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Former WBA Bantamweight Champion John Michael Johnson faces Antonio Diaz on Shobox The New Generation
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00:00Whoever wins this bout must fight the IVF champion.
00:02Don't miss Tua vs. Bird, Saturday, August 18th at 11,
00:06only on Showtime, America's number one boxing network.
00:13It's all a big day and night of boxing, August 18th,
00:15but let's bring you back to the primary subject on this card
00:19here in the United Palace in Upper Manhattan.
00:22Now main event time, Steve, here on Showtime.
00:25And for John Michael Johnson, former champion,
00:29there's desperation for a former champion
00:31trying to make the long climb hardback.
00:34We also look at Antonio Cello Diaz,
00:37a guy, as you say, maybe more on the way up.
00:39Let's talk about styles here.
00:41What's going to make this absorbent?
00:43Cello Diaz is the X factor, Nick, I believe, here,
00:46because he has the ability to box or attack.
00:49John Michael Johnson, he's never taken a backward step in his career.
00:52It's amazing. The guy's had a 16-year career.
00:55He's never been down, much less stopped.
00:56Stopped once on cuts in the first round. We won't count that.
00:59It will probably serve Diaz best to box,
01:02as he did in his last win against Max Gomez.
01:05Box, he's a bigger fighter also, probably has better skills.
01:10I think he'll probably try to box his way to a 10-round decision.
01:13Well, Diaz, again, said that he could do it either way.
01:15A lot of fighters say that.
01:16But I agree with you.
01:17We looked at that Gomez fight, and I thought it was textbook.
01:20I thought it's the way he could fight Johnson.
01:23Because, as you said going in, that it's a telecast,
01:26that the big reason Johnson has a shot is to probably knock him out.
01:31That would be his best hope.
01:32Yeah. I mean, we're here.
01:33All the fans here are Dominicans.
01:34We're in a Dominican territory.
01:36Cello is Dominican.
01:38And Junior Jones thought he had Johnson beat.
01:41He was dominating him seven years ago.
01:43I know it's a long time ago, but Johnson brought out the big right hand,
01:45the great equalizer.
01:46And, again, you know, Cello Diaz, the interesting thing here,
01:48he may get a little bit more macho, so maybe he won't box as much.
01:52You've got a big crowd here.
01:53He's from the neighborhood.
01:54And you may really want to take the play away and show people who's boss.
01:58And the machismo may come out, and it could cost them.
02:01So that'll be interesting to watch.
02:02Because the guy who's the visitor is definitely John Michael Johnson.
02:07You're looking at him right now.
02:10He's ready to go.
02:115'8", 126-pound featherweight.
02:14The former WBA Vantamweight Champion of the World.
02:1733 years old.
02:18He has had his share of problems outside the ring.
02:22He's been clean from drugs, he told us, for over 2 1⁄2 years.
02:26But it's a constant battle.
02:27As we look at his numbers, 27 wins, 7 losses, 20 by knockout.
02:33What's behind those numbers, Steve?
02:35John Johnson's had a very interesting career.
02:39Amazingly, the inactivity.
02:40In 16 years, he's had only 34 bouts, 2 fights a year for a guy who's been a world-class
02:46fighter.
02:47Mismanagement.
02:47Johnson fought 4 champs or contenders in his first 9 fights.
02:51One of his three world title fights was against a Thai in Thailand.
02:55Another was against a South African in South Africa.
02:57He wasn't going to win those fights.
02:58Other than a whole lot of free-for-fly miles, I think he got very little out of those experiences.
03:02And finally, Iron Chin.
03:03As I said, the only stoppage loss on Johnson's record was a first-round defeat on cuts.
03:07He's never been down.
03:08Chelo Diaz is not likely to score a knockout.
03:11Chelo Diaz is the younger guy.
03:13Six years younger, in fact.
03:15As we look at him here, he'll be in red, white, and blue.
03:1727 years old.
03:18Two smudges on the record.
03:20He's 22-2-0.
03:2111 KOs.
03:22So, again, the record says, at least when you look at this with 11 KOs, that this guy
03:27is not a heavy-duty artillery bomber, Steve.
