REUTERS
Glen Johnson holds his belt following his victory over Antonio Tarver in their 12-round light heavyweight fight in Los Angeles on December 18, 2004.
NEW YORK, CMC:
THE BOXING News and Views website has labelled Jamaica-born Glen Johnson as its 'Fighter of the Year' for 2004.
The 35-year-old Johnson won all three fights he contested this year, his last win a tense spilt decision triumph two Saturdays ago over American Antonio Tarver in a multi-million dollar bout that was widely regarded as a contest to decide who is the world's best light heavyweight.
BIG-MONEY FIGHT
Both boxers had relinquished their world title to make the big-money fight happen - Johnson his International Boxing Federation (IBF) title and Tarver his World Boxing Council belt.
Johnson started his year in February by defeating Britain's Clint Woods on points for the IBF title and stopped highly-rated Roy Jones in nine rounds in September for a successful title defence.
His narrow win over Tarver last weekend exemplified the determination that has characterised his career, exerting constant pressuring throughout the contest although Tarver landed more punches in the bout.
"The always-underrated road warrior, the recipient of many a questionable decision loss, earned this honour with an upset knockout over Roy Jones and then with a characteristic, workman-like performance over Antonio Tarver," Boxing News and Views said.
"His fight with Tarver was close, but Johnson again proved that his relentless aggression is both crowd-pleasing and worthy of recognition by the fans and the judges. Knowledgeable fans always knew, the judges finally got it right," added Boxing News and Views, who listed world super lightweight champion Kostya Tszyu as runner-up to Johnson as 'Fighter of the Year'.
The website rated the Erik Morales versus Marco Antonio Barrera contest as 'Fight of the Year' and Joe Goosen as 'Trainer of the Year'.
Goosen trained Joel Casamayor for his defeat over Diego Corrales and then switched corners and led Corrales to a close decision victory in the rematch.
