Friday night at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, former world light heavyweight champion Glen “The Road Warrior” Johnson finally got his chance to put his controversial 2003 draw with Daniel Judah to rest, and he made the most of his opportunity, scoring a near shutout ten round decision over his opponent in the main event of ESPN2 Friday Night Fights.
“It was great to get this victory and right a wrong from six years ago,” said Johnson, who improved to 49-12-2 (33 KOs) with the 99-90, 99-90, 99-89 win that included a first round knockdown of Judah. “Now I’m moving on to right one of the other wrongs of my career, the decision that was taken away from me against Chad Dawson.”
In April of 2008, Johnson lost a hotly disputed 12 round decision to WBC light heavyweight Dawson. Now Johnson wants to settle that score.
“Everyone knows what happened in that first fight, and whether you agree with the decision or not, you have to agree that it was a great fight and that we should do it again, so let’s do it Chad,” said Johnson, who is ranked in the top five by all major sanctioning bodies.
Also winning big on Friday night was 2008 US Olympic team alternate Danny O’Connor, who improved to 4-0 (1 KO) with a clear-cut four round majority decision win over Jamar Saunders. O’Connor won the fight via a 40-36 shutout on two judges’ cards, and on the card of ESPN2 analyst Teddy Atlas, with the third judge amazingly rendering a 38-38 tally in a bout the Framingham native easily won. Seminole Warriors Boxing congratulates Glen and Danny on their big wins.
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“Nothing But Trouble” – Herbie Hide presents his new autobiography
The upcoming fight with Sandro Siproshvili in Cuxhaven on 6th March wasn’t the only thing on Herbie Hide’s mind at the press conference today. The former two-time heavyweight champion is also celebrating the release of his autobiography.
The book, aptly titled “Nothing But Trouble” tells the story of his upbringing in Norwich and his time in boarding schools in Norfolk after arriving in England at the age of ten, before detailing his roller coaster boxing career and his numerous escapades outside of the ring.
“My book tells it like it is,” says Herbie. “Lots of people bring out a book, but nobody has a story like mine. I’m the original bad boy. Everything is in there. You’ll laugh and cry when you read it. I’ve been through so much in my 37 years and my life really has been nothing but trouble, as the title says. But I haven’t finished yet because now I’m going to beat Siproshvili and then go on to be world champion for a third time.”
MIGHTY MIKE VS. VICTOR ORTIZ – HOT LIGHT WELTER’S BATTLE IT OUT MARCH 7TH ON HBO
On March 7th Star Boxing’s world rated light welterweight contender, The Pride of Greece, “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis (21-2- 2,10KO) will meet ESPN.com’s 2008 prospect of the year “Vicious” Victor Ortiz (23-1- 1,18KO) in a 12 round light welterweight championship. The Arnaoutis vs. Ortiz battle will be part of that evening’s live triple header on HBO and will take place at The Tank in San Jose, CA. At stake will be both the USBA light welterweight title, held by Arnaoutis and the NABO light welterweight title, which is held by Ortiz.
“MIGHTY” MIKE ARNAOUTIS
A The 29-year-old Arnaoutis (WBO #6, IBF #7, WBA #11, WBC #12) had a sensational year in 08′ winning all four of his fights and in the process repositioned himself as one of the top light welterweights in the world.
“I said that I would fight anyone and everyone and I am proving that by taking on Ortiz,” said Arnaoutis. “Ortiz is a good fighter, but I’m a great fighter and I will prove that on March 7th. He has never been in with someone of my caliber. He has never been in with someone who is as good and as tough as me. If he thinks by fighting me it’s going to be his coming out party he is making a huge mistake. I can not wait to show the world that “Mighty” Mike is back!”
“This is a significant fight for boxing and especially the light welterweight division,” stated Arnaoutis promoter, Joe DeGuardia, CEO of Star Boxing. “Ortiz has a lot of skills and is certainly one of the hottest fighters out there right now. He was chosen by ESPN.com as the 2008 Prospect of the year, which is a testament to his ability. All that being said, Mike has never been better than now and he is ready for the best his division has to offer. Both of these guys are ranked very high in the major sanctioning bodies (Ortiz ranked as the WBO #4, WBA #5, IBF #9 light welterweight in the world) so the winner clearly will be in line for a world championship.”
Arnaoutis vs. Ortiz on paper alone sets up to be an all-out war. Both southpaws know how to bring it and excite crowds with their fan friendly, guns blazing styles each time they enter the ring. The card is being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing.