By Jake Donovan
Tureano Johnson was one minute away - 59 seconds to be exact - from his biggest win as a pro, but it only took a total of eight seconds to instead hand him the first loss of his career.
Way up on all three scorecards through nine rounds and in control for most of the 10th and final round, a single left hook turned things around in the worst possible way for Johnson. Eight seconds and a few power punches later, Curtis Stevens was the benefactor of what many believed to be a premature stoppage on the part of referee Gary Rosato in their NBC Sports Network-televised bout in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Even to this day, Johnson struggles to come to grips with the loss - even if it has resulted in his becoming a changed man in the ring.
“I’m not at all satisfied with the way that fight turned out,” Johnson (17-1, 12KOs) states, bitter to this day over how things played out. “That fight was a disaster, a plane that crashed and burned.”
To a fighter with the background that Johnson boasts, a loss this early into his career can feel like the end of the world. The lone boxing representative for Bahamas in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Johnson has never known any other way than carrying the weight of a nation on his shoulders. He still proudly represents Bahamas in the pro ranks even as he lives and trains in the United States.
It’s that history of overcoming perseverance that has allowed the 30-year old to overcome the worst night of his life to fight his way to the doorstep of title contention. Three straight wins precede his trek to Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York City, as Johnson takes on Colombia’s Alex Theran (17-1, 10KOs) this Friday on Fox Sports 1.
The bout is part of a night that serves as the boxing promotional debut of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports. Word on the street is that the music mogul plans to roll Gary Shaw Productions into his company, with details of the merger expected to come in the next few days.
For now, the placement on the card is an audition for Johnson, likely to get more crossover exposure on this show than if he were to fight anywhere else - including another televised show promoted by Shaw on the same night, on the other side of the country.
“I could have had him fight anywhere else, but we knew this was a great opportunity for him to appear at Madison Square Garden,” notes Shaw. “This is a big fight for Tureano, a legacy fight. He wants to fight Gennady Golovkin, and this fight will lead him on that path.”
Johnson has been adamant in calling out the world’s best middleweights, whether it’s the unbeaten Golovkin or World lineal middleweight king Miguel Cotto. Ironically, a win over Stevens would have put the resurgent prospect in a different direction - a title eliminator with Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam. Stevens wound up landing the fight, dropping a wide decision to remove himself from the title mix for the time being.
There’s no telling how Johnson would have fared that night had he landed the fight. A win over Stevens could have meant he continues his career in the same manner as he carried it heading into that April night.
Instead, the loss forced him to change up. In the ring and through his demeanor, it’s clear that Johnson is a far different fighter these days. The loss consumed him at one point, but now serves as the ultimate motivating factor to never again leave anything to chance.
“It has given me energy. It reminded me that I’m not from the U.S.,” admits Johnson, who has spent the majority of his career fighting stateside, but still very much a Bahamian at heart and every time he enters the ring. “I’m not fighting in my backyard. That night opened my eyes. Now when I fight, I want to win a dominant decision, win dominantly in every round or knock him out and not leave anything to the judges.”
Johnson has scored knockouts in his past two fights, against lesser opposition. It was his first fight back, however, that further convinced his handlers he truly has what it takes to succeeed.
“I want you to understand the type of fighter Tureano is in the ring,” Shaw explains. “I don;t think that many people understand the (version of) Tureano that’s on this card. His fight with Mike Gravonski on ESPN last year was a spectacular fight. There are not a lot of guys who come out of a knockout loss like he did with Curtis Stevens and then fight an undefeated fighter.”
Johnson won a landslide decision on that night, just three months after the heartbreaking loss to Stevens. While he has lobbied for a rematch, the win streak that follows is enough for now to continue moving forward with his career. If a return go with Stevens doesn’t materialize, then he will just have to be someone else’s problem every time he steps into the ring these days.
“I’m going to be three times the fighter I was in the Curtis Stevens fighter,” Johnson promises. “Last (year) I was a nice guy. I’m going to be meaner, stronger, nastier. Sorry to say, there’s going to be blood shed. It’s going to be nasty in there.
“We went the extra mile for this fight. This fight, personally is going to tell me where I’m at in the boxing world. It will tell me if I’m going to be a world champion.”
Even if this fight doesn’t tell that full story, Johnson is fully prepared to put in the necessary work to get to that point where there remains no doubt.
“Triple G (Golovkin) is the number-one fighter in my division,” Johnson recognizes in his quest to face and beat the best. “ You also have Miguel Cotto and others in the division. Champions need to fight champions. I believe I deserve the opportunity to fight Golovkin. If the fans decide I need one or two more fights, so be it. But I want to be the one to beat Gennady Golovkin.”
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
