Johnson was a bad a@@ who set a horrendous pace. He has Kov out of his rythem until he eats a strait left or two and its lights out. Johnson KO in about 5 or 6 rds.
Remind me again who Marvin Johnson beat? Every time he fought a top guy, Johnson was stopped. Kovalev is a good boxer ( almost even with Ward in rounds won or lost over two fights ), and hits hard. I think he wins here via TKO.
Agreed. Old pops is doing good until he eats a clean right hand as he is coming in. And he is going to eat a big right hand and be caught clean. question is how he handles it. i don't think he does. Exciting fight for sure and I don't think it makes it to the 6th round.
He beat Leslie Stewart Eddie Davis twice Charles William's Mate Parlov Jerry Celestine Billy Douglas Tom Bethea Viktor Galindez Went tooth and nail with the very best version of Franklin but lost a war of attrition that Kovalev would have also against either men on those nights. He sparked Galindez big time. He beat Eddie Davis twice who would be a pick em fight with Kovalev. Johnson was tougher than Kovalev had more heart and hit just as hard. As an Edit ..the same Galindez that he KO'd would have beat the living hell out of Kovalev.
Another vote for Kovalev, although I'm not surprised that the consensus is split on this one. Johnson's resume doesn't fully reflect how formidable he was: an aggressive, fearless southpaw, who had legit power in both hands. He also paced himself poorly, had below average defense, and didn't have a great chin considering his face-first style. Despite Johnson's strengths this one adds up to Kovalev by stoppage for my money.
Johnson stopped Galindez and Parlov and was stopped by; Saad Mustapha Spinks Do you think Kovalev beats any of those three?
I think that Saad fight- the first one was one of the greatest comebacks ive ever seen .Saad was a beaten fighter and cameback to knock Johnson out in the last round. SK folds under pressure and doesnt handle ir well at all. Going against a pressure fighter like Johnson is all wrong for SK. He will eventually fold . Nobody ever blew out Johnson so the chances of an early SK ko are slim . Spinks got Johnson I think early but SK isnt even close to a Spinks.
Both were 3 x LHW Champs but MJ fought in a golden era and yes he was stopped but despite Kovalev having a high ko % he was not elite puncher like Saad and Spinks. MJ in a hard fought contest comes out on top and stops Kovalev late.
Saad vs Marvin Johnson 1 (Both fighters were paid $2,500) 1977-07-26 : Matthew Saad Muhammad 175 lbs beat Marvin Johnson 175 lbs by TKO at 1:12 in round 12 of 12 Location: Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Referee: Ozzie Sadler 49-53 Judge: Paul Harris 51-51 Judge: Harold Lederman 51-48 Promoter: Russell Peltz NABF Light Heavyweight Title (Vacant) See also: Marvin Johnson vs. Matthew Saad Muhammad (2nd meeting) Fight Poster Notes Johnson draws blood from the nose of Franklin in round 2, which continues to bleed throughout the bout. Late in round four Franklin stuns Johnson with a series of hard punches, knocking his mouth piece out in the process. The bell ring to save Johnson. Franklin begins to swell under the left eye in round 6. An exhausted Johnson finally goes down from a hard series of shots from Franklin. He slumps to the canvas near the ropes and is counted out. Both fighters were paid $2,500. Dan Rafael of ESPN.com wrote that Saad Muhammad's knockout of Johnson was "his first breakout victory." Promoter Russell Peltz said this was "the greatest fight I ever saw." From Philly Boxing History: "Matthew Saad Muhammad (then Matt Franklin) and Marvin Johnson waged perhaps the most sensational Spectrum war ever. It was scheduled for 12 rounds with the NABF light heavyweight championship at stake. 6,459 fortunate fans were on hand to watch the grueling, dramatic action. The ebbs and flows of this fight happened in each and every round. Both fighters dished out and received an extraordinary amount of punishment. In the end, Matthew finally knocked out an exhausted Johnson at 1:12 of the 12th."