03:30But what's behind these numbers?
03:32Diaz feather fists.
03:33Seven of his last eight wins have come on points.
03:38A toe-to-toe slugfest would certainly benefit Johnson.
03:42So, indeed, Diaz does have the feather fist.
03:45Home ring advantage.
03:46Hey, we're in Dominican Republic country here.
03:48Diaz hasn't fought in New York City in five years.
03:50And the crowd will be totally behind him, urging him from the opening to closing belt.
03:55The bigger man, too, Diaz.
03:56He's fought as high as lightweight, while Johnson is really a bantamweight junior featherweight
04:00moving up.
04:01In that regard, advantage, Diaz.
04:03Well, earlier, he made a significant, this year, he made a significant jump in class
04:07this past January and suffered a 12th-round TKO at the hands of Istvan Kovacs in a thrilling
04:12duel for that WBO vacant featherweight title.
04:15We'll see.
04:16He's since rattled off a win, and he says he wants the championship.
04:20He wants another crack at it, but he'll have to start tonight by getting past John Michael
04:26Johnson, as we're just about ready for our main event.
04:29Let's send it upstairs to Rondon.
04:32Ladies and gentlemen, once again, we welcome you to the United Palace here in Washington
04:38Heights, New York City for professional boxing, brought to you by Showtime and Main Events.
04:45These bouts are sanctioned and approved by the New York State Athletic Commission.
04:50Now that it is time to put up or shut up, get down and throw down, there's going to be
04:56a beatdown.
04:57Our next fight is our main event of the evening.
05:03It's scheduled for 10 rounds in the featherweight division.
05:07Our judges are George Colon, Melvina Latham, and Julie Letterman.
05:13Our referee is Arthur Mercanti.
05:18First introducing in the blue corner, in the yellow and white trunks, this young man tipped the scale at 126
05:27.5 pounds.
05:28He has 27 victories, 7 defeats, and 20 knockouts.
05:33From San Antonio, Texas, the former WBA bantamweight champion of the world, John Michael Johnson.
05:45His opponent in the red corner is wearing the red, white, and blue.
05:51He tipped the scale at 127.5 pounds.
05:54His record, 22 wins, just two defeats, and 11 big knockouts.
06:01From Haracocca, Dominican Republic, now fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, Antonio Chelo Diaz.
06:13Ten rounds of boxing in the featherweight division.
06:16Once again, your referee, Arthur Mercanti.
06:23Almost there. Let's get going, baby. Come on.
06:25Good afternoon, gentlemen.
06:26You received your rules earlier today by the New York State Afflater Commission.
06:29Let's have a nice, clean fight.
06:30Touch gloves.
06:31Good luck to the both of you.
06:38We did it once, we did it again, and we're going to do it one more.
06:44And as we look tail of the tape, Steve.
06:58We decided that he wasn't going to make an issue of it, and he let him go.
07:02And same rules you saw in the first, about a ten-point must system.
07:05Three judges will score.
07:06No standing eight count here, and the three knockdown rules in effect.
07:09You can't be saved by the bell in any round,
07:12as we are ready to go here at the United Palace in New York City.
07:27John Michael Johnson is out first out of his corner.
07:30He's in the yellow.
07:31And in the white, Antonio Chelo Diaz, circling to his left.
07:37See who sets the tone.
07:40And Diaz, we both agree, Steve, would be wiser to be the boxer here.
07:46Let's see if it happens.
07:47Yeah, John's not that easy to hit.
07:50Keeps it very high guard.
07:52That's really, it's not head movement with him.
07:54It's keeping the guard high.
07:57Well, Diaz told us if that guard stays high,
08:00they're going to try to work the body.
08:04Break!
08:05Stop holding him.
08:06Step back, step back, step back, step back.
08:10After McCranny showing his boss right away.
08:19Both guys look a little tight.
08:20First round again, it's always critical.
08:22See how a guy moves.
08:24See what kind of power he has, Steve.
08:30Interesting.
08:30You can see here from right inside.
