, to fight, and the less than best fighter comes out on top and give the best fighter, it doesn’t matter if that fighter has lost and no longer undefeated, but you give that fighter the same respect as you give the undefeated fighter. Then you have more fighters willing to take chances with their undefeated record. But, you know, the way that boxing is set up right now.
Once you no longer have that undefeated record the respect don’t stay the same, the respect kind of goes away. And that’s the way the promoters and the TV networks is kind of selling fighters. The fighter is now becoming more … more protective of their undefeated record. So they become more picky with who they are going to fight or who they might fight or who they want to fight…people who they know they are going to beat; it’s easier for them to challenge guys that they know is not up to their level. Ah, then challenge somebody that is equally as good or somebody they think might be better, somebody that they might get beat. Rather than get broken down and put in the time not if, you know, you’re good enough to beat those guys, they don’t want to take those chances.
So, I’d say… if the respect is there and the opportunity is there for guys who are not undefeated… then guys will take more chances because they are not going to lose all of that you know so called glamour or clout.
MA: What is your typical workout like when you are not in a training camp?
Oh, you know I always just try to keep the weight down. For me it’s always a challenge, because I love to eat so much. So, when I am not in training camp, I always try to stay in the gym just because… I don’t want to… don’t want to put on too much weight on basically. So you know that’s the most challenging thing.
MA: Why does your style of boxing give so many other opponents trouble in the ring?
You know I don’t know. It’s because this kind of boxing is the kind that I work at all the time. The whole idea is to make sure that I am in shape, to work all the time. And the other opponent has to be in shape to work all the time. Most fighters, they fight in bursts, they take breaks. So, you know, they are not used to the physical fighting of all the three minutes per round.
MA: Do you feel the speed bag is an important training tool to a boxer?
You know the speed bag is an important training tool depending on the style of boxer you are. I really don’t use the speed bag that much. I use it but to me it’s not an everyday weapon that I use. But I do it every so often, it’s good to build your shoulders it’s good to get rhythm and those type of stuff. But, you know, nobody throws punches like that so, it’s not going to do anything as far as you’re boxing per say. But you will be able to build endurance and if you’re like a boxer and stuff like that it will work your shoulder up on a consistent basis and it’s a good way of keeping the shoulder built if used on a consistent basis.
MA: You have an entertainment company, how did this come about?
My wife and I… you know … she likes promoting and I threw myself out for the promoting but never really knew how to get involved. So she knew, you know, she knew how to get involved when we met and we started to talk and all that stuff. We realized that we both have that same interest. So she knew how to get involved and we wanted to do it. So therefore we put our heads together and started promoting concerts and comedy shows and stuff like that. So, you know, that’s basically how that came about. And we did a few ones and, you know, we are excited about continuing doing it.
MA: There is a famous online forum that started “The Glen Johnson Super Six Express,” in support of you. What is your message to those supporters?
(Laughter) I didn’t know about that. But, you know, I am so glad that I am… I am… very thankful for all the support that I have. You know, there are so many people that know my story and there so connected to me and I don’t know how to show my appreciation… I don’t know the words to express truly how I feel about, you know, about the people that support me. They are so dear to me; they are the engine that keeps me going. So I am very thankful for any and everything they do. And I just want to say to them keep doing what you’re doing and I am grateful for that and appreciative of it.
MA: Winning the super six, there is a strong possibility you would be fighting Lucian Bute how would it play out?
You know Lucian is a friend of mine and you know we train in the same gym. He is a cool guy. Ah, you know but if that happens with that fight…I would look forward to. Right now I just feel like, I don’t feel like I am unbeatable, so I really don’t like to say how it would play out. I really just believe with all that…I am a guy at super middleweight. So I am looking forward to take on all the challenges.
MA: Allan Green, a friend of yours, is protesting your victory did this upset you? Have you spoken to Green about it?
He didn’t upset me. I mean Allan Green is a friend of mine and he has his own career to worry about. He has his career in mind what is best for him and that’s fine. You know, I have the best for my career in mind. Personally, I don’t have any off feelings for him or whatever he is going to do or his camp, what they want to do. And no, I won’t talk to him about it and I don’t think I need to. My focus for him personally since this report, but not about that but I have no interest in talking about that. We can talk about our friendship.
