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An injury has forced former two-time World Boxing Council lightweight champion Stevie “Lil’ But Bad” Johnston (38-3-1, 17 KOs) to pull out of his May 26 championship fight against Herman “Black Panther” Ngoudjo (13-0, 9 KOs) at the South Coast Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
In his March 31st fifth-round TKO win against Roberto Ortega in Tampa, Johnston suffered an 11-stitch cut under his right eye, the result of an unintentional head-butt, as well as a hand injury.
“Stevie’s doctor advised him not to box for 60 days,” Silverhawk Boxing CEO Tim Doyle reported. “He’s disappointed, naturally, but he should be back fighting in June. We still plan on promoting the May 26th show at South Coast with a new main event. Silverhawk Boxing looks forward to working with the WBC in the future.”
The Memorial Day weekend show was slated to be contested for Johnston’s IBO light welterweight title and Ngoudjo’s NABF belt.
“In my opinion,” Dr. Nicholas A. Coppola said, “Mr. Johnston should not participate in any sporting events for the next eight weeks, including boxing, due to a recent injury to his right eye and to his left hand. This patient has X-rays pending for the hand, and the eye laceration was severe.”
Johnston, rated No. 7 by the World Boxing Council, also is the reigning NABC light welterweight champion. His list of victims includes seven world champions: Sharmba Mitchell, Jean Baptiste Mendy, Saul Duran, Cesar Bazan, James Page, Alejandro Gonzalez, and Angel Manfredy. He also has beaten nine other major world title challengers and fought a draw with Jose Luis Castillo, in
which, Stevie was awarded a victory only to find out 30-minutes after the fight that a scoring error had been discovered resulting in the draw.
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