08:32I don't know if you can see it on the screen as well.
08:34Chelo Diaz staring at John Michael Johnson's chest.
08:37You know, not staring at his face.
08:39Just picked up on it, too.
08:41He is watching to see where those hands are going to go
08:43and where the body's moving.
08:44And he scores there with a left hand.
08:47And the crowd gets excited,
08:48maybe perhaps a little bit more than what that punch actually did.
08:53Chelo Diaz a little low with the right hand.
08:57Sensing that John Michael Johnson's hands might be high,
09:00but I don't think so, and right now I think he's got a good, tight guard.
09:07Great!
09:08Step back.
09:10Chelo, look into box.
09:11That's clearly his strategy.
09:13I question that strategy because he's the bigger guy.
09:15This is a huge upper body in Chelo Diaz.
09:17You can see that.
09:18And he's really, he's the featherweight.
09:21John Michael Johnson's a bantamweight.
09:24John Michael Johnson in the yellow hasn't done too much there,
09:26and he tries to move in there with a right-left that misses.
09:31He's content to wait to counter, it looks, with that right hand.
09:34And there we see it there.
09:37A lot of patience from John Michael Johnson.
09:40That's the way he's fought his whole career,
09:41and if anybody knows that that patience can be a virtue,
09:44it's Junior Jones, because he did nothing against Junior for four rounds.
09:47And then all of a sudden,
09:49future Hall of Famer Junior Jones was on the floor.
09:51Yeah, the one thing about John Michael Johnson,
09:53he's only fought three times in the last three years
09:56and had his problems outside the ring,
09:58but stamina has never been an issue.
10:04A little bit of a change, subtle change here,
10:06and now it's really Johnson backing up, Diaz coming forward.
10:09And Diaz scoring with a very quick left-right combination,
10:12trying to get that jab working,
10:14and set the tone for this fight.
10:21As we wind down round one.
10:53Well, the defining moment of John Michael Johnson's career
10:57came seven years ago, April in Las Vegas,
11:01and you see him on the left stalking here,
11:02and watch the right hand.
11:04There.
11:05And Junior Jones was on the way to becoming a former champion.
11:09Now in the 11th round,
11:12Jones eats that right hand again.
11:15As we see,
11:17John Michael Johnson looking fresh and fit
11:19and about to become
11:20the new bantamweight champion of the world.
11:23A title he held, Steve, for less than three months.
11:26Yeah, that was that defending against the Thai in Thailand.
11:29Never a good idea.
11:30By the way,
11:31Johnson behind on all three cards against Junior Jones
11:33when he stopped him in the 11th round.
11:37We'll see if he employs the same type of strategy there.
11:41He took a lot of jabs,
11:42and I would think that this would be the road to victory.
11:46I think by Diaz is to try to outpoint him,
11:50put punches together,
11:51and spin out of danger.
11:52He's a good mover, in my opinion.
12:00You detect Johnson's trying to make this a 10-foot square ring, Steve?
12:04He'd love that.
12:05He'd like to fight in the phone booth.
12:07Right now he's waiting,
12:08and the only problem with waiting,
12:10yeah, you may land a big shot,
12:11he may land a big right hand,
12:12but in the meantime,
12:13Brown's in the bank for Echela Diaz.
12:20Johnson in yellow.
12:21He's the former champion.
12:24Are his glory days long behind him?
12:28He says he has rededicated his life to his profession.
12:33In May of this year,
12:35Johnson went down to Mexico,
12:37fought a kid named David Murillo,
12:38who's a very top prospect,
12:41and knocked him down in the first round,
12:42won a 10-round decision on foreign soil in Mexico.
12:45You were impressed.
12:46Yeah.
12:47But then the year before,
12:48he almost just gave it up.
12:49He's ballooned between fights.
12:50Thank you, man.
12:54Got a shoe problem here in the corner.
12:57Tony Ayala, Sr.,
12:59Johnson's trainer and manager,
13:02putting the double knot.
13:04What is that, a slip knot there?
13:10And they resume round two.
13:13Now Diaz trying to close the gap
13:15and work behind that jab.
