- 4 months ago
Stevie Johnston tries to regain the WBC Lightweight Title from Cesar Bazan on HBO Boxing After Dark.
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00:00:00Totally agreed on every point.
00:00:02Still to come tonight, a lightweight battle for the championship held by Cesar Bazan.
00:00:08The opponent, Stevie Johnston, whose only loss in his career was to Bazan last summer.
00:00:13Johnston with revenge on his mind.
00:00:14Let's look ahead to some upcoming programs here on HBO Sports.
00:00:18On March 6th, watch for David Reed against 154-pound champion Laurent Boudouane.
00:00:24Gold medalist Reed attempting to win his first world title in just his 12th professional fight.
00:00:28Also, that night's seemingly indestructible loose average takes on Lance Mount Whittaker.
00:00:33Two weeks later, Boxing After Dark returns with more heavyweights.
00:00:36Ike Ibeabuchi, best known for his thrilling decision over David Tua, takes on another excellent fighter, Chris Bird.
00:00:42Also, Canadian Kirk Johnson and Al Ice Cole fight a rematch of their Rock'em, Sock'em majority draw from December.
00:00:49On March 8th, HBO presents the next edition of Sports of the 20th Century, Dare to Compete, the Struggle of Women in Sports.
00:00:56This historical documentary chronicles the history of women in sports, depicting how the suffrage movement, the 60s, and Title IX helped set the stage for today's women athletes.
00:01:05That's in nine days, right here on HBO.
00:01:07Back live at Miccosukee with the tale of the tape for the lightweight world championship battle between Cesar Bazan, 24 years old, and 26-year-old Stevie Johnston.
00:01:20We told you about the 7-inch height differential, 8-inch reach differential, both in favor of Bazan tonight.
00:01:27They're one pound apart at 143 and 144.
00:01:29Any illuminating punch stat insights, Larry?
00:01:34All that we know is Bazan won a split decision in that fight last June, and the numbers suggest that he earned that split decision, landing more big punches than Johnston.
00:01:48And rules of the bout with our unofficial ringside scorer, Harold Letterman.
00:01:55Jim, once again, Cesar Bazan and Stevie Johnston are going to fight for 12 rounds using those unified rules of the Association of Boxing Commissioners.
00:02:02Jim, the key rule here is the accidental butt rule.
00:02:05You know, when you get a little guy fighting a big guy, certainly you've got to look for an accidental headbutt.
00:02:09We go four rounds before we go to the scorecards if there's a cut.
00:02:13Before that, it's a technical draw.
00:02:15Back to you, Jim.
00:02:16All right, Harold, at 11.30 at night on the East Coast here, there's a premium on short walkouts,
00:02:22and fortunately, we've got them as we get ready to watch Denver, Colorado's own Stevie Johnston come into the ring.
00:02:30He worked out away from Denver in training for his first matchup with Bazan, and his handlers say that was a big mistake.
00:02:37But Stevie is the kind of guy who is only happy when he's training at home,
00:02:42and they will not again allow him to get ready for a big fight outside the confines of Denver.
00:02:50He can't stand to miss a Broncos game.
00:02:53He can't stand to miss a Nuggets game unless he absolutely has to.
00:02:58Close to look at Stevie Johnston, Larry.
00:02:59He's defeated three current champions, John Paul Bendy, tough Frenchman,
00:03:06Sarimba Mitchell, a 140-pound title holder, and James Page, a 147-pound title holder during his career.
00:03:15As an amateur, he fought Shane Mosley three times and defeated him once.
00:03:20He is a quality prize fighter.
00:03:22And who do you suppose, of course, is the professional fighter he'd most like to get a fight with?
00:03:27Shane Mosley.
00:03:29Incidentally, those three amateur fights were all 3-2 decisions.
00:03:32Here comes Cesar Bazan.
00:03:37Engaging, personable young man from Mexico.
00:03:40He beat Johnston last June in El Paso in a stadium filled with 46,000 people,
00:03:49third largest live game for boxing matches in the USA here in the last 50 years.
00:03:54The big attraction that night was Oscar De La Hoya against Patrick Charpentier.
00:03:58But Johnston's handlers like to say that the largely Mexican and Mexican-American crowd
00:04:03helped to influence the judges at ringside and therefore helped to give Bazan victory.
00:04:10Closer look at Cesar Bazan.
00:04:15Certainly the tallest light heavyweight title holder I can recall.
00:04:19Lightweight.
00:04:20Sorry, lightweight title holder.
00:04:22Mexico's ninth lightweight champion.
00:04:25And he, too, wants Shane Mosley.
00:04:28The winner tonight probably will get Shane Mosley.
00:04:32So if the fourth man in the ring in the first fight was Roy Jones,
00:04:36the fourth man in the ring in this fight is Shane Mosley.
00:04:39Let's go up right now to the other man in the ring, Michael Buffer.
00:04:42Ladies and gentlemen from Miccosukee Indian Gaming located here on the Miccosukee Indian Reservation
00:04:50of South Florida, Bob Arum's Top Rank Incorporated presents the rematch.
00:04:5612 rounds of boxing for the WBC Lightweight Championship of the World.
00:05:05Sanctioned by the Miccosukee Athletic Commission.
00:05:08Chairman, Billy Cypress.
00:05:10Vice Chairman, Jasper Nelson.
00:05:12Commissioners, Andrew Burt, Max Billy, and Jerry Cypress.
00:05:17Executive Director, Don Hazleton.
00:05:19Physicians at ringside, Dr. Stanley Simpson and Dr. Ramon Garcia Septien.
00:05:26Timekeeper at the bell, Alberto Hernandez.
00:05:29And counting for the knockdown seconds, alternate referee, Max Parker Jr.
00:05:34This ballot is also sanctioned by the World Boxing Council, President Jose Suleiman,
00:05:39Supervisor at ringside for the WBC, Hector Garcia.
00:05:43The three judges scoring this ballot, scoring it on a 10-point bus system, will be Memo Ayon
00:05:53of Mexico, Anik Hongtongkam from Thailand, and Michael Pernick from Florida.
00:05:59And when the bell rings, your referee in charge of the action, Tommy Kimmins.
00:06:04And now, from Miccosukee, Indian Gaming of South Florida, for the sold-out crowd in attendance,
00:06:12and the millions watching around the world on HBO, ladies and gentlemen, let's get ready
00:06:22to rumble!
00:06:23Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner, wearing blue, trimmed with white.
00:06:36He weighs 134 and one-half pounds.
00:06:39He comes to us from the mile-high city of Denver, Colorado, and brings a professional record
00:06:45of 25 victories, 14 by knockout, with only one defeat.
00:06:50Tonight, he plans to avenge that single blemish on his record, and recapture the title.
00:06:57Ladies and gentlemen, here is the challenger, former world lightweight champion, his little
00:07:05but bad, Stevie Jokston!
00:07:09And his opponent, fighting out of the red corner, he's wearing white, green, and red, and also
00:07:21weighed in at 134 and one-half pounds.
