It may not be Tyson-Lewis (it may, in fact, be a better fight!), but Saturday night’s Jones-Johnson match is as good a way to get a spiffy new downtown athletic arena going as any.
Though Glen Johnson is the actual holder of the International Boxing Federation’s “World Light Heavyweight Champsionship” (one of many titles offered by a kaleidoscope of different boxing organizations), all eyes at the FedEx Forum Saturday night will be on the challenger, Roy Jones, the erstwhile “best fighter in the world, pound-for-pound,” who hopes to do to Johnson what Hurricane Ivan just did to Jones’ hometown of Pensacola, Florida.
Jones, who has held titles in several different divisions has a record of 39-2, tarnished by only two defeats — one a technical disqualification in a 1997 fight he was handily winning over Montell Griffin (avenged by a one-round knockout in a rematch). The other loss, suffered last May, is more problematic. He was tagged with a solid left by Antonio Tarver in the second round and was out for the count, losing a plethora of light-heavy belts in the process. . This came after a controversial split decision over Tarver in a previous 12-round bout.
Hence, the Johnson fight is widely regarded as a comeback for Jones, though the IBF champion, with a record of 40-9-2, is considered something of a journeyman.
