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 Stevie Johnston |
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Our Pick: Stevie Johnston
Stevie Johnston deserves fame that matches his frequent-flier miles. The two-time WBC lightweight champion, who calls himself "Little but Bad," has fought for or defended his title in such far-flung locales as Paris, Honolulu, Tokyo, Miami and El Paso. Monday night the Denver native will find himself in London to defend against the regining European lightweight champ, Billy Schwer.
Now that Shane Moseley has moved up in weight, Johnston may get the attention he deserves. Johnston is 28-1 with 14 knockouts. He avenged his single loss -- and regained his title -- against Cesar Bazan last February. He has beaten some of the best names in his division, including Sharmba Mitchell and Demetrios Ceballos. His best fight, however, was last August against Angel Manfredy. The heavily-favored Manfredy lost a one-sided unanimous decision, befuddled by Johnston's quick jabs, head feints and footwork.
His opponent, Billy Schwer, is a veteran British boxer with a 37-3 record and 29 knockouts. Schwer is fast, but his punches are sometimes low. The 29 (European) KO's notwithstanding, Schwer doesn't have the power Manfredy does -- and Johnston was able to stand up to Angel's best body blows. This is Schwer's second title shot -- he lost in 1995 to Rafael Ruelas, his only trip to America.
While Johnston looks best exercising his considerable boxing skills -- and confusing opponents with his southpaw stance -- he can slug toe-to-toe as well. He showed this against Saul Duran in Las Vegas during his second title defense in 1997, where he beat a taller, bigger man on his own terms.
Because the fight is in London, you probably won't get to see this one. But remember Stevie Johnston -- he's a comer.