00:07:25He also has an outstanding record, consisting of 37 bouts, 34 victories, 23 by knockout, with
00:07:33only two losses and one draw, ladies and gentlemen, from Mexico City, Mexico, presenting the reigning
00:07:41and defending WBC lightweight champion of the world, Cesar Bazaar!
00:07:51Chief Sackett Soli.
00:08:01Chief Sackett Soli.
00:08:02Chief Sackett.
00:08:03Chief Sackett.
00:08:04Chief Sackett.
00:08:05Gentlemen, this fight is for the championship of the world, and I gave you the instructions.
00:08:09I want to remind you that this audience is here to watch you fight, so keep it clean.
00:08:14Touch him up.
00:08:15Touch him up.
00:08:16Touch him up.
00:08:17Touch him up.
00:08:18Roy, Stevie Jokston still looks like a point guard, and Cesar Bazaar still looks like a power
00:08:21forward.
00:08:22How can Jokston change what happened last June?
00:08:26I don't know, Larry Executive, but it's going to be a difficult task however he does it, because
00:08:34the problem is that Bazaar fights like a port guard.
00:08:38Yeah, it's an interesting conundrum, because the classic strategy here for Johnston would
00:08:44be to get inside, get to the body, work the ribcage, but Bazaar, as you mentioned in the
00:08:50previous fight, Roy, likes to fight inside.
00:08:53He's unusually gifted for a tall, lanky fighter in that regard.
00:08:56He loves it, and does a terrific job of fighting inside.
00:08:59So what Miguel Diaz, the assistant trainer in Johnston's Corner, told us yesterday is,
00:09:05Stevie has to remember to get in, do his damage, and come back out.
00:09:10He doesn't think that Bazaar can fight at all from the outside, and Miguel Diaz, in theory,
00:09:15should know, because he was once Cesar Bazaar's trainer.
00:09:19Well, he should know.
00:09:20Did you cut your guts?
00:09:22The very bouncy Stevie Johnston coming in on a high-energy groove, and Bazaar lands a hard right hand, and Johnston fires back with the left.
00:09:47Stevie, incidentally, Roy, insists to us that he must wear brand-new boxing shoes straight out of the box,
00:09:54fresh, never before worn for every boxing match.
00:09:57Strange, right?
00:09:58No, and not strange.
00:09:59Now you like it?
00:10:00It might make him feel brand new.
00:10:02He want everything about you to feel new.
00:10:04You wouldn't worry about blisters?
00:10:05Nope.
00:10:06All right.
00:10:07Well, then you're in sync with Johnston.
00:10:10If you win the fight, you won't worry about blisters either.
00:10:12That's exactly what he said.
00:10:14He said, I want to feel like everything I have on is brand new.
00:10:17The trunks, the robe, the boots, everything.
00:10:21Well, he's fighting a semi-new fight.
00:10:24He is going in and out.
00:10:25He's not trying to stand chest-to-chest with the bigger guy.
00:10:32Yeah, but meanwhile, Bazaar doesn't look exactly ineffective from the outside as he fires his jab
00:10:37and brings a left hook behind it.
00:10:40Doesn't look ineffective at all from the outside.
00:10:43Bazaar getting to the body, firing his right hand behind the jab.
00:10:48And generally looking just as comfortable as he did in the ring eight months ago in El Paso.
00:10:57Get him up, Cesar.
00:11:00Johnston had a shot with the right hand as Bazaar was backing away.
00:11:05Didn't really get any mustard on the punch.
00:11:07Bazaar lands a hard right hand there.
00:11:12Left hand upstairs for Johnston.
00:11:14One good thing about Bazaar that I like is that it never seems like he's set to punch,
00:11:26but he's always going to retaliate.
00:11:28And he has a sneaky straight right lead from the outside.
00:11:30So whoever said he can't fight from the outside is definitely wrong.
00:11:33Well, they fought 12 rounds in El Paso, and none of them were as good as that round that they just fought there.
00:11:40It looks like we might have more of an action fight this time around.
00:11:48Everything's okay. Everything's calm.
00:11:51Interpreter Hector Garcia in Bazaar's corner.
00:11:54Cesar.
00:11:55Everything that we've been working in the gym, you didn't even throw it once that hook.
00:12:01You have to get closer to him and don't forget.
00:12:03Keep him up. Both sides. Keep him up.
00:12:05Very good. But don't stay too long.
00:12:09It's incomplete enough.
00:12:12Stay focused. Stay focused.
00:12:13Very good.
00:12:14All night long. All night long.
00:12:18Take a step back. Just take a step back.
00:12:21Okay. Deep breath. Deep breath. You're doing real good.
00:12:24Okay.
00:12:25Johnson very active.
00:12:27Very straight punches.
00:12:29A primo round for the once and perhaps future title holder.
00:12:41Stevie Johnston still up on his toes and firing the left hand to begin round two.
00:12:51Just a much higher energy level than he seemed to show in El Paso.
00:12:56In the case of Johnston.
00:12:58Mazan looks much the same.
00:13:01One thing in Johnston's favor is that tonight the crowd is not against him so much.
00:13:08When we were in Mexico, everybody was against him.
00:13:11Right.
00:13:12Or a few miles from Mexico, anyway.
00:13:14Yeah. El Paso.
00:13:16Great. No punching. No punching.
00:13:17Hot night in the border town, it was.
00:13:20The night the light trusses almost came down.
00:13:2350-mile-an-hour winds strafing the stadium.
00:13:29Mazan landing his left jab, keeping it in Stevie Johnston's face.
00:13:34Johnston working to get in and get out.
00:13:37Johnston's landed some very good battle shots early in this fight.
00:13:40Part of his bread and butter.
00:13:43Johnston's landing a left hook, chopping off the side of Johnston's face.
00:13:50Johnston's so far fighting a very intelligent fight, a fight that he planned.
00:14:06He's fighting according to plan here.
00:14:09In, out, throw his punches, and get out.
00:14:12You can jab much better, too.
00:14:14He's out jabbing the taller Kazan.
00:14:21Higher activity level, much more accurate with his punches so far
00:14:25than he seemed to be in El Paso last year.
00:14:28No, no punching. No punching.
00:14:30You just have to be careful not to run into any of those big punches of Kazan authority.
00:14:34And this is taking nothing away from Kazan, because he's not off to a bad start.
00:14:38He's just facing a different Stevie Johnston.
00:14:40Good double right hand there by Cesar Bazan.
00:15:01So far, the point guard is going to the basket, Roy.
00:15:06Yeah, he is.
00:15:13But the poor forward ain't doing too bad himself.
00:15:16This is a hard, demanding sport.
00:15:19Nothing about it is easy.
00:15:21The long work in the gym waiting for fight night,
00:15:24excruciatingly difficult for a lot of fighters,
00:15:26but you can just see here, as you watch this,
00:15:29two guys who like to fight.
00:15:31The fluid freedom that they have in the ring.
00:15:33Two guys who love to fight.
