GLEN JOHNSON vs DANIEL JUDAH

It’s been a long time coming, but Glen Johnson gets the chance to put the record straight when he meets Daniel Judah in a rematch that tops the bill on Friday Night Fights.

When the two fought six years at the Mohegan Sun the result was a draw, but Johnson seemed to have won clearly. That was also on Friday Night Fights, and looking back at my notes I see that I had Johnson winning almost every round.

Since then, Johnson has improved significantly, using the jab more, fighting in a consistent, steady-pressure style and getting more leverage on his punches. Older fighters will sometimes say that, like fine wine, they improve with age, and with Johnson there is some truth in this.

Johnson’s willingness to fight anyone, anywhere, has endeared him to hard-core fans. At the age of 40 he remains one of the world’s top light-heavyweights and he is certainly capable of regaining a world title if he can just get the opportunity. His fight with Chad Dawson last year was very tough and exciting, and Dawson needed to dig in and fight with all the skill and heart he possessed to pull out a decision that some thought could have gone the other way.

Johnson had a tune-up type of fight last November, stopping journeyman Aaron Norwood in four rounds. He walked through his opponent and seemed to be increasing his punch-rate with each round.

Judah, 31, had a nice win in his last fight when he easily outpointed veteran Jaffa Ballogou. The Brooklyn southpaw does have good boxing ability but he can be too defensive for too long, losing rounds by boxing cautiously. This is what happened in his losses to Yusaf Mack and Eric Harding.

Johnson’s greater workrate and willingness to fight hard in every round should get him through with a clear win but I do not make it an easy fight. Judah could have his moments with clever moves and counter punching, and he is quite durable, his only stoppage loss coming when he suffered a dislocated shoulder against Darnell “Ding-a-Ling Man” Wilson. Johnson will keep coming at him, though, and I can envisage Judah being forced into a retreating, clinching, survival-minded type of fight in the later rounds.

It is possible that Johnson could wear down Judah and stop him late in the fight, but I think a full-distance 10-rounder is more likely, with the Miami-based Jamaican being too strong and too busy for the Brooklyn boxer.

Johnson has known disappointment in fights that went to the scorecards, but I will be very surprised if this is case on Friday.