Glen Johnson Talks Carl Froch Fight, Bute, Kessler More

By Lem Satterfield

Called "The Road Warrior," due to an in-your-face, durability, fundamental old school style, and a willingness to face any opponent at any place and at any time, the 42-year-old, Jamaican-born, former light heavyweight world champion, Glen Johnson, of Miami, spoke to BoxingScene.com recently concerning his June 4 clash with England's WBC titlist Carl Froch.

Coming off of a Nov. 6, eighth-round knockout of Allan Green (29-3, 20 KOs) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was stopped for the first time in his career, Johnson (51-14-2, 35 knockouts) will meet the 33-year-old Froch (27-1, 20 KOs) at the Adrian Philipps Ballroom of Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall in Showtime's semifinal of the network's Super Six Super Middleweight Tournament.

Froch is coming off of a Nov. 27 rout of Germany's former middleweight titlist, Arthur Abraham (31-2, 25 KOs), whom he  easily out-boxed during a unanimous decision that regained for Froch the WBC belt he had lost the same way to Denmark's former WBA king Mikkel Kessler (43-2, 32 KOs) in April.

The other Super Six semifinal will have already taken place on May 14, when WBA titlist Andre Ward (23-0, 13 KOs) will defend his crown against Abraham.

Johnson has rejuvenated his career following respective performances against then 29-year-old Yusaf Mack (28-3-2, 17 KOs) of Philadelphia in February of 2010, unbeaten, 28-year-old IBF light heavyweight king Tavoris Cloud (22-0, 18 KOs), of Miami in September, and, then, Green.

Johnson scored three, sixth-round knockdowns against Mack during an IBF title eliminator, sixth-round knockout, lost a close, but, unanimous decision to Cloud, and then, was named to replace Kessler in the Super Six tournament when Kessler pulled out of the event due to an eye injury.

Johnson, who was required to drop weight for Green, was unbeaten at 32-0 in July 1997, when he was knocked out for the only time in his career by Bernard Hopkins in the 11th round. Johnson was named the 2004 Fighter of the Year after a decision over Clinton Woods, the knockout over Roy Jones, and a split decision over Antonio Tarver.

Johnson spoke to BoxingScene.com in this Q&A.

BoxingScene.com: So how do you feel about fighting Carl Froch in Atlantic City on June 4?

Glen Johnson: You know, I think that it's great. I haven't fought there in a long time. It's been a while. I don't know, probably some three years or so.

BoxingScene.com: I know that as the 'Road Warrior,' you don't necessarily care where you fight, but do you like thefact that the fight is on American soil?

Glen Johnson: You know, I'm excited that it's in America. Obviously, I believe that the people in America know me much more than they know Carl Froch.

I feel as though I've done more here for them to know about me more than they know about Carl Froch. I mean, certainly, he's coming from England with great support from there.

You know, they love him over there. People from England travel well with their fighters, but that should make it a great fight in a wonderful, rocking arena. Everyone should be excited.

BoxingScene.com: Having traveled to other fights, such as the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito clash in Dallas, how have you been received by fans since your stoppage win over Alan Green?

Glen Johnson: You know, I've been at a few fights, and the Pacquiao-Margarito was one of them. You know, it was a great reception by fans that I received.

I also went to Canada for the Jean Pascal-Bernard Hopkins fight, and I was received very well over there. I've been to a couple of other fights where people were just excited about me getting into the Super Six.

A lot of the things that I heard from people is that they finally got a real fighter in the Super Six who wants to come in and bring them some real excitement and an honest to goodness style of fighting.

So, I'm really excited to try and do that.

BoxingScene.com: What are your thoughts on IBF champ Lucian Bute and Mikkel Kessler's views of your chances against Carl Froch?

Glen Johnson: You know, they both picked against me. I'm actually surprised. I think that Mikkel Kessler picked Froch to win, and, also, Lucian Bute picked Froch to win.That's what they said when they were asked who they expected to meet in the Super Six finals.

They said Froch and Ward, so, that certainly means that they're picking against me. So, you know, I was really surprised at both of those guys. I guess that I gave them credit for having more boxing knowledge than they actually have [laughs.]

But, you know, people have been wrong before, and this will not be the first time that I will have been underestimated and that I will prove people wrong.

But I have to say that I've rarely if ever been underestimated by my peers. So, you know, this time it happened. It may have for sure happened in the past without me knowing.

But at least these two guys have come out and stated their case and said their piece, and that's fine.

BoxingScene.com: Having scored knockouts over younger fighters in Yusaf Mack and Alan Green in two of your last three fights, is that a result of your sitting down more on your punches or simply a function of what you have always done and your basic fighting style and approach?

Glen Johnson: I basically just fight and the knockouts come. Some nights, though, you feel better than others. You feel stronger a lot of times. It all depends on how you prepare and how you lose your weight and how you get there.

You know, it depends on how much better you are as a fighter on that particular night. I know that, at least for me,
that's what I'm thinking. I stay focused. I try to remain loyal to all of the things that I've always done.

When those knockouts came, I was just repeating those scenarios on those particular fight nights.

BoxingScene.com: Do you make it a practice during your fights of hitting the body, the head, and, generally, anything that is available?

Glen Johnson: I box. Very few people pay attention to the entire package that is boxing inside of the ring. Most people are not really schooling themselves or getting it into their minds what is truly going on in there.

They don't know what's happening. There are few people who really do. But when you do the right thing in the ring, you know, it can be a wonderful thing and it can work out well to your advantage.

BoxingScene.com: Do you feel an sort of affinity toward guys like Bernard Hopkins, and, although you are a predecessor, others such as wBC champion "emeritus" Sergio Martinez, who, despite turning 36 recently, continues to get better with age?

Glen Johnson: Well, of course, certainly. For me, it's always a wonderful thing when you see an older fighter sticking to the basic training techniques and doing well in the sport.

For me, you know, Sergio still is a young guy. But that shows that if you take care of yourself and you go about doing things the right way, and you have your fundamentals down, then that centers you so much.

When you're boxing, or, in any sport, fundamentals are the best. It saves you and protects you from so much wasted energy. It takes away a lot of unnecessary stuff. You put that together with good defense and longevity will likely be a big part of your career.