00:15:35You mentioned, Larry, Shane Mosley, the fourth man in the ring.
00:15:45How about some potential opponents down the road for Sugar Shane?
00:15:50Well, we're looking at two of them right here.
00:15:53Stevie Johnson and Cesar Bazan.
00:15:56And, of course, Ivory Robinson, the Philadelphia lightweight.
00:16:03He defeated Arturo Gatti twice last year.
00:16:06And has a fight upcoming against Angel Manfredi.
00:16:10Trained by the same Bowie Fisher whom you saw earlier this evening
00:16:13in the corner of Will Taylor.
00:16:15He's getting inside.
00:16:16He's getting inside.
00:16:17He's getting inside.
00:16:18Use combination.
00:16:19One, two.
00:16:20Okay.
00:16:21Listen to me so you can win this championship.
00:16:22You have to listen to me.
00:16:23One, two, one, two.
00:16:24One, two.
00:16:25What are you going to do when you get there?
00:16:26Hit him.
00:16:27Use that left heel.
00:16:29Hit him.
00:16:30Hit him.
00:16:31Hit him.
00:16:32Hit him.
00:16:33Hit him.
00:16:34Hit him.
00:16:35Let's go second.
00:16:36CompuBox numbers through round two.
00:16:37Shachini Johnston landing 35% of his punches.
00:16:39That's a significant rise from last year in El Paso.
00:16:42Let's go.
00:16:43Bazan limited to 23% in the first two rounds.
00:16:46Not as high as was his connect percentage down in the border town.
00:16:53So Bazan comes out trying to work his jab
00:16:56and back Johnston up a little bit to begin round three.
00:16:59Because he was getting out-jabbed in the first two rounds,
00:17:01so now he's trying to change the momentum a little bit.
00:17:05And, of course, you have the southpaw against conventional fighter problem here.
00:17:10Stevie Johnston steps inside and lands a hard body shot.
00:17:19If you're in Bazan's position in this fight,
00:17:21you have to worry about headbutts.
00:17:23It's an extra consideration inside.
00:17:25Most fighters say,
00:17:28Oh, I don't worry about them.
00:17:29If they're going to happen, they're going to happen.
00:17:30But logic tells you it's got to be at least in the back of your mind.
00:17:33Yes, especially when you're fighting a smaller southpaw.
00:17:36A shorter southpaw, she'll say.
00:17:38It's got to be a distraction.
00:17:44Stevie Johnson can't make the mistake of letting Bazan get off first
00:17:47like he let him do right there.
00:17:48Good quick right hook inside by Johnston
00:17:50after Bazan had landed a right hand in the body.
00:17:52Bazan with a left hook inside.
00:17:54Johnston firing the counter back.
00:17:56Bazan is landing that straight right lead at wheel against Johnson.
00:18:05Both fighters landing punches inside again there.
00:18:11Stevie Johnson beating Cesar Bazan to the punch inside,
00:18:14something he wasn't able to do in El Paso.
00:18:20Oh, that guy here right there is going to be a big problem in this fight he continues to get hit with.
00:18:26Straight right hand again for Bazan.
00:18:42Have you had this referee before, Tommy Kimmons?
00:18:45Yeah, I have. I think of some of my earlier fights, Joe.
00:18:49He's a very good referee. Used to be a fighter himself.
00:18:51Yeah, I have, I think, in some of my earlier fights, Jim.
00:18:53He's a very good referee, used to be a fighter himself,
00:18:56and I always like to see guys that know how to do the sport
00:18:59that have been in there before, referee fights.
00:19:00They make better referees to me.
00:19:02Right. In an uneven crop here in Florida,
00:19:05my memory tells me he's one of the best.
00:19:08Cesar Bazan stepping up the activity level here in round three,
00:19:12and Johnson catches him on the back of the head,
00:19:15and Kimmons is going to give Bazan a rest for a moment.
00:19:21Kimmons sending Stevie Johnston to a neutral corner.
00:19:27Does Bazan get five full minutes here, Harold, if he wants it?
00:19:31It is an accidental foul, but I've never seen a guy get hurt like that
00:19:35on a rabbit punch.
00:19:36He hit him in the back of the head, it's a rabbit punch.
00:19:38I mean, and Bazan turns away like he's dead.
00:19:40I mean, it's very strange. It really is.
00:19:42Well, I think he was hurt. I think it hit him on the neck.
00:19:45Are you ready to go?
00:19:49There's a lot of nerve endings in there,
00:19:51and I thought that was a legitimate response from him.
00:19:54It wasn't really a hard push to the back of the head.
00:19:56No, it wasn't, but if you hit a guy in the right spot,
00:19:59it can discombobulate him for a while.
00:20:02Or maybe Bazan wants to change the momentum of the fight a little bit.
00:20:05But I thought he was doing well in this round.
00:20:08Are you ready to go? Are you ready to go?
00:20:11You want to see a doctor?
00:20:13Let me get a doctor.
00:20:14I know, I know.
00:20:15Come over here. Come over here.
00:20:16Come over here.
00:20:17Now, Kimmins is going to bring a doctor in to talk to Bazan.
00:20:21Do they have a doctor who speaks Spanish?
00:20:23Bazan doesn't speak English.
00:20:25Yes, they do have a doctor who speaks Spanish.
00:20:26Okay, you're not going to give him an MRI.
00:20:32All right.
00:20:39One point.
00:20:39Our interpreter.
00:20:41And now Kimmins decides to take the point away.
00:20:45Well, I don't understand that.
00:20:47Just after I've said the guy's a good referee,
00:20:49if he was going to take the point away,
00:20:50why didn't he take it away before?
00:20:51Jim, let me tell you, that's what he wanted.
00:20:53I mean, that was the purpose of the whole thing.
00:20:55He wanted that one point.
00:20:57I tell you, it wasn't fair.
00:20:58It wasn't fair to Stevie Johnson.
00:21:00Not at all.
00:21:00You just don't understand
00:21:02how a referee can take the point away
00:21:04at the end of the entire sequence
00:21:06instead of when the foul occurred.
00:21:11And a newly motivated Stevie Johnston
00:21:13goes back to work.
00:21:14How do you feel?
00:21:25How do you feel?
00:21:28You have to throw punches.
00:21:32You have to keep throwing more punches.
00:21:34You're not throwing enough.
00:21:38Lift your head up.
00:21:39Lift your head up.
00:21:40Put some Vaseline there.
00:21:43Put some ice in there.
00:21:47You hear me?
00:21:48Tim.
00:21:50And he just won a quick.
00:21:51He's looking for a way out, baby.
00:21:53Give him a way out.
00:21:53Give him a way out.
00:21:55Give him a way out.
00:21:56You hear me?
00:21:58Take a look.
00:21:59It's obviously an unintentional punch here
00:22:02as he comes up from the back.
00:22:03Might not have been the hardest punch,
00:22:07but it wasn't a tap either.
00:22:10And it didn't look very good
00:22:12sitting on the stool in the corner, Roy.
