By Rick Reeno

It was a very rough road for Glen Johnson to become a successful prizefighter. He began his professional career with a bang, winning his first 32 fights and gained recognition as a rising superstar. Johnson suffered his first loss when he was TKO'd by Bernard Hopkins in 1997 (his only KO loss). After the fight with Hopkins, the career of Johnson began to take many twists and turns. He would go on to lose his next two fights against Merqui Sosa and Joseph Kiwanuka.

Over the years, Johnson suffered several disappointing setbacks. Johnson was on the losing end of the stick against Sven Ottke, Omar Sheika, Syd Vanderpool, Silvio Branco, Derrick Harmon and Julio Gonzalez. Most ringside observers felt that Johnson won many of the fights he lost.

In 2004, Johnson would turn his entire career around. In February of 04, Johnson defeated Clinton Woods to win the vacant IBF light heavyweight title. He would then go on to land a major fight against Roy Jones Jr. in September of 04. Most boxing experts saw Johnson as nothing more than a journeyman champion with 9 losses, thus making him a huge underdog against Roy Jones. Johnson, never one to let opinions bother him, scored one of the biggest upsets in recent memory when he dominated Jones and knocked him out with a single punch in nine rounds.

In December of 04, Johnson would go on to decision the other man who knocked out Jones, Antonio Tarver. At that point, Johnson was regarded as the best light heavyweight in the world and won the 2004 fighter of the year award from the Boxing Writer's Association of America.

This past June, Johnson lost a decision to Antonio Tarver in their long awaited rematch.

BoxingScene sat down with Johnson to discuss his comeback, the upcoming fight between Tarver and Jones, Bernard Hopkins and much more.

BoxingScene.com: You are making a return to the ring on September 30th against George Jones, televised live on Fox Sports Net. Jones is a durable opponent, only losing to Eric Harding and a razor thin split decision to Montell Griffin. You don't seem to be taking it easy.

Glen Johnson: No, not at all. I'm taking on somebody credible. He is the best guy out there that is available today and I jumped right back in it.

BoxingScene.com: Your career is a rags to riches story. After so many disappointments and setbacks, you never gave up and kept going with your career. Last year, you win three huge fights, beating

Clinton Woods, Roy Jones Jr. and Antonio Tarver. Not to mention you were honored with the 2004's fighter of the year award. How has all of this has affected you and others?

Glen Johnson: Well you know, it has had a real positive influence on people. A lot of guys are coming out of retirement. A lot of young guys who got a couple of losses early in their career and quit, are now coming back and training in the gym. Everybody is trying to train again and give their career another run. Even Robert Daniels, who fought the champion is coming back and I heard that what I did gave him a new motivation and encouragement. I just don't want it to blow out of proportion where people who should be retired come back to the ring.

BoxingScene.com: I'm sure you don't want to see someone like Joe Frazier come back out of retirement and go back in the ring.

Glen Johnson: (laughing) No, not unless he belongs there. I really like everybody to get a fair shot. If it's going to be damaging to you, then it is not in your best interest. I don't want to be some fighter's motivation to get back in the ring and get hurt.

BoxingScene.com: You are coming off a 12 round decision loss to Antonio Tarver. In your opinion, what could of you done differently in the fight?

Glen Johnson: I could not of done anything. I was just flat that night. My energy level wasn't there. I was just flat. That was the only thing wrong in the fight. It was not what Antonio Tarver did in the fight, it was all the things I didn't do because I was flat. I didn't have my guns and that speaks for itself.

BoxingScene.com: You have the fight coming up on September 30 and Antonio Tarver and Roy Jones are going to battle on October 1, are you hoping to fight the winner?

Glen Johnson: I'm fighting on the 30th, they fight the next day, it won't be a long wait to find out who I go after. It will be more about if I get the win or if I don't get the win. My fight is an elimination bout for the IBF light heavyweight championship. After winning that fight, I would be ranked number one and become the next challenger in line for the IBF title. So if Antonio Tarver or Roy Jones, whoever wins that fight, doesn't want to fight me, then I will just move on to the next best thing, but that will just show what kind of cowards they are.

BoxingScene.com: No fighter would know better than you, since you fought both of them and beat both of them. In your opinion, who do you think is going to win Tarver-Jones 3?

