Both Ed “The Lion” Paredes and Glen “The Road Warrior” Johnson had plenty to prove in ESPN’s  Friday Night Fights from Nova Southeastern University in South Florida. 

The Hollywood, Florida native Paredes wanted to establish his superiority over another South Floridian,  Miami’s  Joey “Twinkle Fingers” Hernandez,  in a rematch of a controversial draw verdict only 5-months earlier.    The veteran “Road Warrior” Johnson wanted to show the world’s top 175-pounders that there are still plenty of good fights left  in his 41-year old body.  It was also important for him to get back in the win column after having lost to champion Chad Dawson in his last outing a few months back.  Both fighters accomplished their objectives in stunning fashion before a national and worldwide television audience.  

In the scheduled 12-round IBF title elimination fight,  Glen Johnson raised his record to 50-13-2 with 34 KOs with his typical workmanlike style in a 5-round  TKO victory over 30-year old Philadelphian Yusaf  Mack, who saw his record drop to 28-3-2 with 17 KOs.  Mack, 11-years younger and enjoying a 2-inch height advantage, tried to box and jab against the former champion Johnson, originally from Jamaica now calling Miami his home. 

However,  the former Light Heavyweight champion’s relentless pressure kept the Philadelphian mostly on the ropes or backtracking in the early rounds.  While Mack showed flashes of good boxing skills and landed some effective punches, he was unable to avoid Johnson’s smothering pressure attack.  By the end of the fourth round, Mack was showing evidence of  slowing down and was not responding well to the body punches he was taking. 

The fifth round proved to be the end for the younger Philadelphian.  Working the body and head with equal effectiveness,  Johnson landed a solid combination to the head that dropped Mack to the canvas.  After taking the 8-count from referee Frank Gentile,  Mack again absorbed  several solid punches and down he went for the second time in the round.  Once again rising before the count of ten,  he was greeted by another  Johnson hard combination that dropped Mack to one knee.  Sensing that Mack had absorbed enough punishment, referee Gentile called a halt at  2:21 of the round making Johnson a TKO winner.  The appreciative hometown crowd showered the very popular Johnson with a thunderous well deserved standing ovation for their very likeable adopted warrior. 

The win earned Johnson a title shot against IBF Light Heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud in an attempt to once again win one of the crowns in the talented 175-pound division. 

In a highly anticipated rematch between two popular local fighters,   Ed “The Lion” Paredes of Hollywood, Florida  (now 24-3-1 with 15 KOs) lived up to his nickname by stopping  Miami’s  Joey  “Twinkle Fingers” Hernandez  (now 15-1-1 with 8 KOs) with a spectacular 1-punch knockout.   Their first meeting ended in a controversial draw verdict that was disputed by both fighters.  The rematch for the South Florida bragging rights left no doubt as to who was the better man on this day. 

With both fighters supported by their large contingent of vocal fans,  the opening round was an active one with Paredes applying pressure and Hernandez counterpunching effectively.  Both were throwing and landing punches with bad intentions, trying to establish their superiority over the other. 

After a very heated exchange in the second round,  Paredes landed a devastating, picture perfect left hook on Hernandez’ jaw that dropped the Miamian on his back. Upon impact,  it was obvious that Hernandez was hurt badly and could not possibly rise.  Referee Samuel Burgos reached the final count of ten with the loser still on his back, and signaled the fight over at 1:53 of the second round.   The sensational 1-punch knockout will surely be revisited when ESPN highlights their top KOs of the year.  

The win elevates Paredes as a dangerous opponent for any of the second tier fighters in the welterweight division, and at 24 years of age, may signal the beginning of better things to come. For Hernandez, it’s back to the drawing board to figure out how to avoid a reoccurrence of the devastating loss. 

The opening televised fight of the evening showcased the talents of former Cuban amateur star and 2-time Olympic Gold Medal winner  Guillermo  “Rigo” Rigondeaux, one of the brightest stars in boxing’s lower weight divisions.  Now trained by the highly acclaimed Freddy Roach,  the 29-year old Rigondeaux raised his unblemished record to 5-0 with 4 KOs with a devastating 1-punch knockout of  Mexico’s  Adolfo Landeros  (now  20-13-1 with 9 KOs). 

With only 18 seconds into the fight,  the southpaw  Rigondeaux landed a single hard left hook to his opponent’s body that immediately dropped him to the canvas.  Referee Samuel Burgos reached the count of ten with Landeros clutching his stomach in obvious agony, signaling the fight’s end with the Cuban winning in spectacular fashion at only  .28 seconds of the opening round.  The loser was attended to by ringside physicians for over five minutes before being able to sit on a stool.  It was another several minutes before he could gingerly rise from the stool to exit the ring, still in apparent discomfort.   

Such was the power exhibited by Rigondeaux,  who Freddy Roach praised as the most athletically gifted  fighter he has ever trained and a certain world champion by year’s end.  High praise coming from one of the leading trainers in the world, and current trainer of superstar Manny Pacquiao.  It appears that Rigondeaux indeed possesses the ability to reach the lofty expectations of his trainer, but at 29-years of age, the clock is ticking on his professional career.