00:22:14No, he didn't.
00:22:16Well, maybe he doesn't like the fact
00:22:18that Stevie Johnston landed
00:22:1931 of 71 punches in the round.
00:22:22Most of them power shots.
00:22:23Bazzan landing 26 out of 72.
00:22:28Very active fight
00:22:29compared to what happened in El Paso.
00:22:31Johnston forcing the issue tonight.
00:22:34Hard, straight right hand lands for Stevie.
00:22:36And Bazzan comes back
00:22:38with a right and a left
00:22:39and another hard right.
00:22:48Where Bazzan won a tactical boxing match
00:22:51on the inside in El Paso,
00:22:52a fight has broken out in Miami.
00:23:06Bazzan nodding to Johnson
00:23:07and smiling as if to say,
00:23:09yeah, you're on tonight.
00:23:22Oh, that right hand right there
00:23:25is just a problem, Jim.
00:23:26Yeah.
00:23:27That's good left hand by Stevie, though.
00:23:29But you're right.
00:23:30Bazzan is still landing
00:23:31his straight right hand.
00:23:33And if he throws it more often,
00:23:34it'll pose a bigger problem.
00:23:38There it is.
00:23:39There it is again.
00:23:40And there's the left hand
00:23:42from Stevie again.
00:23:43You can't keep getting hit
00:23:44with that right hand, though.
00:23:45Green break.
00:23:46Let him go.
00:23:48They're both getting hit tonight.
00:23:49Forced to uppercut
00:23:54from outside by Bazzan.
00:23:56Johnston landing
00:23:57two hard shots inside.
00:23:59Stevie ducking away
00:24:00and coming back with a left.
00:24:01Blood trickling
00:24:02from the right nostril
00:24:03of Stevie Johnston.
00:24:04That, no doubt,
00:24:05the product of Cesar Bazzan's
00:24:07straight right hand.
00:24:07Come on.
00:24:08Come on.
00:24:09Come on.
00:24:09Come on.
00:24:10Come on.
00:24:10Come on.
00:24:11Come on.
00:24:11Come on.
00:24:12Come on.
00:24:12Come on.
00:24:13Come on.
00:24:13Come on.
00:24:14Come on.
00:24:14Come on.
00:24:15Come on.
00:24:15Come on.
00:24:16Come on.
00:24:17Come on.
00:24:17Come on.
00:24:17Come on.
00:24:18Come on.
00:24:18Come on.
00:24:19Come on.
00:24:19Come on.
00:24:19Come on.
00:24:20Come on.
00:24:20Come on.
00:24:20Come on.
00:24:21Come on.
00:24:21Come on.
00:24:22Come on.
00:24:22Come on.
00:24:22Come on.
00:24:23Come on.
00:24:23Come on.
00:24:24Come on.
00:24:24That's Stevie Johnston.
00:24:25That's Stevie Johnston.
00:24:25He's one tough warrior, Jim.
00:24:26I don't think the blood coming out
00:24:31of his nostril is going to bother Stevie.
00:24:32No, not at all.
00:24:33Just more satisfying evidence
00:24:36that he's in a real fight.
00:24:37Oh, good left hand.
00:24:41Just as Bazzan is landing lead
00:24:44right of hands,
00:24:45Johnston is landing lead left.
00:24:54Great.
00:24:55New puncher.
00:24:55Yeah, right.
00:25:02That's how he's good.
00:25:03Right here.
00:25:06So what was a body shot chess match in Texas last summer
00:25:10becomes a power shot roar in Miami to our great
00:25:14satisfaction on boxing after that.
00:25:25How do you feel?
00:25:26How do you feel?
00:25:27You feeling OK?
00:25:28You are falling asleep, Cesar.
00:25:36You have to help us win this fight.
00:25:38You have to win this fight.
00:25:40It's a must.
00:25:41You're falling asleep in that ring.
00:25:42Move side to side.
00:25:44Use that left hook.
00:25:46Use your legs.
00:25:48Use your legs.
00:25:49Use your legs.
00:25:50Use your legs.
00:25:51You got beautiful legs.
00:25:52Don't you use them, am I?
00:25:53All right?
00:25:57OK, let me have that.
00:26:01Here we see Johnson catching that straight right hand,
00:26:08but coming right back, a left and a right,
00:26:12using his little man quickness to overcome the bigger guy.
00:26:18CompuBox numbers giving Johnson credit
00:26:20for 37 out of 50 power shots in round four.
00:26:2474% connect percentage.
00:26:26Lassan, however, doing damage with those right-hand leads.
00:26:29Harold Letterman, how do you have it through the first four?
00:26:31Jim, I'll tell you, I got it three rounds for Stevie Johnson,
00:26:35one round even, because I thought he won that round
00:26:37where Tommy Kibbins took away a point,
00:26:39but when Kibbins takes away the point,
00:26:41it becomes 9-9, an even round.
00:26:43So 39-36, little Stevie Johnson.
00:26:46He's getting inside, landed a stronger left-hand shot,
00:26:48winning every round by getting in,
00:26:50getting open shots, and getting out.
00:26:59Johnston spending more and more time in close with Pazan now,
00:27:06less and less of the moving in and out,
00:27:09which was so obvious as the battle plan in rounds one and two.
00:27:14And as Johnston stays inside more and more against Pazan,
00:27:18he may play more and more into Pazan's strength,
00:27:21fighting on the inside.
00:27:23He may feel, Jim, that Pazan is weakening somehow.
00:27:29You can see both of Pazan's eyes
00:27:31seem to be swelling up a little bit.
00:27:33Yeah, Pazan doesn't seem to like the power push he does.
00:27:35Steve was hitting him with tonight, either.
00:27:37Steve, he's hitting him a lot harder tonight
00:27:38than he did last summer.
00:27:39He's just got a lot more zip.
00:27:46Pazan trying to get to the body.
00:27:49Johnston trying to block the shots with his elbows
00:27:51and come back up with uppercuts inside.
00:27:57Good body shot by Cesar Pazan.
00:27:59But I think it's safer for Steve to stay right inside
00:28:02as far as the head shot goes, Jim,
00:28:04because he doesn't want to get hit
00:28:04with that straight right hand too much.
00:28:06Inside is open hook.
00:28:10That was good.
00:28:11Both of Pazan's eyes swelling.
00:28:13You saw the cut over Stevie Johnson's left eye
00:28:15between rounds.
00:28:18And they're landing more power shots
00:28:20to each other's faces here in round five.
00:28:23See, that's why Steve doesn't want to catch
00:28:24the head shots right there.
00:28:25This is becoming a blistering fight.
00:28:32Run.
00:28:35Great.
00:28:37Good time stuff.
00:28:41Don't work out there.
00:28:43Don't work out there.
00:28:43Stevie is faring much better knees in Shady tonight
00:28:46than he did in Blueberry, El Paso.
00:28:50Yep.
00:28:51That's where you came with a red suit, Roy.
00:28:54How can you forget that?
