Glen “The Road Warrior” Johnson once again gave notice that he’s a fighter to be reckoned with in the Light Heavyweight division.  In  ESPN’s  February 27^th  “Friday Night Fights” main event from Hollywood Florida’s  “Hard Rock Hotel and Casino,”  Johnson easily defeated Brooklyn’s Daniel Judah by a clear, unanimous 10-round decision.   Displaying the same tenacity, body punching and incredible punch output that have characterized his fights,  Johnson left no doubt as to his superiority over the once well regarded Judah.  The loser’s sub par performance has relegated him to a non-threatening stepping stone for up and coming fighters. 

From the very beginning, Johnson’s relentless body attack and quick combinations set the pace for the remainder of the fight.   Near the end of the opening round, a powerful right hand by Johnson sent Judah reeling into the bottom ropes, causing the referee to give the shaken Judah a standing 8-count.   Avoiding Johnson’s attempt for a fight ending follow-up, an unsteady Judah was able to survive the round. 

The subsequent rounds followed the same script of Johnson pressing the attack with thunderous body shots and combinations to the head, with Judah offering little opposition.   Surprisingly, the taller and younger Judah was unable, or unwilling, to match the 40-year old  Johnson’s work rate and he never utilized his southpaw style to his advantage.  Hopelessly behind on points, Judah appeared satisfied to just survive until the final bell, and never displayed the desperation to try and pull out a victory in the closing rounds.  

Overall, it was an excellent victory for the former Light Heavyweight champion and a terribly disappointing performance by Judah, who excelled only in wiggling his hips, taunting his opponent and shaking his head to signal that he was not hurt whenever Johnson landed any combinations.  If points were awarded for clowning, Judah would have been the clear winner.  As for the actual fight, it appeared Glen Johnson won every round, as supported by the judges’ scores of 99-89 and the other two calling it 99-90 all in favor of the winner.

“The Road Warrior” hopes the victory will propel him one step closer to a rematch with Chad Dawson for the Light Heavyweight title and a chance to reverse what he believes was an unjust loss several months ago, or a chance at any of the other champions in the division.   The loser is clearly the less talented of the Judah fighting clan, as brother Zab appears to have a monopoly on the family’s talent pool, and Daniel must elevate his performances to a much higher level to be once again considered a serious player in the Light Heavyweight division.   

In a co-feature 10-round fight,  Miami’s promising welterweight Antwone “The Truth” Smith (14-1-1 with 8 KOs) defeated Mexico’s previously unbeaten Norberto Gonzalez (16-0 with 12 KOs) by a unanimous 8-round decision in the night’s most entertaining fight.  After a fast paced opening round,  Gonzalez landed some hard punches that wobbled Smith in the second round,  However, Smith quickly recovered and landed a combination that dropped Gonzalez to the canvas. A hurt Gonzalez rose and took the referee’s 8-count, and was able to weather the storm until the bell ended the round.   The crowd acknowledged the action packed round with a thunderous ovation at the bell. 

The next few rounds were highly competitive, with both fighters initiating good exchanges.  However,  Smith  seemed to enjoy an advantage with his counter-punching ability that had Gonzalez a bit hesitant to throw any power punches for fear of his opponent’s excellent counter attack.   In the third and sixth rounds, Smith’s well placed combinations opened a cut over Gonzalez’ left eye and another under the right eye.  

Both fighters took turns landing terrific combinations through the latter part of the highly entertaining and competitive fight.  Again, Smith’s counter punching had him winning most of the exchanges.   At fight’s end, both fighters were showered with an ovation from the appreciative fans in attendance.   As expected, the unanimous decision favoring Antwone Smith was a deserving one for Miami’s fast rising Welterweight who raised his record to 15-1-1 with 8 KOs.  Gonzalez suffered his first loss after winning his first 16 fights with 12 KOs; this was his first venture outside of his native Mexico.   

Results of Preliminary Ffights:

1) Cuban Heavyweight Henry Fuentes raised his record to 8-0 with 5 KOs with a 3^rd round stoppage of a game Samuel Brown.  The hard punching Fuentes dropped Brown with a hard combination, and after taking the mandatory 8-count,  Brown was again knocked down with a terrific right hand to the head.  The referee stopped the action awarding the Cuban his 8^th victory in an undefeated career.

2) Eli Augustama raised his record to 3-0 with 2 KOs with an exciting, action packed  majority 4-round decision over William “Deets” Quintana, whose record fell to 2-9.  The crowd was on its feet cheering the terrific exchanges by both fighters during which neither fighter took a backward step.  Two of the judges favored the winner in the scoring while the third judge had the fight even.

3) In the opening fight of the “FNF” telecast, Junior Welterweight Danny O’Connor of Ireland improved his record to 4-0 with 1 KO with a unanimous decision verdict over Jamar Saunders, 2-2 with 1 KO.  Now fighting under the “Warriors Boxing” banner, O’Connor’s quick hand speed controlled the action in a very competitive fight.

4) In a scheduled 6-round Junior Welterweight encounter,  Russia’s Habib Allanverdiev improved to 9-0 with 4 KOs with a first round stoppage of Richard Pitt, who dropped to 3-7 in his career.

5) Russian Heavyweight Magomed Abdusalamov, now 3-0 with all wins by way of 1-round knockouts,  stopped outclassed Maurice Winslow, whose record is now 3-8.  Winslow has now been stopped 7 times in his brief career.

6) In one of the evening’s more engaging fights,  Puerto Rico’s Jesus Pabon raised his record to 14-1 with 8 KOs by earning a unanimous decision over the more experienced  Lenin Arroyo of Miami in a Junior Welterweight encounter.  In a very spirited fight, Pabon recorded two knockdowns in the third stanza against his very tough opponent, a Costa Rica native who fights mostly in South Florida rings.  The loser, always an exciting fighter and a local crowd favorite, dropped to 20-9 with 4 KOs.  The crowd rewarded the fighters with several ovations for their many great exchanges during their exciting fight.

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2-28-2009