13:16And a right,
13:18a looping right-hand lead lands.
13:20Oh!
13:23Oh!
13:23Keep it clean now!
13:24Yeah, see?
13:26Yeah, McCanty,
13:27reading the riot act,
13:29what happened there was
13:29Johnson got caught in a headlock,
13:31so he started hitting on the break.
13:36Johnson's left looks very low again.
13:38Now he brings it up.
13:41See if Santiago can fight backing up,
13:43but now he tries to dig in with that right hand.
13:47Looks to me like he really likes to set
13:49and fire that right at times.
13:54Cello Diaz is in the red, white, and blue.
13:57John Michael Johnson in yellow.
13:58We're early in this fight,
14:00scheduled for 10.
14:05Diaz with a right that lands.
14:09Right again.
14:13Johnson keeps coming.
14:18Looking to time him, it looks like, Steve.
14:21Johnson just looking to land that counter right.
14:24Break.
14:27Johnson would be well served to try a jab or two.
14:29It wouldn't be a bad idea.
14:37He is very cautious.
14:39He'll flurry and get out.
14:41He knows the danger zone there,
14:43but there's that right.
14:43Very quick that lands.
14:48That's the end of round two.
15:02You can't be looking at him.
15:05You've got to take a deep breath.
15:06He's just got to go out.
15:08Listen.
15:11Whenever you hit him up,
15:13hit him down as well.
15:14Throw the combination together.
15:18Take a break.
15:22Take a deep breath.
15:28Okay, throw the jab and follow up with the hook.
15:32No one off the bat.
15:41Our interpreter in the corner of Antonio Chelo Diaz is Rafael Nunez.
15:47And what he heard is throw more shots.
15:51Which makes a lot of sense.
15:54That's the way I see it.
15:55That's the way I see it, Steve.
15:55Don't reinvent the wheel, right?
15:57And here he is loading up there, cracking a right to the ribs.
16:02Diaz is in red, white, and blue.
16:11Can't be admonishing Diaz, not the stiff arm.
16:22It does look like Johnson's trying to pick up the pace, but he's got a jab, Steve.
16:26I agree.
16:27Well, yeah, he's sort of applying pressure by walking to Diaz, but if you're not going
16:31to punch, you're a target.
16:34Let's go ahead.
16:35Let's go ahead.
16:36Break.
16:37Step back.
16:39Step back.
16:41Exchange there.
16:43Nothing lands clean.
16:46Oh, a big right hand, I thought, by Santiago there.
16:50Stop pushing.
16:51Stop.
16:51Push up.
16:52El gancho, Jenny.
16:54El gancho.
16:54Go, Jeff.
16:54Go, Jeff.
16:56Break.
16:57Hold back.
16:58El gancho, Jenny.
17:03Double hook there.
17:04Scores by Diaz, and now he goes headhunting with the same weapon.
17:09There goes the jab into play.
17:11Maybe just as a rangefinder.
17:12Trying to sneak in that left low.
17:15Wild right misses.
17:17John Michael Johnson, content to be a moving target.
17:23Oh, a left counter there.
17:25Wow.
17:26Dropped him.
17:27That was a quick shot.
17:29And is that not John Michael Johnson's way?
17:31He looks like he's doing nothing all of a sudden.
17:34Ding.
17:36Well, let's see.
17:37Is he ready to go, Steve?
17:38A right hand.
17:39Solid one by Johnson.
17:41As he senses his man's in trouble, another right hand lands.
17:44Let's see what happens.
17:45There's over a minute to go in round three.
17:47Plenty of time, Steve.
17:49Wow.
17:49Diaz not holding and not moving.
17:51And here we see John Michael Johnson really opening up.
17:54And Arthur Mercanty, Jr., to the disbelief of Diaz, says this one is over.
18:01Keep in mind, the critical thing here, Arthur Mercanty was the referee when Beethoven, Scotland,
18:06perhaps went too many rounds in New York about two months ago, ended up dying after suffering brain damage from
18:13a coma.
18:14And Arthur stopped that fight quickly.