00:28:57He's probably got a dozen of them.
00:29:04I think they fought too early in the day in El Paso.
00:29:07This just needed to be after 11.30.
00:29:10You almost had him.
00:29:30You almost had him, Cesar.
00:29:33Don't let him stand there.
00:29:35One, two, one, two from the outside.
00:29:37Don't just go in there and do nothing.
00:29:43One and two in combination.
00:29:44One and two, one and two, jab, jab.
00:29:47Deep breath, champ.
00:29:48Deep breath.
00:29:48Deep breath.
00:29:51Come on, Stevie.
00:29:52Don't let him die now.
00:29:53Okay.
00:29:54You got it here, Stevie.
00:29:55He want to quit, baby.
00:29:56No!
00:29:58He wants to quit.
00:29:59All right?
00:30:00Deep breath.
00:30:01Deep breath.
00:30:01You make him quit.
00:30:02You make him quit.
00:30:03Okay?
00:30:03All right.
00:30:03Take it out.
00:30:05Take it out.
00:30:07Take it out.
00:30:08Are they encouraging Johnston
00:30:10to get out of that fight plan of in or out
00:30:13by talking about trying to make him quit, Roy?
00:30:16Yes, they are.
00:30:17They want Johnston to keep the pressure on him.
00:30:20He's doing better when he's in than he is when he's out,
00:30:22so I wouldn't disagree with that,
00:30:24especially with the head shots.
00:30:27Despite Diaz's assertion that Bazan can't fight from outside,
00:30:32Bazan has been effective from outside,
00:30:34particularly with the right-hand leads.
00:30:36But inside, unlike in El Paso,
00:30:39Johnston's greater energy level,
00:30:41his commitment to punishing Bazan,
00:30:43is the difference.
00:30:45Hard body shots by Bazan,
00:30:48seizing the momentum now in round six.
00:30:50Go.
00:30:51Don't listen.
00:30:52Don't listen.
00:30:54Go.
00:30:54The judges tonight are from Tijuana,
00:31:12Bangkok, and West Palm Beach.
00:31:16Look at him.
00:31:18Look at him.
00:31:19There's that big right head again.
00:31:33Break.
00:31:34No question.
00:31:35There you go.
00:31:36Break.
00:31:46Now, Bazan is tying Stevie up on the inside board
00:31:49than he did in Tijuana.
00:31:50He'll pass through.
00:31:51And Tommy Kimmons is warning him about holding.
00:31:57Look.
00:31:58Body shots from Bazan.
00:31:59Good hair shot from Jocelyn, though.
00:32:11Break.
00:32:11No punching.
00:32:14Let's go.
00:32:16Oh, Bazan got away with one right on the belt line.
00:32:30Hard body shot.
00:32:32Bazan landing a lot of looping right hands to the body in this round
00:32:35at full velocity.
00:32:36And another straight right hand to the jaw of Stevie Johnson.
00:32:39But Johnston keeping the pressure on inside
00:32:41and firing his left-hand power shot
00:32:44at close range with great accuracy.
00:32:46And Johnston takes a heck of a punch.
00:32:49Let's go.
00:32:50Let's go.
00:32:51Let's go here.
00:32:51Let's go.
00:32:52Pause to put the mouthpiece back in the mouth of Stevie Johnston.
00:32:55No water.
00:32:57Have to wait for a logical break in the action.
00:33:02Let's go.
00:33:05Tom!
00:33:06Break.
00:33:10No punching.
00:33:11No punching.
00:33:11Let him go.
00:33:13Hold it.
00:33:13An abrasion on the bridge of Bazan's nose now.
00:33:17That's swelling just as his eyes are.
00:33:20And Bazan fighting with greater urgency in round six.
00:33:23Straight right hand backs Johnston up.
00:33:36That was Bazan's best round.
00:33:38Certainly.
00:33:47Don't let this guy steal no round.
00:33:49Okay?
00:33:51Put it through your mouth.
00:33:52Walk to his left.
00:34:04Always walk to his left.
00:34:05It's getting late for this.
00:34:06Walk to his left.
00:34:07Listen to me.
00:34:09Please listen to me.
00:34:10This is for you.
00:34:12This is your title.
00:34:12Here we see Bazan showing how effective he is to the body.
00:34:25Johnson responding with a straight right and coming back to the body himself.
00:34:33Tough, grueling, hard-hitting fight.
00:34:39Bazan outthrowing and outlanding Johnson in the last round by copybox numbers.
00:34:44But still, Johnson landing his power shots with a very high rate of accuracy and punishing Bazan when he does.
00:35:01Looks like Johnson is going back to his in-and-out strategy that was so effective in the first three or four rounds.
00:35:07Lance that left hand twice inside and now wants to the body.
00:35:17You know, they both take the punch pretty well.
00:35:19They both take some real good punches.
00:35:20Let him go in there, let him go and walk out, both of us.
00:35:35Let him go, let him go, break!
00:35:49Now he's blocking that overhead right good, too, is Johnson.
00:35:59Good hard left from Johnson after a left hook by Bazan.
00:36:02Good right answer by Bazan.
00:36:07These are two intelligent, resourceful fighters who find a way to keep the action going.
00:36:14Yes, they do indeed.
00:36:18They both have a variety of punches, and they both know when to throw the right punch.
00:36:23Well, Stevie Johnson's here a beautiful combination of their left and right to the body and a right hook.
00:36:29To the head.
00:36:30To the head.
00:36:31You gotta be doing this for a long time today to come through with that in the middle of a pitched battle like this.
00:36:43Well, his pride was wounded by his defeat last summer against Bazan because Johnston felt like he's a good enough fighter to rank among the best pound-for-pound in the world, and an unbeaten record was good evidence of that.
00:36:55Says he was in a funk for months, didn't want to go outside and talk to people after he lost that fight.
00:37:08Since he's grown up in Denver, went to Manual Arts High School, lived in the same neighborhood most of his life, that means he didn't want to see his buddies.
00:37:18Now, the defeat is hard to take on a boxer.
00:37:22A lot of people don't realize sometimes how hard it is for a boxer to accept the defeat, especially if he feels like he accepted it unfairly.
00:37:31Well, when you got your only loss via disqualification, it burned you for months. I know that.
00:37:37Yes, it did.
00:37:38Check out the latest Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. Among the stories, an investigation into the Olympic scandal, which has rocked the whole sporting world, and a profile of Kentucky College basketball coach Tubby Smith.
00:37:54Real Sports, Bryant Gumbel, only on HBO Sports, airing this Sunday, February 28th. That would be tomorrow. Actually, that would be today on the East Coast.
00:38:05We're losing this round. We're losing this fight. You have to do whatever it takes now. This is your fight. Come on. You have to do this. Come on. Let's go.
00:38:33And as you look at the swelling of Cesar Bazan's face, the CompuVox number that corresponds to that is Stevie Johnston's 199 to 139 edge so far in the bout in power shots landed.
