Interesting match up and definitely one for die hard fans that enjoy technical chess match. Kalambay did have some issues with southpaws at times but still wouldn't count out his chances against Johnson. Very nip and tuck fight where it can go either way quite honestly. Could be similar to Kalambay's fight with Ayub Kalule or Herol Graham.
I would lean towards Reggie Johnson here. That guy was as slick a southpaw as you’ll see in 91-92, and quite explosive with it. The slippery Kalambay needed you to initiate for his countering opportunities, like Graham was forced to by Barney Eastwood to be more crowd pleasing. He had a problem with the southpaw stance, that shot from Nunn was as if he hadn’t been sparring leftys. I’m going Johnson stoppage! Fairly early, maybe despite being behind on points slightly. There, I said it.
This should be Kalambay's fight. He and Johnson had similar styles, but Kalambay beat better fighters, won his fights more decisively, and was more consistent. If you have two guys of the same size and style, you take the one who did better. I've made this point before, but the best win of Johnson's career was probably when he beat Steve Collins by MD in 1992. That's a good win, but Kalambay also beat Steve Collins by MD in 1992. Would anyone say that was the best win of Kalambay's career?
I think Kalambay turns him and wins comfortably on the cards. A real nice example of boxing at a high level with these 2 guys and we the fans just do not get a lot of these type matchups.
