by James Slater – Warriors Glen Johnson and Yusaf Mack are both looking forward to their IBF light-heavyweight title fight elimination bout that will take place on the January 30th card topped by Mosley-Berto. A shot at current IBF 175-pound ruler Tavoris Cloud awaits the winner, and the two veterans are in confident mood; Mack especially.
And though the unbeaten and much younger Cloud (age 27 and with a record of 20-0(18) would, in my opinion, prove to be too much for either guy, Mack and Johnson do not agree. But who will win the elimination bout?
Mack, the younger man by over a decade at age 29 compared to age 41 for “The Road Warrior,” is unbeaten as a light-heavyweight. Also having won his last five straight, since his exciting, but losing battle with Mexico’s Librado Andrade in October of 2007, Mack, 28-2-2(17) is on a roll. Far less worn that Johnson appeared to be in his last fight – the wide UD loss Glen suffered at the hands of Chad Dawson in their return meeting – the younger man is my pick to get the win on Jan. 30th. However, as we all know, one can never write off a guy as determined, as experienced and as tough as the former IBF ruler at 175-pounds.
Looking to earn the chance to regain his old belt, Johnson, 49-13-2(33), has all the experience in the world; but how much does he have left? The Jamaican looked slow and somewhat tired against Dawson, but Mack, an orthodox fighter, is not as sharp a boxer as is the unbeaten southpaw champion. And in a slugfest, as the upcoming clash could well turn out to be, Johnson, with his steely chin and great stamina, always has a chance. Mack can box as well as rumble, but he’s no slickster. Could Johnson drag him into a battle of attrition?
Stopped twice in his career (by Andrade, TKO by 7, and by Alejandro Berrio before that, TKO by 6) Mack has been in some tough fights himself, but not as many as has Johnson. Going by recent form, Mack has to be the pick to win, but the fight will not be in any way easy for him; not unless Johnson has gone back an alarming way. Both guys have a recent points win over Daniel Judah, and both guys are quite similar as fighters. Both are old-school and have done things the hard way.
Expect a hard fight for both men at the end of the month, as Mack pounds out a points win over the amazingly durable Johnson (stopped just once, remember, by the great Bernard Hopkins). What the gruelling night’s work leaves the victor with for a fight with Cloud, however, is another question.