MA: When you knocked out Roy Jones, JR., there was a great concern for him because of the way he was motionless on the canvas. Were you worried that you hurt him badly? Were you nervous as he laid there?
I was nervous afterwards. You know, when I first knocked him out and everything first happened, certainly I was not aware about how serious it was for me. It was just a knockout and the referee counted him and it was over. But then after minutes passed by and he was still in the same situation and I saw the concern of everybody else I realized what’s going on and that’s when my concern kicked in. And certainly I was, you know, very concerned for him. You go in the boxing ring, try to win and you try to win…ah… you know…by any way necessary but you never want to hurt anybody. At least I don’t want to. So all I want to do is to get a victory in a decision or in a knockout or something but I don’t want to do any permanent damage to anyone. So I was very glad when I saw Roy get up and I heard he went to the auxiliary and had a concussion and that was basically it. He is fine after that. So, all is well.
MA: Your Final thoughts?
Well, certainly, you know, I am in the Super Six now. I am extremely excited about. I am looking forward to all the challenges in the super middleweight division. You know, I just want to say thanks to all the fans all the people that stuck with me through my ups and downs. A lot of thanks to my camps and my trainer Orlando Cuellar, my promoter Lou DiBella and my warriors…they been my major supporters and you know they stick with me and they didn’t toss me to the sidelines like a lot of promoters do. Once a fighter gets a couple of losses on their record, you know they toss him and jump on to the next fighter… the next undefeated fighter so I am very thankful for that.
Glen Johnson
Nickname: “Road Warrior”/”Gentleman”
Division: Super Middleweight
Professional Record: 51-14-2, 35 KO’s
Date Opponent W-L-D Location Result
1993-02-19 Yurek Del Rio 0-0-0 Fort Lauderdale, US W TKO 1
1993-03-27 Jerry Reyes 3-15-1 Georgetown, KY W KO 3
1993-06-26 James Mullins 4-21-1 Newcastle, US W KO 3
1993-08-30 Anthony Brooks 4-2-1 Fort Lauderdale, US W MD 4
1993-10-22 Dwayne Waldon 2-1-0 Fort Lauderdale, US W UD 6
1994-04-08 Ralph Monday 6-6-1 Cape Coral, US W UD 4
1994-08-05 Vincent Godbolt 0-1-0 Miami Beach, US W KO 3
1994-09-03 Jesus Carlos Velez 1-14-0 Miami Beach, US W UD 6
1994-09-08 Joe Harris 5-10-0 Davie, US W TKO 4
1994-10-15 Gustavo Gonzalez 5-4-1 Miami Beach, US W UD 6
1994-11-19 Jesus Carlos Velez 1-16-0 Miami Beach, US W SD 8
1994-12-16 Bill Bradley 23-11-0 Miami Beach, US W UD 10
1995-02-06 Edison Martinez 8-13-0 West Palm Beach, US W KO 3
1995-02-25 Carlos Betancourt 20-14-1 Miami Beach, US W TKO 1
1995-03-25 Tyrone Dillard 5-4-1 Miami Beach, US W KO 1
1995-06-27 John McClendon 6-12-2 Fort Lauderdale, US W KO 1
1995-07-22 Jesus Carlos Velez 1-19-0 Miami Beach, US W TKO 2
1995-09-08 Melvin Wynn 15-22-1 Hialeah, US W TKO 4
1995-11-28 Jerome Hill 1-2-0 Augusta, US W TKO 1
1996-01-16 Bill Bradley 23-14-0 Fort Lauderdale, US W KO 1
1996-02-24 Danny Mitchell 10-32-2 Miami Beach, US W KO 2
1996-03-26 Guy Stanford 16-12-1 Immokalee, US W TKO 2
1996-04-12 Kenneth Parker 1-9-0 Cupecoy Bay, St Maarten, W TKO 3
