By Cliff Rold
In a bout that felt too long on minutes, and too short on thrills, 28-year old Heavyweight Kevin Johnson (19-0-1, 6 KO) of Atlanta, Georgia jabbed, punched, slapped and occasionally clowned his way to an easy unanimous decision victory over 36-year old veteran Terry Smith (30-4-1, 18 KO) of Little Rock, Arkansas. The bout was the main event on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights.
Smith did his best early on to engage the defensive minded Johnson. Using lead left and right hooks, and a long right hand, Smith pushed Johnson towards the topes often in the first three rounds. Johnson countered Smith’s aggression from a flat footed stance with single left jabs and a looping overhand right and by the fourth, had timed Smith’s right hand, able to lean backwards away from it while countering with short, peppering blows. When Smith was able to get inside, Johnson effectively used his shoulders and forearms to block and roll away from the incoming.
Fought largely at a snail’s pace, the action livened up momentarily in the sixth round. With the seconds winding down, Johnson landed a sharp left hook-right hand combination that appeared to stun Smith. Smith covered up, smothering Johnson’s follow-up fire. At the bell a brief war or words forced referee Steve Smoger to step between the two and guide Johnson to the corner.
The short boost of adrenaline fueled Smith as he burst from the corner at the bell to begin the seventh. Chasing Johnson towards the corner, Smith let go with wide, heavy, and unfortunately for him blocked, hooks. Johnson used Smith’s aggression as an excuse to play to the crowd, pointing and mocking his opponent. The fight then returned to familiar patterns, Smith stalking, Johnson blocking and slapping in counters, unable to miss with his left jab.
In the eighth, Johnson found an opening for a hard left hook that sent Smith spilling face first towards the ropes and had more success in the ninth with a straight right-left hook-right hook combination.
Heading into the final round, Smith let loose with desperation bombs through the haze of two swollen eyes. At the halfway point of the round, the two combatants traded uppercuts along the ropes. With his back stuck to the strands down the stretch, Johnson slipped and countered on the inside, eating one notable right hand from Smith at the :32 second mark but firing back with a one-two of his own. The crowd had clearly gotten behind the more aggressive Smith, and he held his hands up for their approval, but appeared the loser on the night.
The judge’s decision would make that designation official, keeping Johnson’s undefeated record intact by scores of 97-93 (twice) and 96-94. It was Smith’s third loss in his last five bouts.
On the televised undercard, four extra rounds turned out to be more time than needed. In a pedestrian rematch to an exciting six-round affair back in January, 21-year old Jr. Middleweight Carson Jones (14-6-1, 7 KO) of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma cruised to an easy ten-round decision over 26-year old Jose Luis Gonzalez of Garden City, Kansas. Official scores tabbed in at 100-90 and 98-92 twice.
The card was promoted by the Oklahoma-based Holden Productions.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