18:17Did he make the right call, Steve?
18:19Seemed a bit premature to me.
18:21There were a couple of flush punches, but...
18:24Certainly in his defense, better safe than sorry.
18:26Well, that's it.
18:27You know...
18:27Chello Diaz right now is livid.
18:30Get down!
18:34One thing's for sure, no home advantage for Diaz.
18:38I mean, he wins the first couple of rounds, gets caught with a shot, two more punches, fight stopped.
18:43The crowd stunned.
18:43Can't believe this one's over, nor could I.
18:45The left hook started it, just a short little shot.
18:49As you said, John Michael Johnson doing practically nothing.
18:52Yeah.
18:53And here we see him at jubilation here.
18:58He came and got what he wanted, a victory.
19:01Maybe a little easier than even he figured, Steve.
19:04Well, it was just like the Junior Jones fight seven years ago.
19:07He did nothing, nothing, nothing, and then boom.
19:10Doctor looking at Diaz, and he's saying, there's nothing wrong with me in any language.
19:16No, no, no.
19:20Let's see what happened on the stoppage here.
19:23Well, what happened was if Diaz threw a right hand and let it drop by his side on the way
19:27back,
19:28Johnson didn't need a further invitation, left hook to the point of the chin.
19:32And here we see the end.
19:33Well, here we see it again, that flash left hook landing in the knockdown.
19:37I didn't think he was that hurt at this point.
19:40Here's the stoppage, Steve.
19:41You tell me.
19:42Well, that's two flush punches.
19:43I don't think Mercanti liked the way Diaz looked away.
19:46He went to the ropes, really only took one more shot.
19:49Hey, to me, that's a little quick.
19:50Mercanti said that his hands were down, and that's why he stopped it.
19:53They're down there.
19:54Yeah, that's what he didn't like, the way Diaz looked to the referee when he backed to the ropes.
19:59Diaz doesn't like it, and it's another loss.
20:02But, again, I don't think he could really take exception without what Arthur Mercanti did.
20:06Let's go up to Ron Duncan, who makes it official.
20:12Ladies and gentlemen, referee Arthur Mercanti Jr. stops this fight by TKO.
20:19At two minutes and three seconds of round number three, the winner, John Michael Johnson!
20:35Is there going to be a swing ball?
20:42Is there going to be a swing ball?
20:51Okay, John Michael Johnson victorious, and he's with Tim Smith now.
20:55Now, Tim.
20:55Thank you, man, and Chelo Diaz looking to turn this into a fight.
21:01We don't hear him.
21:02And it did not happen.
21:05John Michael, you didn't look like you were doing much in the first couple of rounds, sort of killing him.
21:12Okay.
21:15Audio content.
21:16Okay, so, Tim, sorry, we're experiencing audio difficulties right now.
21:20We're going to hear from the victorious John Michael Johnson once we get that straightened out.
21:24But, Steve, once again, when you recap a guy who, again, this was an act of desperation.
21:30This was a man in trouble.
21:32When you assess his performance, John Michael Johnson, how much did he do?
21:36He did absolutely nothing for three rounds, and then he landed a left hook, and the fight was over.
21:41Pretty amazing.
21:43Diaz down two times early in his career in a fight, down two times when he challenged Coco Kovacs earlier
21:48this year.
21:49Really not that much of a reason to think he had a chin problem.
21:52And I don't know if he was given ample opportunity to come back from that knockdown or not.
21:58Again, Mercanti, well, better to err in the favor of safety.
22:04As we look at the United Palace emptying out right now, the crowd again, certainly pro Antonio Chelo Diaz,
22:11leaving in somewhat of a shock, I would think, that the evening ended so quick for the guy from the
22:17neighborhood.
22:18Let's look again, Steve Farhood, at the stoppage.
22:22And, Nick, watch right now how Diaz looks away.
22:25He looked away.
22:27And, you know, Mercanti obviously has a better view than we do of what's going on in the ring.
22:32But Diaz immediately voices his displeasure.
22:35He couldn't believe it.
22:35But I think he deserved a little longer.