00:38:49Johnston getting inside, busting Bazan to the face as he did there, and then, for the most part, getting back outside.
00:38:56That was a perfect example of that in and out that he talked about.
00:39:00Oh, another good shot.
00:39:01He is so accurate with his left hand.
00:39:03Another great straight left hand by Stevie Johnston. After the right to the body.
00:39:10The right hander of Bazan is throwing the clothes, Stevie's left eyeball.
00:39:17Miguel Diaz working on the cut in Johnston's corner has done a pretty good job of controlling the bleeding above Stevie's left eye.
00:39:24He has also gives a lot of excellent tactical advice to the fighter. He's got a great straight left hand by Stevie Johnston. After the right to the body.
00:39:31The right hander of Bazan is throwing the clothes, Stevie's left eyeball.
00:39:34The right hander of Bazan.
00:39:35The right hander of Bazan.
00:39:36The right hander of Bazan.
00:39:37The right hander of Bazan.
00:39:38The right hander of Bazan.
00:39:39Miguel Diaz working on the cut in Johnston's corner has done a pretty good job of controlling the bleeding above Stevie's left eye.
00:39:49Diaz also gives a lot of excellent tactical advice to the fighter. He's the number two in there.
00:39:55Richard Johnston, Stevie's uncle, is his trainer, but he's letting Miguel Diaz do most of the talking.
00:40:01And another hard left shot has damaged Bazan's right eye.
00:40:08He is fighting like a man possessed, Stevie Johnston.
00:40:13Both of them both.
00:40:16I mean, yeah, you can't fault Bazan's effort. He's doing everything possible to stem the tide.
00:40:20But Stevie Johnston's a man on a mission tonight.
00:40:23It looks like a cut on the bridge of Bazan's nose.
00:40:35You can't tell yet whether it's bothering his vision.
00:40:38You can tell it's bothering his concentration, though, because he tried to trip Stevie Johnston just now.
00:40:42The referee told him no kicking.
00:40:45And Bazan's right eye is closing just as fast, if not faster, than Stevie Johnston's left eye.
00:40:50And he pulled up.
00:40:57Somewhere, Artura Gotti is watching and saying, yeah, that's a fight.
00:41:02And both of these guys will be looking in the mirror in two weeks and know they've been in a fight still.
00:41:09Come on, bro!
00:41:11Come on, baby!
00:41:13Oh!
00:41:15Great!
00:41:17Great!
00:41:19That's right there, baby!
00:41:21That's right there, baby!
00:41:23That's right there, baby!
00:41:25Oh!
00:41:27Johnston missing with a big left there.
00:41:29Bazzon still trying to chop away
00:41:31with the right hand to the body.
00:41:33Oh!
00:41:35Pound!
00:41:37Close your eyes. Close your eyes.
00:41:49Close your eyes.
00:41:51Close your eyes.
00:41:53Close your eyes.
00:41:55Come on, we have to do something.
00:41:59You're not doing anything.
00:42:01You're not walking to his left.
00:42:03You're not walking to his left.
00:42:05Every time you hold him,
00:42:07you have to walk to his left.
00:42:09Come on!
00:42:11Look at this guy.
00:42:13Look at his face, baby.
00:42:15Look at his face.
00:42:17Oh!
00:42:19There you can see Johnson working on the head,
00:42:25battering Bazzon's eye.
00:42:27Take out!
00:42:33All right, Roy Jones.
00:42:35Between rounds, we heard Lee Espinosa
00:42:37asking his fighter, Cesar Bazzon,
00:42:39to keep walking to Johnson's left,
00:42:41trying to get him to walk past Johnson's left hand, right?
00:42:43Right.
00:42:45Hasn't been able to do it.
00:42:47Stevie's been able to make his left hand a factor in every round.
00:42:49Harold, how do you have it so far?
00:42:51Jim, 78-73, 6-1,
00:42:55one even, little Stevie Johnson.
00:42:57I still think he gets inside,
00:42:59he does more damage, he attacks Bazzon,
00:43:01and all Bazzon can do is grab him
00:43:03and ride him across the ring.
00:43:05In other words, use that size of power to lean on Johnson
00:43:07and try and push him back to weaken him somewhat.
00:43:09And I'll tell you,
00:43:11I think little Stevie's doing a heck of a job.
00:43:13I hope the judges are watching the same point, are you?
00:43:15They see right there, Bazzon's got him,
00:43:17and he's riding him, right across the ring,
00:43:19trying to make Johnson go backwards to weaken him.
00:43:21I have it 5-2-1.
00:43:25I'm a little concerned about the judging in this fight.
00:43:27We'll talk about that later.
00:43:29And, of course, remember,
00:43:31referee Tommy Kimmons ultimately
00:43:33deducted a point from Johnston
00:43:35for rabbit-punching Bazzon in an earlier round.
00:43:39I'll tell you what,
00:43:41Johnson's doing a much better job
00:43:43of keeping these big punches off of him
00:43:45late in this fight.
00:43:47That's why he let Bazzon
00:43:49land a lot of big punches late in the fight.
00:43:51This fight seems to be catching
00:43:53a lot more with his arms.
00:43:55Well, and as you say,
00:43:57he's blunted Bazzon's straight right hand,
00:43:59which was a weapon in the earlier rounds,
00:44:01because Stevie's found a way
00:44:03to start blocking the straight right
00:44:05at the same time that he can do
00:44:07but he continues to score with his left.
00:44:09Not an easy thing to do.
00:44:11More than that.
00:44:13Three!
00:44:14No punches.
00:44:15Roll thine!
00:44:23There he is.
00:44:25No punch!
00:44:27There he is.
00:44:28No punch!
00:44:32No punch!
00:44:33And Jim, this also shows you an example of what a hometown crowd can do for a fighter.
00:44:58These guys were just as tired as they are now, but Bizarre was showing much bigger output, and he didn't hold as much inside because he was much busier punching.
00:45:07And the crowd was cheering him on.
00:45:08Right, now he doesn't have the crowd behind him, so he's spending more time holding than punching.
00:45:13Well, he's also taken a lot more punches in the first half of the fight.
00:45:20It's just been such a spirited effort for Stevie.
00:45:23Such a step up from what he was able to do eight months ago.
00:45:28And Bizarre got a ton of credit for beating Johnston at that time because clearly that night he appeared to be the superior fighter, but not tonight.
00:45:38Now, we talked a lot about what happened last June in El Paso.
00:45:42Watch this, and maybe you'll see some of the difference, keeping in mind that tonight, Stevie Johnston is landing half his power shots or more.
00:45:52Miss.
00:45:53Partial connect.
00:45:55Body, body, miss.
00:45:58Partial connect.
00:46:01But you also see that there is still that close corner, but he's not holding. He's punching instead.
00:46:05Exactly.
00:46:06And there was Bazan being raised, being lifted in victory there.
00:46:10This ain't left, all right?
00:46:12And there's the punch stat profile of the same thing we're talking about.
00:46:16Stevie Johnston boosting his connect percentage by 15 full percentage points.
