It?s enough to have a fight worth looking forward to.
Regardless of its status as opening act for the HBO Boxing After Dark broadcast on Saturday, the first attempted defense of the IBF Light Heavyweight title by Tavoris Cloud (20-0, 18 KO) is as easy to look forward to as any fight so far in 2010. It might not have the buzz. It will not have the lead on the marquee.
It does have the ingredients for panting anticipation.
Veteran former titlist Glen Johnson (50-13-2, 34 KO) doesn?t waste much time moving backwards. Neither does Cloud. Put them together and it?s a guaranteed explosion once the bell rings. It?s a fight worth looking forward to and that?s enough.
That?s not all it is though. Cloud-Johnson isn?t happening in a vacuum. On another part of the scale it might be, but Light Heavyweight isn?t just any part of the scale right now.
As noted two weeks ago on the eve of WBA titlist Beibut Shumenov?s successful defense against Vyacheslav Uzelkov (http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=29476), 175 lbs. is reloading right now after a 00?s brimming with stars. Mixing what?s left of those name veterans with young tigers, the possibility of a string of good fights over the next year or three is evident a compliment to the string of good fights which got the division to this weekend.
Let it not be overlooked that, just one week after Cloud-Johnson, fight fans will be treated to another easy to anticipate Light Heavyweight showdown. Division leader Chad Dawson (29-0, 17 KO) and WBC beltholder Jean Pascal (25-1, 16 KO), combined with Cloud-Johnson, gives the division a runoff between its clear top four fighters right now. This comes after a pair of brawls between Pascal and Adrian Diaconu and a run of strong wins for the slick Dawson. Of the matches available from the four who have emerged, only Dawson-Johnson III would feel redundant, Dawson already owning a pair of wins (a clear win in their second contest) over Johnson.
Combine those four with the men involved in the Super Six Super Middleweight tournament seven pounds below, assuming some or all will eventually rise up the scale. Add in the Super Middleweight champ left out of that mix, IBF titlist Lucian Bute (26-0, 21 KO). It?s impossible to look at Light Heavyweight right now and see only the next couple Saturdays.
Given the styles they bring to the ring, it?s also impossible to look past Cloud-Johnson. To say it does not happen in a vacuum is not just an observation about the state of affairs at Light Heavyweight. It is also an observation about the quality of action in 2010.
Quick, name the Fight of the Year so far.
Not so easy is it?
2010 has had some excellent fights to be sure. Mikkel Kessler-Carl Froch at Super Middleweight, Antonio Escalante-Miguel Roman at Featherweight, Yohhny Perez-Abner Mares at Bantamweight and Hugo Cazares-Nobuo Nashiro II at Jr. Bantamweight were all memorable clashes. All fell a little short of a lasting classic, a little short of a clear Fight of the Year.
It may seem hasty to wonder about a fight of such stature already. 2010 has five months to go. There is plenty of time for a pair of warriors to join the pantheon of classics.
It?s worth noting though that, in the last eleven years, only twice has the Fight of the Year not already occurred by August. The exceptions, Marco Antonio Barrera-Erik Morales III in 2004 and Israel Vasquez-Rafael Marquez II in 2007, are enough to remind of how much time remains. Still, going back to the March 1999 118 lb. brawl between Paulie Ayala and Johnny Tapia, boxing fans have seen classics break out early and hold on to their lead more often than not.
2010 will probably be the latest exception to recent trends. It?s worth hoping it is anyways given notable and ongoing letdowns. It?s been a long time since boxing had two or three legitimate, globally significant mega fights on its plate. Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao at Welterweight and either Klitschko brother versus David Haye at Heavyweight fit the bill.
The former isn?t happening, the latter doesn?t look imminent, and the combination of fan disappointment and disdain is palpable and earned. The heavy dose of cynicism, even fatalism, which seems to come with the ?be a boxing fan? manual shouldn?t overrule the senses. Even when the stars don?t align, the right fighters can.
Cloud and Johnson might just be the right fighters.
Or not.
It could end up being less than a classic. The 28-year old Cloud, despite impressive numbers and impressively retiring veterans Julio Gonzalez and Clinton Woods in his last two fights, is still a question mark. He?s got speed, pop, and a chip on his shoulder but he?s also been plagued by inactivity at a time when he probably still needs experience. Johnson could prove a little too ring educated for Cloud on Saturday.
Conversely, Johnson could suddenly act his age this weekend. No matter his ageless appearance at times, Johnson is 41. His body will realize it eventually. It looked like nature might be taking over last year in the Dawson rematch. Johnson bounced back so furiously against Yusaf Mack earlier this year to raise doubt.
Optimism is easier to come by for this match than pessimism.