22:38Doesn't mean he would have gotten out of the round, but right there he looked.
22:45Oh, it seemed like he was looking to the referee.
22:49Johnson finishing in style as, again, he woke up once he landed that counter left,
22:55that flash knockdown seemed to just invigorate him.
22:58Oh, sure.
22:58And Diaz did not hold and did not run after he got up from that knockdown.
23:02Okay, Tim Smith still holding with the winner, John Michael Johnson.
23:07Tim.
23:07Thanks, Nick.
23:09John Michael Johnson is here.
23:12And Chelo Diaz was looking to tune him up like a fiddle,
23:15but he got tuned himself like a bad piano here.
23:18Now, in the first couple of rounds, it didn't look like you were doing very much,
23:22where you're trying to fill him out.
23:23What was the situation there?
23:24Well, the thing is, I'm just kind of fighter, and I don't do nothing with him in the third round.
23:28I don't start fighting until the third round.
23:29Why I'm like that, that's my trademark.
23:31I always go up to the third round, and I start knocking people after the third round.
23:33I'm not a fast starter.
23:35I like to figure out my opponents, and I figure out what I was doing wrong.
23:37I settled down with my punches, and I knew the hook was going to start working, so I came out.
23:41Anyway, I got ten yards to go.
23:42I'm a pro at this.
23:43Not about just going in and throwing punches.
23:45It's how to study your opponent, and that's the way I am.
23:47I always study my opponent the first two rounds.
23:49I gave up two rounds.
23:49Nobody's going to knock me out.
23:50What did you see in him that you thought you could take advantage of?
23:53I knew he was throwing his punches, and he was standing right there.
23:57He wasn't ducking when he was throwing his punches.
23:59I was just feeding him out, letting him know that I wasn't throwing.
24:03So third round came out, whatever round came out.
24:05He stood there, and he caught my hook.
24:07That's when I was going to start throwing my hook.
24:09I figured him out.
24:10I was going to start landing my hook now, and it worked for me.
24:13That's the way I fight.
24:14The referee stepped in and stopped it.
24:16Did you think it was a quick stoppage?
24:18Well, that's the referee's decision.
24:20I mean, I agree with the stoppage.
24:21It was just a matter of time for me to knock him out again.
24:23I think the kid was hurt enough.
24:25I think the referee did a good job.
24:27Nowadays, you have to protect the fighter.
24:28Now, if I were to be in that situation myself,
24:30I would like for the referee to stop me if I was to be hurt like that
24:33because anybody can get hurt.
24:35Three fights in the last three years, two losses.
24:38You win here tonight with a stoppage.
24:41Where do you go from here in your career?
24:43Well, as my manager, Luis de Cuba and Tony Ayala,
24:47they all figured out that for me.
24:50I'm just taking it fight for fight.
24:51This is my second fight this year,
24:52and I go to people's backyard, and I've been disappointing them.
24:56I didn't lose nothing but time.
24:57I'm still there.
24:58I just got away from boxing for once sometimes.
25:00I rest as a fighter real good to me.
25:02Thank you very much, John Michael, and congratulations.
25:04I'd like to say hi to my family back home in San Antonio, Sandra, and my kids.
25:08Okay.
25:09Thank you, John Michael.
25:10And we have here referee Arthur McCanty who stopped the fight.
25:15What did you see, Arthur, that made you want to stop it?
25:18Well, he went down hard the first knockdown,
25:20and I gave him a standing eight count in the corner.
25:23He was clear, but he didn't look very clear to me in his eyes.
25:27I let him continue.
25:29This fellow came on strong, laid a lot of barrage and punches,
25:32and the other fighter wasn't responding.
25:34So I felt it was the right thing to protect the fighter
25:36and the safety of the fighter stopped the fight.
25:38Now, a lot of people are probably going to say that some of the stoppage on your part
25:42was due to what happened to Scotland in that fight.
25:44In your mind, any bearing on between the two fights in terms of the stoppage in this one?
25:50No, not at all.
25:51It's two different scenarios here.
25:53I mean, with Scotland, he was in the fight.
25:55He was punching back.
