Reggie Johnson: “I don’t understand why Mayweather & Pacquiao don’t want to break every PPV record and give the fight fans what they want!”

(by Frank Walsh) Reggie Johnson’s career spanned 52 fights (44-7-1) 25KO, amounting to 374 rounds boxed as a professional. Facing many of his era’s best fighters, Johnson won the WBA Middleweight and IBF Light Heavyweight titles. Reggie we appreciate taking the time out to speak with us.

Frank Walsh: Three years after the Antonio Tarver bout you returned in 2005 to knock out Fred Moore. It would be 2008 before you entered a ring again, this time to take a decision victory over Julio Cesar Gonzalez.
What led you to becoming highly inactive? And what brought you to return each time?

Reggie Johnson: I was highly inactive to promotional mishaps. Over the years it got old, Warriors take all the resk but at the end of the day they leave the business arena with the least of the money. I’ve always came back first and foremost because of my love and for the ultimate. Boxing is a huge percentage of who I am. I’ve also been bless to do something that feed’s my family that I love to do that is second nature to me., and it has been said that if you’re doing something that you love to do,its not work. Boxing has always been my way out security wise.

FW: When we spoke last October you mentioned a return to the ring were in your plans. Former Middleweight and Super Middleweight World champion Steve Collins was one name on your radar. Now in Febuary 2014, is a comeback still in your future plans?

RJ: Yes a return is very much in my future plans. I’m independent and the road Team Johnson is building that will lead me to a 4th World Title is not the normal road boxers use to get to the World Title stage.The reward this road presents at the end of the favor’s the man who has more at stake, HIS LIFE….

FW: Steve Collins chased a Roy Jones Jr fight. Ricky Hatton attempted to resurrect his in ring career. What is it that brings fighters like yourself back to the sport years beyond their peak?

RJ: There are a plethora of reason’s champions like myself return to the ring, in our so-called past peak. Security (money), a lack of talent in this era, legacy, and a genuine love and desire for the sport.

FW: Do you plan to return to the 160lb or 175lb division?

RJ: I will return to 175lbs where I last fought and beat the late Julio Gonzalez, which took place in 2008 for the IBA world title.

FW: Do you feel you can still compete at a level that won’t take away from the legacy you have built?

RJ: Frank experience and gained wisdom has tought me that the ring is not the roped canvas that I stepped in to face an opponent but the mental state of mind that I encamp myself in, to be greater than my gloves. The true nature of boxing ” The Ring” is more about business,marketing and humanitarian programs as opposed to just slugging it out. I took of my gloves for a while to try on a suit. In my time away from the ring, I’ve endured ups and downs,joys and sorrows just as many other men, but I’ve matured as a business indivisual and a community activist. I may have been off the canvas but I never left the ring. I know I can still compete on the ultimate level and add additional credibility to my ongoing lecacy, but most of all I can use boxing as a platform to address worthy causes and make the World a better place.

FW: You shared the ring with the greats of your era, including Roy Jones, James Toney and Antonio
Tarver. Who was the most talented fighter you shared the ring with?

RJ: All these guys were great Champions and their resumes shoe them in the International Boxing Hall Of Fame. But I will say Jones was the most gifted.

FW: One fight in particular I want to discuss, is James Toney. The judges handed in a scorecard of 112-115, 113-114, 114-113. You knocked down Toney in the second round, and many felt you won the fight. Do you still feel you won that fight?

RJ: Of course I still feel I won that fight and boxing fans all over the World are still weighing in on that fight that happen 20 plus years ago in favor of how I was robbed in my first World Title shot. I try to explain to most of them how the Toney fight in 1991 made me a better fighter and also how that fight adds credibility to my legacy today. I tell them that James Toney himself moved on to become one of the greatest fighters of our era and that within itself adds credibility to my resume as well. We live, learn, and move on in life.

FW: You reported seeing Bob Arum speak with a judge he was sitting behind before the scorecards were handed in. Did you ever approach the IBF about this issue?

RJ: Yes after the fight I watched the tape of the entire fight and this act carried out by Bob Arum, James Toney’s promoter was caught leaning over talking to the judge Patricia Jerman who had me 4 points behind going into the last round. I brought this to the attention of my brain trust but it was not addressed for whatever reason. I will elaborate more about this and the Toney fight experience in my upcoming book “On The Inside Looking Out From A Fighters Perspective” The Reggie Johnson Biography.

FW: Across the pond so to speak, the Middleweight division was thriving in the UK. You had won the WBA Middleweight title against Steve Collins. Were Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn or Michael Watson ever on your radar as a possible opponent?

RJ: Every middleweight was on my radar in the early 90’s and I was told we were at the business table in hopes of fighting Eubanks, and Benn during a time that Don King flew all the middleweights and super middleweights to New York for a box off and I had the pleasure of meeting Eubanks, and Been and all the other Middleweights and Super Middleweights Champions and noted contenders. This tournament boxoff never happen.

FW: How do you think you matched up with Eubank, Benn or Watson?

RJ: All three of these fights would of been competitive fights but I would of out smarted Eubanks,Benn, and Watson.

FW: What victory do you consider as the high point of your career?

RJ: The Steve Collins fight is special because it was my first World Title I officially won and after the Toney experience it was extra relief because fighters never want history to dictate them getting to the Title Shot but never being able to deliver and winning on the big stage.

FW: Looking at your career resume, there is no denying you largely fought the best your era had to offer. Does it frustrate you as a fighter and a fan, that Mayweather vs Pacquaio is still being debated in 2014?

RJ: I wouldn’t say I’m frustrated, but I can’t understand why two guys who are in a position to break all gate and paid-per-view records, and give the fight fans what they want in one fight, won’t. This would be a win win situation for the fighters, the sport, and the fight fans.

FW: Does Mayweather or Pacquaio walk away with the victory?

RJ: Mayweather wins this fight via decision. His defense matches his offense and he can make adjustments on a dime.

FW: Looking at past era’s such as the Leonard, Hearns and Duran era, how would Pacquaio and Mayweather have fit into that generation?

RJ: I think both of them would of been competitive and held their own in that era. The Four Kings of that era would have been six Kings.

FW: Would they have thrived?

RJ: Yes they both would of thrived.

FW: A former opponent of yours, Antonio Tarver, has been quite vocal on social media about his intentions to make a run at the Heavyweight title. Do you see his plea leading to an actual meaningful fight?

RJ: With the state of the heavyweight division right now, anything could happen with Tarver and his meaningful mission.

FW: I would like to thank you for your time Reggie. Where can Reggie Johnson fans find you on social media?

RJ: Boxing fans can find me at https://www.facebook.com/reggiesweetjohnson?fref=ts and also visit the Champions Forever World Tour website at www.championsforevertour.com

Thank you Frank and your associates for sharing this platform to be heard.