1996-06-11 James Gatlin 11-18-0 Mashantucket, US W MD 6
1996-06-15 Tom Bentley 0-9-0 Nassau, BS W TKO 3
1996-07-29 Gerald Reed 14-13-1 Hallandale, US W PTS 10
1996-08-24 David McCluskey 14-50-4 Valdosta, US W TKO 3
1996-10-01 Jeff Johnson 17-11-1 Fort Lauderdale, US W TKO 5
1996-11-02 Stacy Goodson 5-11-1 Nassau, BS W KO 2
1996-12-06 Ralph Monday 7-15-1 Miami, US W KO 1
1997-02-25 Sam Garr 20-0-0 Long Beach, US W UD 10
1997-06-07 Dave Hamilton 8-2-0 Cicero, US W TKO 2
1997-07-20 Bernard Hopkins 31-2-1 Indio, US L TKO 11
IBF Middleweight Title
1997-12-13 Merqui Sosa 31-5-2 Northlake, US L UD 10
1998-08-04 Joseph Kiwanuka 25-3-2 Auburn Hills, US L SD 10
1999-02-26 Armando Campas 3-20-4 Hopland, US W KO 6
1999-04-22 Troy Watson 24-16-1 Dallas, US W UD 12
WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight Title
1999-07-31 Augustine Renteria 9-23-5 Santa Ynez, US W TKO 4
1999-10-16 Marcelo Zimmerman 15-2-0 Oranjestad, AW W TKO 1
WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight Title
1999-11-27 Sven Ottke 16-0-0 Düsseldorf, DE L UD 12
IBF Super Middleweight Title
2000-01-28 Syd Vanderpool 27-1-0 New Orleans, US L UD 10
2000-04-15 Silvio Branco 38-4-2 Padua, IT L UD 12
World Boxing Union Super Middleweight Title
2000-06-02 Omar Sheika 19-1-0 Philadelphia, US L MD 10
2000-09-23 Toks Owoh 15-1-0 Bethnal Green, UK W TKO 6
IBF Inter-Continental Super Middleweight Title
2001-07-28 Thomas Ulrich 20-0-0 Neukoelln, DE W KO 6
WBO Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight Title
2002-04-14 Derrick Harmon 21-2-0 Las Vegas, US L UD 10
2003-01-24 Julio Cesar Gonzalez 31-1-0 Commerce, US L MD 10
2003-04-04 Daniel Judah 17-0-1 Uncasville, US D SD 10
2003-05-18 Eric Harding 21-2-1 Bronx, US W UD 12
vacant USBA Light Heavyweight Title
2003-11-07 Clinton Woods 35-2-0 Sheffield, UK D SD 12
vacant IBF Light Heavyweight Title
2004-02-06 Clinton Woods 35-2-1 Sheffield, UK W UD 12
vacant IBF Light Heavyweight Title
2004-09-25 Roy Jones Jr 49-2-0 Memphis, US W KO 9
IBF Light Heavyweight Title
2004-12-18 Antonio Tarver 22-2-0 Los Angeles, US W SD 12
International Boxing Organization Light Heavyweight Title
2005-06-18 Antonio Tarver 22-3-0 Memphis, US L UD 12
International Boxing Organization Light Heavyweight Title
2005-09-30 George Khalid Jones 23-2-1 Brooks, US W TKO 10
2006-02-24 Richard Hall 27-5-0 Hollywood, US W UD 12
vacant International Boxing Association Light Heavyweight Title
2006-09-02 Clinton Woods 39-3-1 Bolton, UK L SD 12
IBF Light Heavyweight Title
2007-05-16 Montell Griffin 48-6-0 Hollywood, US W TKO 11
2007-07-27 Fred Moore 30-6-0 Miami, US W KO 5
2008-01-05 Hugo Pineda 39-3-1 Atlantic City, US W TKO 8
2008-04-12 Chad Dawson 25-0-0 Tampa, US L UD 12
WBC Light Heavyweight Title
2008-11-11 Aaron Norwood 26-10-2 Hollywood, US W TKO 4
2009-02-27 Daniel Judah 23-3-3 Hollywood, US W UD 10
2009-11-07 Chad Dawson 28-0-0 Hartford, US L UD 12
WBC Light Heavyweight Title
International Boxing Organization Light Heavyweight Title
2010-02-05 Yusaf Mack 28-2-2 Fort Lauderdale, US W TKO 6
2010-08-07 Tavoris Cloud 20-0-0 Saint Louis, US L UD 12
IBF Light Heavyweight Title
2010-11-06 Allan Green 29-2-0 Las Vegas, US W TKO 8
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