25:57Seventh round went to the corner like I did after that knockdown.
26:00Went to the corner with the fighter.
26:01Scotland was in the fight.
26:02He wanted a fight here.
26:03This kid was taking some big shots.
26:05Every fighter's going to, you know, argue when you stop a fight.
26:08I felt I did the right thing for the safety of him.
26:11There's always another day.
26:12Thank you very much, Arthur.
26:14Well, Nick, a lot of people are probably going to look at this as a quick stoppage.
26:19The referee did what he thought he had to do.
26:21John Michael Johnson didn't think it was a problem, but Antonio Diaz,
26:24he lives a fight another day, Nick.
26:26That's exactly right, Tim Smith.
26:28Steve, I'll tell you, I've got to give John Michael Johnson credit for being cool.
26:35To throw away a couple of rounds, knowing he's got eight more heats, he thinks.
26:39But it comes down to critical crunch time, and it's a close fight.
26:42As you said, those rounds are lost forever.
26:44But he stayed cool, didn't he?
26:46He did.
26:46He said he's a slow starter.
26:47He's a non-starter.
26:48He did nothing for two rounds.
26:50A veteran knows when to pounce, when to take the opportunity.
26:53Interesting, five days ago, Tony Ayala Jr., El Torito, fought a fight on Tuesday night
26:59and won at the age of 39.
27:01He drove Johnson to the airport, they're both from San Antonio, for Johnson to come here.
27:05And he said, I did my part, now you bring it home.
27:08And I guess Tony Ayala Jr. will be waiting at the airport to pick up John Michael Johnson.
27:12Yeah, it's going to be a good weekend in San Antonio as the visitor comes to town
27:15and walks away with a victory.
27:18So, recapping Showbox the New Generation, this edition of it, we started off Luis Colasso
27:25of Brooklyn, New York, pounding out a unanimous decision, Steve, over Luis Alberto Santiago.
27:30Real nice win for Colasso.
27:32Remains undefeated, one of New York City's better prospects, for sure.
27:35John Michael Johnson, then, you see him in the yellow here, closing the show with a third-round
27:40TKO over Antonio Cello Diaz, and the left hook was the start of it all.
27:45You sure these were featherweights?
27:46That's a heavyweight ending, one punch.
27:50And then the stoppage, somewhat controversial, I'm sure Dion's thought so, at least.
27:54So, reinvigorated, rejuvenated, John Michael Johnson said he's 33 but not feeling it.
28:01He has rededicated himself to his profession, cleaned up his act as he promised the grandmother
28:07who raised him on her deathbed.
28:09So, Showbox, the New Generation, returns in two weeks from Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut
28:15for an afternoon of professional boxing.
28:17Headlined by the undefeated Emmanuel Lucero of the Bronx taking on rugged John Lowy of
28:23Ireland in a 12-round super-mantamweight bout.
28:25That's August 18th at 5 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.
28:29Later that evening, more boxing comes your way as Showtime Championship Boxing brings you
28:34heavyweight contenders, David Tua and Chris Bird, battling it out to become the mandatory
28:39challenger to IVF champion Hasim Rachman.
28:43That's Saturday, August 18th at 11 o'clock Eastern time and Pacific.
28:49Well, that'll do it for another edition of Showbox, the New Generation.
28:52We've had fun.
28:52Hope you did.
28:53The executive producers on Showtime Boxing are Jay Larkin and Gordon Hall.
28:59Showbox, the New Generation is produced by Richard Gaughan and directed by Philip Murray.
29:04So, for Steve Farhood, Tim Smith, and our entire crew, this is Nick Charles saying good
29:09night, everybody, from New York City.
29:13Unlock the universe with Richard Dean Anderson in an all-new Stargate SG-1.
29:18A Goa-wooled implanted virus takes control of Dr. Frazier's daughter.
29:23Look out!
29:25Don't miss an all-new Stargate SG-1 next on Showtime Sci-Friday.
29:41I'll be right back, everybody.
29:43Bye!
29:44Bye!
29:44Bye!
29:46Bye!
29:47Here we go.
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