Glen Johnson: I have Jones to win that fight, I give him a small edge. Jones has a lot to prove right now and he is going to take this fight extremely serious. If you take a look at the two fights between Jones and Antonio Tarver, Roy Jones won most of the rounds in those fights. You know that unless there is a knockout, you have to go with Roy Jones as the favorite to win a decision. Antonio Tarver don't win rounds against Roy Jones.

BoxingScene.com: Because of the back to back knockout losses which Roy Jones suffered against you and Antonio Tarver, some experts suggest that Roy may have a suspect chin. Do you think there is any truth to that theory?

Glen Johnson: I would like to think that Jones is no different than everybody else. There are a lot of people that get knocked out and come back from it. Lennox Lewis got knocked out a few times and came back to dominate the division. So I don't think he does.

BoxingScene.com: I believe that you are the only guy to have fought Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr. and Antonio Tarver. Who do you think is the toughest guy between the three?

Glen Johnson: Well, you know I fought them at different times of my career. When I fought I fought Hopkins it was a different time. I didn't have the experience that I have now. Going back to the time I fought Bernard, he was definitely the toughest. If I had to choose, I would say that he was the toughest guy that I was ever in the ring with. He was the most difficult. Everything that I tried against him in the ring that night, he definitely shut it down and did his thing.

Can he do that to me today? I personally don't think so. Would he be as strong and as dominating today as he was then? No. I'm just a different fighter today and more experienced. I'm a much more of a confident fighter today. It would be a totally different fight.

BoxingScene.com: I know that prior to the fight with Roy Jones, there were several attempts made to stage a bout between you and super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe. Every single time the fight was set, it fell apart a week or so later. What exactly happened? Do you think Calzaghe's camp changed their mind about fighting you and saw you as too much of a risk?

Glen Johnson: We can say all we want to and speculate, but I truly believe that Joe Calzaghe does not have any heart and that he is a coward. That is why the fight did not take place. It was postponed three times. I was almost getting ready to leave for the fight. That day I was getting ready to go to the airport and I get a phone call telling me the fight was going to be postponed because he was hurt.

We said ok, they said that he needs two weeks to heal up and he should be ready. They gave us the date for the fight. We trained for two weeks, then it gets canceled again and they give us another date. That date gets canceled and I just said forget it. I need to make money to feed my family and this guy was just jerking me around and wasting my time.

BoxingScene.com: Looking back, it was a blessing in disguise that Calzaghe canceled all of those dates because you landed a fight with Roy Jones instead.

Glen Johnson: Yeah, definitely. My wife now, who was my fiance back then, told me that everything happens for a reason and not to worry about it. I was very upset with everything that was going on with the Joe Calzaghe situation and she kept telling me to calm down and not to worry about it. She said that everything happens for a reason, to pray and let it be. It's hard to calm down in that kind of situation. The Roy Jones fight came along and everything took off from there.

BoxingScene.com: You have had a long career. You won big fights, you won titles, you got some good paydays. How much longer do you want to continue to fight?

Glen Johnson: You know, as long as I am on top of my game. If I spread out all of the money I made throughout my career it is not a lot of money. I've made some decent paydays in a short period of time, but for the long portion of my career I made nothing. I'm trying to cash in on any little stardom that I can generate from over the years and any kind of money that I can still generate. I want to stretch that out as long as I can and secure my future. I'm going to milk the cause for as long as I can and take the safe way out.

BoxingScene.com: If you are unable to secure a fight with either Jones or Tarver, would go for the IBF title shot and then look to unify the division?

Glen Johnson: Yeah, definitely. If they continue to run scared like they are running scared right now, I have no other choice but to go after other guys who might be a little braver and that's what I'll do. I know am the guy to beat in the light heavyweight division and Tarver knows that and that is why he has no interests in the third fight because he knows what will happen in the ring.

BoxingScene.com: Would you ever consider a move to cruiserweight or would you prefer to stay at light heavyweight?

Glen Johnson: I want to make a statement in the light heavyweight division. I want to make it clear to the people and all the fighters that I am the best in the division. After I do that, then I can consider another weight class. Right now I want to make it abundantly clear that I am the guy in the light heavyweight division.

BoxingScene.com: In closing, what do you want to say to the people reading this interview.

Glen Johnson: If there is only one message that I can send to anyone, it would certainly be not giving up on yourself because you only have yourself and that is the only thing that you can rely on and depend on. You should give yourself every chance you can to achieve your goals and you will reach it. Never say cant and never say never.