I first saw Johnson in 1977, when he fought Tom Bethea on television. I didn't know much about Johnson at the time -- except that he had very few pro fights under his belt -- and I expected Bethea to clobber him. I was shocked at the way Johnson manhandled Bethea en route to winning a fourth round TKO. The entire bout was filled with the sickening sound of Johnson's whiplash power shots landing on Bethea's head. I knew right then and there that Johnson was something special. Noteworthy, also, was Johnson's 11th round knockout of Victor Galindez in 1979. That fight marked the first time that Galindez had ever been off of his feet. Johnson accomplished with a single powerpunch, too. I was amazed to see that for the entire fight, Johnson had Galindez (known as an unusually strong lightheavyweight) backing up.
Qawi and Johnson would have been a great fight. Always thought the 'buzzsaw' moniker would have been even more aptly applied to someone like Johnson, who wasn't as deliberate or economical with his aggression as Qawi was.
This fight would be competitive for about five rounds at most. By the middle rounds, though, Qawi would have knocked Johnson out. Johnson simply fought Qawi's fight. I don't think Johnson could have withstood Dwight's power. Better fights, I think, would have been Johnson against Yaqui Lopez, James Scott, and Jerry Martin.
He'd have more to worry about Qawi than his power, which I don't think was ever all that much. Johnson generally had a problem pacing himself in fights, and usually spent a tremendous amount of energy in the first quarter of fights. It would be exciting as hell, if nothing else, because of the aggressive nature of both fighters.
I agree that Qawi would bring more than just power to the table in this fight. Dwight had speed, agility, durability, elusive head movement, tremendous capacity to time his jab, and superb bobbing-and-weaving ability. He could command a fight from the outside with his jab (astonishing, considering that he was only 5'7") or dominate a guy at close quarters with infighting techniques. You are correct about Johnson being a fighter who tended to fatigue himself. That's because Johnson "went for broke," so to speak, hoping to overwhelm his foes with power and tenacious aggression over the first five rounds. Not surprisingly, Johnson was often winded by round six, which meant trouble against power-hitting monsters like Saad Muhammad and Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. Nothing I say here is meant to imply that Johnson was in any way substandard. Not even close: Johnson was an incredible fighter. The late '70s and early '80s were so damn competitive for the lightheavyweight division. Even the fringe contenders were tough mofos. Incredible.
BTW, if anyone here has a copy of Johnson KO10 Parlov, could you put in on youtube? I never did get to see that fight. I understand that Johnson looked extremely impressive that day.
In that era, even the 175 lbs. division clubfighters were often dangerous and capable of springing the occasional upset. Think about Ramon Ranquello, Eric Winbush, Pete McIntyre, etc. That tells us something. Any lightheavyweight good enough to be rated top-10 or top-15 in those days could fight. No doubts about it.
Reviving this outstanding thread to give people the chance to post about, and learn about, Pops Johnson. A credit to the game.
I think he actually had a pretty good chin. He just happened to face three of the biggest hitting 175 pounders in Spinks, Mustafa and Saad.. And Saad and Mustafa had to wear him down gradually.