Over the last decade, Johnson has rarely been in a fight that wasn?t entertaining. Morphed into a come forward, accurate punching tank in the second half of his career, Johnson has brought fans out of their seats over and over. Mauling Roy Jones, splitting with Antonio Tarver, brawling with Woods three times, and taking Dawson to the edge in their first bout were highlights. So was Ring Magazine selecting Johnson has its 2003 Fighter of the Year. The lowlights came, not in terms of action, but in terms of questionable verdicts like a decision loss to Gonzalez and a draw with Daniel Judah, indicative of a record where at least half of the blemishes belonged in the win column.
The only thing missing for Johnson is participation in a consensus choice for Fight of the Year. Faced with a younger opponent who gets hit and comes to land leather, this might be his last, best chance at that honor. An honest, throwback warrior, it would be fitting if it Johnson, win or lose, was involved in a fight that raises the game above the backroom distractions obscuring its better angels in the headlines.
If Cloud-Johnson falls short, if it is just another exciting ?good enough? fight for this calendar year, so be it. There is still more 2010 to come, not the least of which will be experienced in September?s crossroads battle at Featherweight between Juan Manuel Lopez and Rafael Marquez or October?s Super Six showdown between Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham.
It could even end up that, like in 2001 with Mickey Ward-Emanuel Augustus, or 2006 with Somsak Sithchatchawal-Mahyar Monshipour, that the year?s premiere bout will come a little out of left field.
Regardless, it?s always worth being on the lookout, always worth noting what has the look of a classic going in.
Tavoris Cloud-Glen Johnson fits the bill.
Report Card
Rather than break it out separately, it seems appropriate to go to the Cloud-Johnson report card right here.
Tavoris Cloud Age: 28 Title: IBF Light Heavyweight (2009-Present, 1st Attempted Defense Previous Titles: None Height: 5?10 Weight: 174.5 lbs. Average Weight ? Last Five Fights: 175.7 lbs. Hails from: Tallahassee, Florida Record: 20-0, 18 KO BoxingScene Rank: #3 at Light Heavyweight Record in Title Fights: 1-0 Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Defeated: 2 (Julio Gonzalez, Clinton Woods)
Vs.
Glen Johnson Age: 41 Titles: None Previous Titles: Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight (2004-05); IBF Light Heavyweight (2004, 1 Defense) Height: 5?11 Weight: 173 lbs. Average Weight ? Last Five Fights: 174.6 lbs. Hails from: Miami, Florida (Born in Jamaica) Record: 50-13-2, 34 KO BoxingScene Rank: #4 at Light Heavyweight Record in Championship Fights: 3-6-1, 1 KO Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Defeated: 4 (Clinton Woods, Roy Jones, Antonio Tarver, Montell Griffin) Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced in Defeat: 7 (Bernard Hopkins, Sven Ottke, Silvio Branco, Julio Gonzalez, Antonio Tarver, Clinton Woods, Chad Dawson)
Pre-Fight Grades Speed ? Cloud B+; Johnson B Power ? Cloud B+; Johnson B+ Defense ? Cloud B; Johnson B+ Intangibles ? Cloud B; Johnson A
The Pick
If boxing were always determined by youth, speed, and athleticism, Cloud would be an easy pick. Boxing is heavily influenced by those factors, but the skill and nuance of the game is also critical. Johnson has both skill and nuance in abundance and can be assumed to have plenty of his own athleticism left as well. Cloud?s knockout numbers may be better than his power so far, both of his step up fights seeing him land a ton but needing accumulation to get rid of Gonzalez and seeing Woods go the route.
It adds up to a war of attrition, something right up Johnson?s alley and, with an edge in a shell-like forward defense, Johnson is going to force Cloud to work harder than he ever has. Cloud?s going to have to be better in the ring for a long time on Saturday. Doing it will probably mean making adjustments and growing as a fighter on the fly as Johnson lands more on him than Cloud has ever felt.
The feeling here is that Cloud is up to the challenge. Just as Dawson found ways to dig deep the first time against Johnson, so too will a Cloud with lots to prove and the work ethic to do it. Look for a close but clear decision win for the younger, busier man if not a mildly surprising late stoppage of the old war horse.
Weekly Ledger
But wait, there?s more?
Theophane Upsets Rodriguez: http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=29708 Marquez-Diaz II: http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=29769 Divisional Ratings Update: http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=29818 Picks of the Week: http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=29793
Cliff?s Notes?While the focus here is on the undercard, no insult is intended for the HBO main event between Devon Alexander and Andriy Kotelnik. That?s an excellent pairing in its own right, but expect more purist delight than violent sight there. A separate report card for that one should be published concurrent to this article on the BoxingScene homepage?Might have said it the first time it came up, but just in case not, allow it to be said here: Floyd Mayweather and Don King is a marriage the world needs to see. The entertainment value, the press conferences, and the inevitable nuclear explosion at the end would all be worth following?Daniel Jacobs probably loses to Dmitry Pirog anyways last Saturday, but he still should have received his full ten count?Alexander Povetkin being bumped from the IBF ratings is makes sense but was there anyone in the last couple years, or even now, who really did anything to bump past him? That?s a sad question with an obvious answer.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at [email protected]