00:46:22That's all we want to hear, okay?
00:46:24Okay?
00:46:25Put you back.
00:46:26Let's go.
00:46:27Let's go.
00:46:28Let's go.
00:46:29Let's go, second.
00:46:30Go, Blue.
00:46:31Cut man Felipe Bravo has had the job of trying to keep Bazan's eyes open and serviceable for
00:46:49these last few rounds.
00:46:52And Bravo finishes doing what he does between rounds.
00:46:56Stevie Johnston goes to work in the round to try to reverse everything Bravo's accomplished.
00:47:02I think Stevie Johnston's jab was a better weapon for him this fight, too.
00:47:07His jab got him established position for him earlier in the fight.
00:47:11Now he probably should go back to it a little bit for a minute.
00:47:16Oh, and Bazan trying to signal the referee that he got rabbit punched again, paused, and gave
00:47:29Johnston a chance to land another hard shot.
00:47:33Wait!
00:47:34Did you see a rabbit punch?
00:47:35Nope.
00:47:36But Bazan attempted to make the referee think there had been one.
00:47:41I guess he thinks he can get another point to victory.
00:47:47I thought he might have been poked in the eye, and that wasn't.
00:47:52Nope, he keeps pawing at the back of his head, Larry.
00:47:54He's trying to show the referee that he's getting rabbit punched.
00:47:57And the referee did say something to Johnston about it.
00:47:59He just did, too.
00:48:00No punching.
00:48:01No punching.
00:48:02I think Johnston's been close to landing to the back of the head a couple times, but
00:48:05I think he pulled the punch both times.
00:48:06Three!
00:48:07No!
00:48:08No!
00:48:09No!
00:48:10No!
00:48:11No!
00:48:12No!
00:48:13No!
00:48:14No!
00:48:15No!
00:48:16No!
00:48:17No!
00:48:18No!
00:48:19No!
00:48:20No!
00:48:21No!
00:48:22No!
00:48:23No!
00:48:24No!
00:48:25No!
00:48:26No!
00:48:27No!
00:48:28No!
00:48:29No!
00:48:30No!
00:48:31No!
00:48:32No!
00:48:33No!
00:48:34No!
00:48:35No!
00:48:36No!
00:48:37No!
00:48:38No!
00:48:39No!
00:48:40No!
00:48:41No!
00:48:42No!
00:48:43No!
00:48:44No!
00:48:45No!
00:48:46No!
00:48:47No!
00:48:48No!
00:48:49No!
00:48:50No!
00:48:51No!
00:48:52No!
00:48:53No!
00:48:54End of the fight, Jim, so stay tuned.
00:49:01Don't take anything for granted.
00:49:18I'll tell you what, Jim, I think the body shots have made Fazon a little more fatigued
00:49:22in this fight than he was in the first fight, too.
00:49:24And now Stevie lands a chopping right hook in there.
00:49:27Good shot.
00:49:30Johnston's just gotten better and better now.
00:49:32There goes Stevie's mouthpiece again.
00:49:34Johnston's mouthpiece on the canvas.
00:49:37The round comes to a close.
00:49:40Tell me, so why don't you throw the one-two?
00:49:53Can you do the one-two?
00:49:54Look, would you please throw the one-two?
00:49:55Please don't ask me to want to.
00:49:57You're not doing anything, you want me to tell them to stop the fight?
00:50:01you're not doing anything you want me to tell them to stop the fight I will stop
00:50:05the fight you're Mexican come on come on you're a Mexican you have to fight all
00:50:12of the Mexicans are saying that we're not nothing come on come on you know you
00:50:17do this holding let's take a look here and see if there anything happened I
00:50:21didn't see anything no there was no rabbit punch there and it may be
00:50:29exactly because of that that Lee Espinosa is asking a fighter asking his
00:50:33fighter if he wants to quit the animal that's operative here a mouse is the
00:50:40mouse there are mice under Bison's eyes
00:50:47yeah but I think what Espinosa wanted to know is are there mice in his heart
00:50:52yeah he's a tough kid I take nothing away from him if he's beaten it's because he's
00:50:57beaten
00:51:00for the most part he has fought bravely against an opponent who has simply
00:51:08carried the fight to him every step of the way
00:51:10the first beat your man with the punch do the damage and then back away Stevie
00:51:28Johnston has followed all those directives perfectly tonight good body shots by Johnston
00:51:33Johnston
00:51:40yeah
00:51:42yeah
00:51:43yeah
00:51:46yeah
00:51:47yeah
00:51:52yeah
00:51:53yeah
00:51:54yeah
00:51:56yeah
00:51:58you may see in two different places on stevie johnson's trucks it's a little bit bad
00:52:09he's been a little bit bad and a little bit good tonight
00:52:13and a little bit big in the way he's fought bizarre
00:52:22well if he gets his shot at shane mosley he'll be facing a size differential there as well
00:52:31i told you they met three times as amateurs mosley won two all of them were three two decisions
00:52:40according to stevie to see how shane and his dad jack mosley remember it
00:52:52good body shot by johnson
00:53:20again there is blood trickling from the nose of stevie johnston and for the first time now it
00:53:32appears there's a trickle of blood around the eye of cesar bazan it's been swelling and reddening all
00:53:38night and well maybe no blood is flowing there maybe it's just getting redder and redder
00:53:43coming on you have to get the mexican out of you you have to knock this guy out in order to win you
00:53:52have to knock him out you need it's bad you need it's really bad you have to knock him out
00:53:56you have to win you have to give it all you got
00:54:05okay don't need nothing to take go back out there and make sure all right
00:54:08watch all this water we're going we're going to get we're going to get we're going to get
00:54:13i know but i'm saying it's a lot of water
00:54:17he was hitting me in the head he was hitting me in the head
00:54:19you have to stand up come on you have to you have to go for it this is the last round
00:54:27you have to knock him out
00:54:29let's go second
00:54:31let's go man let's go
00:54:35couldn't be plainer than that
00:54:37all right one judge is from new york state that's harold letterman he's unofficial how do you have
00:54:53it so far jim eight two one even 107 101 a six-point lead for little stevie johnson he's doing all the
00:55:02fighting he's getting inside and just as he's calling it he's banging bizarre around i tell you
00:55:07this is how you find an octopus because this guy's an octopus he lays all over your season
00:55:11bizarre but i'll tell you johnson's doing a great job just outworking him on the inside
00:55:15he goes beside his elbows and holding and all that nonsense and he just beats him up the three
00:55:20official scorers at ringside who will decide the winner if it goes to distance
00:55:24are memo ayon a former fighter from tijuana mexico who once got a win over the fading sugar ray
00:55:30robinson anek hong thong kham of bangkok thailand who's a wbc regular we see him a lot and michael
00:55:37pernick of west palm beach florida good heavy exchange right there there's nobody from denver
00:55:46in that crew nope besan looking for the knockout though
00:55:53stevie johnston just fighting his fight same thing he's done all alone
00:56:00he's done all alone
00:56:15i think they're both holding
00:56:19is it a natural tendency when you're tired roy yes a natural tendency when you're tired but it's good
00:56:23for stevie johnston because right now he's ahead in his fight sure it eats up time on the clock that's right
00:56:36cold logic would say to you that if stevie's standing at the end of this round he's going to have his title
00:56:40back logic does not always obtain in the scoring of championship boxing matches as we've seen
00:56:48both of you guys have dynamite cheers
00:56:53hey listen this fight was so much better than the first fight between the two of them
