Boxing News Boxing News
A high stakes clash took place in the light heavyweight division last night at the Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida with former world titlists Glen Johnson and Montell Griffin going at it hammer and tongs in an IBF eliminator.
For eleven rounds they battled it out with the short armed, 5 foot 7 inch tall Griffin using his masterful defensive skills to keep the highly pressurized Johnson at bay.
For awhile it worked, as the 36 year old Griffin kept the even older Johnson from teeing off with his trademark whistling power shots.
But Johnson is hard to dissuade and as the fight swept into the later rounds, “The Road Warrior” began to get closer and closer to his prey, landing some of those hard driving bombs.
Soon Griffin was tiring and unable to dodge an increasing number of Johnson’s right hands, picking up a cut in the process.
By the eleventh frame, Griffin’s fight plan had collapsed and the Chicago native was just looking to survive but Johnson had dialed in the range and was handing his rival a one sided thrashing.
At 2:38 of the round, Griffin’s corner had seen enough and convinced referee Jorge Alonso to stop the bout.
With the win, 38 year old Johnson, 45-11-2 (30), becomes the mandatory challenger for IBF Champion Clinton Woods, a man “Glencoffe” has already faced three times.
Griffin, 48-7 (3), loses the third bout of his last five outings and may have come to the end of the line as far as world title opportunities are concerned.
