Will Glen Johnson’s heat be enough to put Tavoris Cloud out of the kitchen?
Before Devon Alexander prepares to go out in front of his hometown crowd on August 7 and attempt to give his audience a dominating performance against Andriy Kotelnik, the fight before the main event may prove to be the best fight of the night, thus, stealing the show from the hometown kid. Live from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO, two fighters who give nothing but fits to their opponents with their warring styles will meet in the 175 pound weight division. The undefeated Tavoris Cloud will face the ever-aging Glen Johnson for Tavoris’s IBF Light Heavyweight title. Will Johnson still be packing some heat when he steps into the ring against Cloud? If so, this fight has potential fight of the year written all over it.
Tale of the Tape: Cloud vs. Johnson Preview
Tavoris Cloud is 28 years old, with 28 wins and no losses. He stands at 5 foot 10 inches tall and he fights out of the orthodox stance.
Glen “Road Warrior” Johnson is 41 years old with 50 wins, 13 losses and 2 fights ending in a draw. Johnson stands at 5 foot 11 inches tall, with a 75 inch reach, and he also fights out of the orthodox stance.
An Inside Look at Tavoris Cloud
Cloud is the current IBF Light Heavyweight Champion. Since he started boxing at the age of 16 years old, Tavoris Karod Cloud has been boxing to avoid the poverty stricken environment he grew up in. Born in Tallahassee, Florida, the undefeated champion had a decent amateur career with 48 wins and 8 losses, while losing in the finals of the 2002 United States Championships.
After he finished his amateur career, Cloud turned professional in 2004, and ever since has been blowing away his competition with his straightforward non-stop punching style. Cloud has yet to lose a fight yet, with noted victories over Jose Luis Herrera, Julio Caesar Gonzalez and Clinton Woods.
In Cloud’s last fight he fought Englishman Clinton Woods for the then vacant IBF Light Heavyweight title. Woods was overwhelmed by Cloud’s work rate and power, which led to a unanimous decision victory for Cloud, keeping his unblemished record intact.
An Inside Look at Glen Johnson
Glen “Road Warrior” Johnson is one of those fighters in boxing who throughout his career is known for not getting the decision victories he deserved in a lot of those fights. Johnson is also one of those fighters in boxing that will always be dubbed by most boxing fans as the “Hero” or as the good guy.
Since starting his boxing journey at the age of 20, the Jamaican born Johnson fought his amateur career in Miami, FL, compiling an amateur record of 35 wins 5 losses, and won the Florida State Golden Gloves competition twice.
“The Road Warrior”, also known as the “Gentlemen”, started his professional career in 1993, with notable wins over a great deal of world class fighters such as Roy Jones Jr., Antonio Tarver, Eric Harding, Montell Griffin and Clinton Woods. Also, Johnson gave “Bad” Chad Dawson a run for his money in their first fight against each other in 2008. Dawson was awarded the unanimous decision victory, but many boxing fans and experts feel that Dawson lost the fight.
In Johnson’s last fight, he was matched up with a boxer who ran off five straight victories coming into the fight, Philadelphia’s Yusef Mack. The fight was a Light Heavyweight Title Eliminator. Johnson once again at the age of 41 proved in the fight that he still has pressure for days as he impressively stopped Mack in the sixth round and grabbed another title shot.
Cloud vs. Johnson Prediction
In this fight, I expect both fighters to come straight forward and start throwing bombs because neither fighter knows any other way to fight, but to just bring it. In saying this, though, Cloud throws so many punches in a round that for the first time in Johnson’s career, he is facing a fighter in the 175 pound division that throws more punches than him, so Johnson will need to be the fighter that needs to box more in the fight. Cloud also wields a tremendous amount of power, although in many ways he’s still a raw fighter.
Even though Cloud is the up and coming undefeated fighter, he has not been tested by a warrior such as Johnson. Can Johnson keep the energy up long enough to give the untested Cloud problems? If so, this could be another upset fight for Johnson in his quest to always beat people he’s expected to lose against. But if Johnson becomes old overnight, then it could be a great night for Cloud, which could set up what a lot of boxing fans would like to see, a fight with “Bad” Chad Dawson, one of the best pound for pound boxers in the sport today. At the end of day, I feel both fighters will be in the fight down the stretch on August 7, but once again the judges will seal Johnson’s fate
Prediction: Cloud by Split Decision.