00:56:59i don't find myself terribly resistant to the notion of a third meeting somewhere down the road
00:57:10trading shots bazan's right johnston's left it's been that way throughout the fight
00:57:18so stevie johnston after 24 straight wins
00:57:23ran into a puzzle he couldn't solve in cesar bazan last summer in el paso texas
00:57:28he brooded about it for months he told himself i'm not the kind of fighter who deserves to have
00:57:33a loss like that on my record and he came here tonight with an obvious thrilling determination
00:57:39to take his title back and to our eyes at least it would appear he's accomplished just that
00:57:55let's hope the judges give the right decision
00:57:58do you have any more to say about it than that well we're better at autopsies and at predictions
00:58:09so let's just wait
00:58:11right side of the stage thank you
00:58:15and harold
00:58:20i got a 116 111 little stevie johnson by five uh by five points eight three one even in rounds uh you
00:58:27know that that second that third round becomes even in the tenth round johnson did tap him in the
00:58:31back of the head but you know hey it's protect yourself at all times the referee didn't you'll stop
00:58:36so johnson lacked him i can't you know i can't fault stevie johnson for what he did
00:58:40no i don't think you can fault him for that that was intelligent fighting exactly jim
00:58:48the damage to johnston the damage to bazan
00:58:56you could have fit all 12 rounds of action in el paso into two rounds of this
00:59:06two little guys with two huge hearts yep
00:59:17it was a punishing war
00:59:22cesar bazan as we told you from the beginning a tall fighter
00:59:25who unusually for a guy of his range and size likes to fight inside but in round one it was
00:59:32clear stevie johnston was going to get inside and try to do damage
00:59:37then in round three the rabbit punch incident johnston inadvertently hitting bazan on the back of
00:59:43the head bazan asking for time to recover taking several minutes to recover and eventually
00:59:48prompting referee tommy kimmons to decide to take a point away from stevie johnston
00:59:52johnston for what had appeared to be clearly an accidental foul but then as the rounds went on johnston
01:00:00continued to punish bazan inside the visible evidence on bazan's face in front of you and to our eyes
01:00:07again just to repeat the obvious it appeared that stevie johnston carried the fight dominated the action
01:00:12landed more than half of his power shots and won his lightweight championship back a hug from his uncle
01:00:22and for the second time tonight we wait an inordinately long time for the
01:00:52official scores looking to see if michael buffer has them in his hands yet
01:01:00and the answer appears to be no stevie johnston's uncle richard johnston looking over at us and giving
01:01:06us the thumbs up obviously more than satisfied with the performance his fighter produced tonight
01:01:12California so uh yeah
01:01:15This is their favorite part of the performance his fighter Benji
01:01:16What was the achievement of the performance average advantage his fighter
01:01:18Well that is who nothing good about me
01:01:21pat 17 Fighter 9.
01:01:23myắtower told me last park
01:01:24I'll be there then holler actually
01:01:25How about larry remembering that you wore a red suit note
01:01:28there was работает 然後inka
01:01:29Larry remembers everything
01:01:40bazan's trainer lee espinoza tells us that he's girl crazy well the girls will certainly be
01:01:46impressed with his manliness for the next couple weeks huh yeah they should be
01:01:52out in coachella california in the desert near palm springs you ever seen it take longer to
01:02:00produce an official decision no but uh you're tempted to say no there appears to be a counting
01:02:05convention going on over on the far side of the ring yeah and i don't like stuff like that now
01:02:10this is uh disquieting to say the least now if you look at the far side of the ring behind where
01:02:18stevie johnston is standing michael buffer and uh a group of men
01:02:24appear to be sorting out the question of who has won the fight
01:02:33classic contrast there johnson's cap promoting nutritional supplements
01:02:39of the highest order and bazan's cap promoting the popular nutritional supplement of tijuana
01:02:53has he got it let's go to michael buffer ladies and gentlemen we go to the scorecards
01:03:00memo ayon scores about 116 to 113 he has it for bazan
01:03:08anek ham tomkam scores it 115 to 112 for johnson and michael pernick scores it 114 to 113 for the
01:03:18the winner by split decision from denver colorado he is the new lightweight champion of the world
01:03:26in the world once again middleman fan stevie johnston
01:03:34and i can't tell you guys so by the razor-thin margin of one point they get it right roy jones
01:03:50what can you tell us about what goes through the mind and the stomach of a fighter like stevie johnston as
01:03:54he waits for that third score in that situation well i can recall a day like that back in
01:03:59so career and i kind of knew what was going on but it's a very scary feeling and you could see the
01:04:06consternation on johnston's face as you look at the final punch stat numbers that demonstrate
01:04:11how stevie won the fight 45 connect percentage 323 out of 7 16 he was accurate and sharp all night
01:04:19long power punches that's where the real margin was he landed 84 more through just as many and a 15
01:04:26percent margin in connect percentage let's go up to larry merchant with the man who has regained his
01:04:32title stevie johnston thank you jim congratulations stevie what won the fight for you well first of all
01:04:40i want to thank god thank my family for standing behind me and uh thank hbo and tyrant for having me on
01:04:45uh i told you i just i didn't let nobody get my head this time larry that was it what do you mean
01:04:51by that i didn't listen to his coaches i didn't listen to his managers i just went out there and
01:04:55stuck to my game plan you're implying that when you fought the last time you were influenced by what
01:05:00other people said yeah a lot um like i said the other day um my my heart got in the way of the last fight
01:05:08i want to stand there and i know he had he's a good inside fighter and he was catching me a lot of
01:05:12uppercuts last time and this time i just boxed him uh just put it all together this time he saw
01:05:19were you surprised that the result was so close no because he was a true champion he's a true champion
01:05:25he came to fight he didn't want to come off his belt uh easy because i had him hurt a couple of times
01:05:30and he'll he'll still come back fighting so i tip my hat off to him again and also i want to thank
01:05:34eas do you want to thank shank uh shane mosley in advance for having you two guys try to unify
01:05:42some lightweight titles well like i said uh i'll be happy to fight shane but i had to get past bazan
01:05:48first well you did but are you going to fight shane mosley are you going to tell your promoter and
01:05:53your manager let's fight right now i want to fight in denver now i want one in denver then we go for
01:05:59mosley i never fought in my hometown thank you very much shane okay jim uh i guess overall
01:06:07we got what we expected neither fight was easy but now we have what looks like two very good opponents
01:06:16for two great champions roy jones and shane mosley jim
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