Yusaf Mack (Photo: Talon Boxing)
It’s been mentioned that former Light Heavyweight champion Glen ‘The Road Warrior’ Johnson will be facing twice beaten Yusaf Mack on the Shane Mosley-Andre Berto undercard at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 30th. Johnson is coming off of a decision loss to Chad Dawson last month in which he was soundly outboxed by his younger foe. The rugged Jamaican will be looking to rebound but gut feeling here is that Mack may prove to be a stiffer test than expected.
Mack spent the first five plus years of his career building up a 22-0-2 record before suffering his first loss at the hands of Alejandro Berrio in May of 2006. Mack started strong but seemed to have trouble matching blows with the lanky Colombian on the inside. Things would take an horrible turn for the Philadelphia fighter in the sixth round when an ultra-confident Berrio went as far as to kiss him on the forehead while the two were in the trenches. Moments later a crushing right hand would floor Mack, who rose shakily only to be greeted by some punishing uppercuts along the ropes that floored him again, with the bout being halted moments later. On this night Mack lost both his undefeated record as well as a rumored July showdown with then perennial Super Middleweight kingpin Joe Calzaghe.
Two fights later Mack found himself in the ring with Librado Andrade on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera rematch. Mack started fast on this night, dropping his Mexican foe in the first round and seemed to have the fight within his grasp as the bout progressed. But as the contest reached the mid rounds Andrade’s aggression began to pay dividends and a horrific round seven for Mack was just around the corner. In this stanza things unraveled completely for Yusaf as he could no longer cope with Andrade’s up close attack and found himself on the canvas three times before seeing referee Jay Nady waive the bout off at the 2:34 mark.
Up until that point in his career Mack had been defined as a very talented fighter who started fast but wasn’t able to close the show. He later announced that he would be moving up to the Light Heavyweight division in hopes or reenergizing his career but those proclamations sort of fell on deaf ears. Boxing is all about ‘what have you done for me lately’ and whether he liked it or not Mack was remembered more for his two losses than any of his 23 wins. Then came a date with Chris Henry.
In February of this year Mack would meet the once beaten Henry at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury, Maryland in a fight he was pegged to lose. Texas based Henry may be crude yet he was seen as having enough raw power and aggression to deal with Mack but Yusaf obviously had something up his sleeve on this night.
From the early moments of the bout Mack not only controlled the action, he seemed to be inflicting some serious punishment on his charging foe in the form of crashing right hands that couldn’t miss their target. Henry’s defensive deficiencies were on display and he was being tagged at will and losing badly. Over the second half of the bout ‘Hard Hittin’ Henry would come on strong but it was too little too late as Mack had done enough to come away with a split decision win when the cards were read. The win saved Mack’s career and showed that perhaps the 175 pound division is were he was meant to be all along.
Johnson’s career has been well followed in recent years, stemming from his September 2004 knockout over Roy Jones that thrust him into the spotlight. Johnson’s time in the ring has been defined by facing all comers, traveling into his opponent’s backyards, and often losing close and controversial decisions. His attacking style and modest nature have endeared him to many along the way.
Johnson’s April 2008 fight with Dawson was an excellent battle that went back and forth early on. Johnson rocked Dawson in the 10th and came on strong down the stretch, doing enough for many to feel he was worthy of the decision nod. 116-112 tallies in Dawson’s favor said otherwise and it was a thorn that the Miami native had been dying to remove ever since. Unfortunately for Johnson he wasn’t able to produce the kind of results he would have liked in his second encounter with ‘Bad Chad’, as he was dealt a hard loss.
On paper many may look at Mack as somewhat of a comeback fight for Johnson but I think there is some danger that lies underneath the surface. For as much professionalism and grit as Johnson has shown in his career, there comes a time when all athletes end up hitting a wall in the form of father time. At 40 years old, Johnson’s longevity has so far been incredible but he seemed a few steps slower in his last bout. Mack is currently riding a waive of confidence with his new life at 175 pounds and feeling here is that he could easily surprise a few people on the night of January 30th.
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at Trimond@aol.com, www.Facebook.com/CRHarmony, and www.Twitter.com/CRHarmony. More of his work can be found HERE
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