by Geoffrey Ciani – Undefeated IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud (21-0, 18 KOs) made the first defense of his title when he defeated veteran Glen Johnson (50-14-2, 34 KOs) by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 116-112 for the 28 year old champion. It was an entertaining scrap that should prove to be a valuable learning experience for Cloud.
Both fighters began tactically at the onset with each man trying to establish the jab. Cloud was clearly the faster fighter and appeared to have more pop behind his punches. Cloud was more successful with his jab overall but Johnson began finding the mark with his own towards the end of the round. Johnson used this momentum to continue fighting effectively in the second where he even managed to hurt Cloud with a couple of well placed right hands, but Cloud came back with some good leather of his own in an action packed round.
Cloud appeared to regain control of the fight in rounds three and four. Both fighters seemed content exchanging shots in close quarters. A nice right-left combination from Cloud staggered Johnson in the fifth. It was a glancing shot with the right that landed behind Johnson’s head as he ducked, and it was followed up by a brilliant left hook that caught Johnson high on the temple. Johnson persevered and regained his equilibrium showing the type of heart and determination that has defined his career.
After absorbing more punishment to open the sixth, Johnson came on and began finding success later in the round. He was committing to the body and seemed to slow Cloud down somewhat. Johnson continued fighting well in the seventh when things began slowing down. Cloud seemed to hurt Johnson again in the eighth, but in round nine Johnson simply outworked Cloud with activity. His punches did not have much on them and were mostly of the pitter-patter variety, but he was throwing and landing and it almost appeared that Cloud decided to take a round off.
Cloud regained momentum over the final three rounds. He was doing the better work on the inside and his punches looked much sharper. Johnson gave it his all, but he just was unable to cope with the youth and energy of the younger champion. It was an impressive victory for Cloud who showed good punching power, an outstanding chin, and championship heart and determination. It was the type of fight which should prove beneficial for Cloud in the future.
Where does Cloud go from here? The obvious direction is to take on the winner of next week’s showdown between WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (25-1, 16 KOs) and the highly regarded Chad Dawson (29-0, 17 KOs). This should be a great fight and although many are expecting Dawson (who is widely viewed as the best 175 pound fighter in the world) to win, Pascal is an outstanding boxer/puncher who is more than capable of giving Dawson fits. Whoever comes out on top in this one becomes the logical choice for Cloud.
Johnson is a common opponent for both Cloud and Dawson. Many observers felt Johnson did enough to earn a victory in his first fight with Dawson, but in the rematch ‘Bad’ Chad boxed his way to a clear decision. Cloud managed to do better in terms of imposing his will on Johnson. While Dawson used slickness and quickness to outbox him, Cloud embraced more of a warrior mentality and displayed a willingness to go toe-to-toe with the tough veteran fighter. In many ways, Cloud represents a younger, stronger, faster version of Johnson. Styles make fights but considering the trouble Johnson gave Dawson in their first encounter, the prospects of a fight between Cloud and Dawson are quite interesting. Dawson, however, must first get past Pascal before this can become a reality and that is not a given.
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