AFTER THE BELL

GLEN JOHNSON – BOXING’S HARD LUCK GUY

- Ron Ross

Glen Johnson has three major problems. He does not know how to manufacture and sell cooking grills. There are still a few years separating him from his social security check. And he can’t even yell “Police!” when he gets robbed in front of a few thousand people.

This is not to say that the 39-year old former light-heavyweight champion does not have alternatives. He can go on a hunger strike until the grievous wrong perpetrated upon him is corrected, but his concern is that the only result will be his fighting as a very hungry featherweight; he can apply for a job with a late-night pharmacy where he would fit in fine as they are accustomed to getting robbed; or, he can very politely say to Chad Dawson, the World Boxing Council light-heavyweight champion who benefited from the grand theft at the St. Pete Times Forum on Saturday night, “Okay, let’s do it again.” Oh, that’s right, an embittered Johnson did ask Dawson for that opportunity right there in the ring after the decision stunned the entire house almost as much as it did Johnson. And Dawson answered, “I want to move forward” and laid an egg with all who heard it as, loosely translated it sounded like “Buk, buk, bukaw …”

If it were a fight held on a street corner, in a schoolyard or a poolroom there would have been no question of who the winner was. Johnson beat up on Dawson, plain and simple, and everyone saw it. Everyone did not include the three guys who were paid to watch the fight and render an official decision. Amazingly, judges Pete Trematera, Jack Woodburn and Nicholas Hidalgo all turned in identical scores of 116-112 for Dawson. It is a decision that deserves the Tin Cup and Pencil Award and it is hard to believe that three professional scorers blew the call the same way. Not to say that scoring it a win for Dawson would be unthinkable, but it would have to have been a whisker-thin call – and still questionable, but as scoring a prizefight is of such a highly subjective nature, it would be accepted, not agreed with, but accepted.

Chad Dawson had his moments and made a great and entertaining fight of it. He tried to adjust early in the fight when he found out that Glen Johnson was one getting-ready-for-AARP membership client who came prepared with a young man’s artillery, ability and agility. Dawson, losing the war in the trenches, switched from slugger to boxer and he was effective. Effective enough where he went into the tenth round with a slight lead on my card. That is when the old war horse, Johnson, really won over the crowd as he launched an all-out, no let up attack that had Dawson reeling, staggered and holding on for dear life at times during those last three rounds. And Dawson showed that he had plenty of heart and ability as he stayed up under the onslaught and fought back like a true champion, but he was on the short end of the stick those last three rounds as Johnson pulled out the fight on just about everyone’s scorecards. Close, but a win for Johnson. And for those few who saw it differently – a win for Dawson, but close … close … The 116-112 official tallies were simply and totally out of line.

You gotta feel for Glen Johnson. He deserves better and he earned better. He is definitely a guy who should stay out of casinos, refrain from playing Lotto and if he sees a black cat – Please, Glen, walk the other way.

RESULTS FROM NEW YORK: A FISTFUL OF SHAMROCKS

March 15, 2008

Unbeaten junior middleweight James Moore, a native of County Wicklow, Ireland, who fights out of Queens, New York, took a big step forward by winning a hard fought unanimous decision over veteran J.C. Candelo of Colombia at Madison Square Garden’s WaMu Theater.

The two-way action by both fighters brought the pro-Moore crowd to its feet on many occasions. Moore, now 15-0 (10 KOS), was hurt by a right uppercut in the third round. Both fighters landed thunderous punches during many spirited exchanges and received a standing ovation at the end.

Candelo saw his record dip to 27-10-4 (18 KOS) when the scores of 97-92, 97-93 and 95-94 were announced.

“He’s a crafty veteran who exploited my mistakes,” said Moore. “This was the kind of challenge I needed to get to the next level. I’m only going to get better by fighting veterans like this. I don’t want easy fights because this is not an easy business.”

Candelo, who initially took the microphone and yelled, “You judges bleeping suck,” later called Moore a “gentleman who doesn’t talk bleep” and said, “I got respect for him. This was his first step-up fight. He fought for his crowd and did what he was supposed to do.”

