- FILE
Glen Johnson ... won a unanimous decision over fellow Jamaican Richard Hall on Friday night. The three judges scored the fight 119-107, 119-108 and 118-109 in favour of Johnson.
Gordon Williams, Gleaner Writer
HOLLYWOOD, Florida:
TWO JAMAICANS went to war in the ring on Friday night.
And when referee Frank Santori separated the combatants at the final bell, signalling the end of 12 brutal rounds of boxing, Glen Johnson had been crowned the new International Boxing Association (IBA) champion, with his reputation as possibly the world's best light heavyweight still intact, while Richard Hall had earned buckets of respect from boxing observers at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino here for a brave, competitive performance.
While the final result was hardly in doubt - the judges scored it a unanimous win for Johnson, 118-109, 119-108 and 119-107 - the large crowd stood to salute both fighters for an outstanding show of raw power mixed with skilled boxing, especially by the champion.
Probably the biggest surprise was that Hall, after nearly a two-year layoff from boxing, lasted the entire fight, absorbing a punishing display from Johnson who is trying to stay active in the ring with an eye fixed firmly on an upcoming title rematch with current International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Clinton Woods of Britain, a man he has faced twice before, winning once and drawing.
Despite 'The Destroyer' Hall's reputation as a power puncher he entered the ring to Jr. Gong Marley's 'Welcome to Jamrock' boasting a ring record of 27 wins, 25 by knockout, against five losses - almost no one in the arena expected him to seriously trouble Johnson, among the best defensive fighters in the world. And although Hall currently lives in Florida, promoters billed the fight as a homecoming for 'Road Warrior' Johnson, who also resides in the state.
So maybe it was the familiar surroundings that spurred both men, who responded to shouts of encouragement in patois that bellowed throughout the fight from stands which carried large Jamaican flags. For Johnson it may have well been the time to re-establish himself as an elite boxer, the one who landed the world fighter of the year award in 2004, or, true to Bob Marley's 'Redemption Song', which led him into the ring Friday with a record of 43 wins, two draws and 10 losses, he simply had to finally shut up Hall, who he claimed had been 'persistent' and kept 'chasing' him everywhere, determined to get a fight.
In the end, however, Johnson readily admitted that Hall was a worthy challenger on the night.
"I expected to finish the fight in about four rounds," said Johnson in his dressing room after the bout, nursing a cut to the top of his shaven head caused by a head butt, but showing little other visible damage.
"But Richard Hall, he's a lot tougher than expected. I give him a lot of credit. He takes a lot of great shots. I hit him with some solid shots and he took 'em and he fought back. So I have to give him props. He really came to win."
Indeed the blows were telling. Several times during the fight Johnson, who weighed in at 172 pounds, rocked the 175-pound Hall.
STRATEGY
Although he entered the ring intent on attacking the body, that plan was less effective, and he credited Hall with thwarting that strategy. But that only prodded Johnson to switch the point of attack. He scored repeatedly with short, chopping right hands to the head, at times sending blood - and Hall - flashing across the ring.
As early as the second, it appeared Hall would fall to the thunderous shots from Johnson, but he survived the round even after taking a standing eight count from Santori. Most of the rounds followed a similar pattern, Hall stalking Johnson early, punching plenty but rarely penetrating Johnson's defence, then taking big shots himself. He never appeared to solve the riddle of Johnson's defence or how to ward of the headshots.
"It was very tough," Hall said after the fight.
Yet he too seemed to have been resigned to his fate. The long layoff from the ring and what he called inadequate pre-fight preparation did not help.
"You know when you have not boxed in two years (his last fight was May 2004) and you haven't got a week in sparring, something like this will happen," Hall explained as he stepped down from the ring with lumps above and below his right eye.
'I GAVE MY BEST'
"I didn't expect it to last 12 rounds," he added, "but I gave my best and stood up to the test."
Johnson is ready to be tested again. He sent a barely veiled shot at the rest of the world's high-profile boxers including Woods, who Johnson's manager Henry Foster boldly stated is dodging his fighter.
"Clinton Woods, we would fight him tomorrow," Foster said, "but he's the one who is procrastinating."
Johnson is the IBF's top ranked challenger and the fight against Woods must be sealed by June or the Brit could face being stripped of the title. For Johnson, it could be Woods, it could be anyone. He is ready to take on the cream of the light heavyweight division.
"Whosoever say they are the best, they can come and see Glen Johnson because I am ready," he exclaimed.
But that will not include Hall. Despite the response of Friday night's crowd, with its large Jamaican presence, and Hall's insistence that they "do this again, we've got to." Johnson said the two will probably not meet in the ring in the future.
Gordon Williams is a Jamaican journalist based in the United States.