In the action-packed co-feature, junior middleweight Pawel “Raging Bull” Wolak, a native of Poland who fights out of New Jersey, stopped Dupre “Total Package” Strickland of Shreveport, Louisiana, at 3:06 of the second round. A vicious combo by Wolak, now 20-0 (14 KOS), knocked Strickland down for the count. The loser, who had gone the 10 round distance with John Duddy, saw his record dip to 18-3-1 (7 KOS).

In other bouts, lightweight Oisin Fagan, 21-5 (16 KOS), Oklahoma City via Dublin, stopped Brian Carden, 6-5 (4 KOS) in 2; welterweight Martin Wright, 5-0-1 (2 KOS), Brooklyn, won a 4 round decision over Juan Carlos Sanchez, 3-3-1 (1 KO), Bronx; middleweight Simon O’Donnell, 5-1 (3 KOS), Philadelphia via County Galway, Ireland, TKO 2 Chris Overbey, 8-9 (2 KOS), Sidney, Ohio; featherweight Jules Blackwell, 7-0-1 (2 KOS), Philadelphia, battled to a draw with Jae-Sung Lee, 8-1-1 (5 KOS), Korea; junior middleweight Oliva Fonseca, 2-1-2 (1 KO), Philadelphia, won a 4 round decision over Cristy Nickel, 7-6 (4 KOS), New York; lightweight Jose Espinel, 4-3-1 (1 KO), Brooklyn, TKO 1 over Joe Rosa, 1-3-1 (0 KOS), Bronx; bantamweight Khabir Suleymanov, 3-0 (1 KO), Brooklyn via Ukraine, W 4 Robert Phillips, 0-1; junior middleweight Luis Ruiz, 3-0 (1 KO) TKO Terrell Boggs, 0-2, Philadelphia.

Promoter: Celtic Gloves Promotions

MAYORGA-VARGAS

- Ron Ross

November 23, 2007

It seems that the turkey was not the only thing stuffed for Thanksgiving at the Staple Center in Los Angeles tonight in a WBA super-middleweight title bout. Fernando Vargas, who looked so good behind a plexiglass shield, pounding on his chest and doing his enraged bull routine, gave it his all but came across more like a bird doing the Turkey Trot on two plump drumsticks.

Meanwhile, Ricardo Mayorga, everybody’s role model of a Dale Carnegie disciple, seemed to decide “no more Mr. Nice Guy” (fingers crossed behind my back) as he raced from his corner at the opening bell with an explosive bombardment, eventually flooring Vargas with a right uppercut. Mayorga dominated in round two also, backing up his slower and sluggish opponent with occasional two-fisted flurries and was scoring effectively dropping in the overhand right.

Vargas began making a fight of it in round three and in the fourth round he went on the attack and was scoring well. But as the fight moved into the later rounds, Mayorga, who looked better than he has in quite a while, was outpunching and outgunning Vargas, a fighter whose punch seemed to have lost its sting and whose promise of retirement seemed to be s very good idea. This was accentuated in the eleventh round when a big right from Mayorga sent him literally rolling head over heels on the canvas. This was the doubt-eliminator of the fight, which went to Mayorga by scores of 115-111, 114-112, and a somewhat startling 113-113 by judge David Mendoza. Maybe he was including what took place earlier behind the plexiglass shield! My scorecard was 116-111 for Mayorga.

Both fighters weighed in at an unflattering 164. Mayorga’s record is now 28-6-1 with 22 KO’s and Vargas retires ? with a 26-5, 22 KO record.

In an IBF Welterweight Championship affair, Kermit Cintron had a lot more than he bargained for against his 15-5-3, 9 KO’s opponent, Jesse Feliciano before stopping the courageous, non-stop punching pit-bull from Las Vegas at 1:53 of the tenth round. Feliciano never quit trying and never eased up on his relentless pursuit of the heavily favored champion. Referee Jon Schorle stopped the fight when Cintron had the game challenger badly hurt, but refusing to be put down, from an unanswered volley of heavy blows. Feliciano may not have won the title but he did win the heart of the entire crowd.

Roman Karmazin, 36-2-1, 23 KO’s demolished a seemingly shot Alejandro Garcia, 25-3, 24 KO’s, in a WBA Inter-Continental super welterweight title match. He dropped Garcia with a left hook to the body in the first round and knocked him senseless with a four punch combination - left hook to body, right to head, left hook to body, right cross to jaw – at 1:24 of the 3^rd round.

-RR-