BoxRec

I agree with the people who say it makes u feel a bit guilty being a fan. Hits home how brutal a sport this is. I don't want to see any boxer take a beating then find out he died, Johnson-Chavez fight was a great fight and i enjoyed it(at the time) but now that makes me feel bad. There will always be people who say boxers know the risks when they step in the ring but it doesn't make it any better. Boxers are the toughest people in the world, respect to them all.

Alot of people can think they are a bit of a hardman because of one or two scuffles in their life, but boxers put them to shame. Sometimes im amazed how tough they can be. I certainly couldnt do it.

Leavander Johnson, one of the toughest, but probably too tough

Its hard to believe this news. He was a great warrior.

Wasn't Johnson having trouble making weight? The comms I think mentioned how big he was at lightweight. That and being 35. His legs stiffened every time he got hit. RIP.

In this weeks BN Claude Abrams says that its ironic that accidents such as these happen when the two fighters in the ring are evenly matched as opposed to the one sided mis-matches we hate and would expect the damage to be done in.

And thinking back to the other unfortunate fighters that have suffered he does have a point.

My way of trying to explain this is that when there is an obvious mis-match the under-dog will almost always know the script and look to the floor when the going gets tough.

But in most cases the top fighters have to have that little extra ingredient, call it what you want, be it determination..self-belief or just plain stubborness..they don`t quit, and they will push themselves that little bit farther than us mere mortals..so when they do face a superior fighter or even an evenly matched fighter they fight with everything they have...and sometimes a little bit more than they really should.

RIP Leavander

That's the reason I partly blamed the IBF before, tonyevs. By giving him their belt they poured water on the seed in Johnson's head, that is in all warrior's heads, where they only want to lose their title on their back. Everyone knew Corrales vs. Castillo was for the world lightweight championship. Trying to pass of Johnson vs. Zoff for that same mantle a couple months later was just preposterous.

35 year old lightweights should more than likely be former fighters. I keep wondering whether Johnson's age played any part at all in this tragedy. Impossible to tell but you have to consider the possibility

p.s. if anyone hears of a Trust fund set up for Johnson's family let me know. A few posters over at BA are up for putting some in

silkov wrote:I don't know why the Corrales vs Castillo rematch is taking place so soon... they must both have very brave managers because if the rematch is anything like the first bout it could well finish both fighters.

The managers can afford to be brave as there not the ones taking the punches, managers are always brave when there's a load of money on the table.

I only hope, and I actually think it will happen - that Corrales vs Castillo II will resemble Barrera vs Morales II - that was a worrying post about Corrales.

very,very sad. I was praying that with todays medical advances in technology Leavander might just pull through but am very saddened to hear this tragic news.
RIP Leavander.

I so hoped that Leavander would pull through, it's just too sad. My family and I send our thoughts and prayers to his family. God bless them all.

RIP Leavander.

Leavander lent me his belt!
By Jermain Taylor, undisputed middleweight champion

''With the unfortunate passing of Leavander Johnson, boxing has lost not only a world champion, but it lost a world-class man. After I won my title in July, I came to New York to meet the media and I also had a parade back home in Arkansas. But there was just one thing missing, and it was my IBF championship belt, which was not going to be delivered in time for these events. Leavander graciously lent me his IBF belt, the belt he fought for so long and so hard to win, and he did so without a second thought. That was the type of man he was; the type that would give you the shirt off his back if you asked him for it. I'm going to miss Leavander, and he and his family will always be in my prayers. Rest in peace, Champ.''

stujones wrote:I only hope, and I actually think it will happen - that Corrales vs Castillo II will resemble Barrera vs Morales II - that was a worrying post about Corrales.

Unfortunately he really seems up for war - at those ESPY awards he looked to get visibly fired up when the interviewer even brought up the subject of the rematch. He said that when the first bell goes on 8th Oct. it will be 'round 11'.

Let's hope he's bluffing - like he did before the Casamayor rematch.

Larry Merchant made an interesting suggestion during his obituary to Johnson on last night's telecast. He basically raised the question of increasing(?) the powers of the head/lead commissioner of a boxing commision. He brought up the example of Larry Hazzard - the NJ head honcho of course - who he said has, in the past, intervened and overruled the ref/corner/doctor.

If I remember right it was essentially him who gave Roy Jones Jr. his first loss - forcing the DQ over a wobbling Tony Perez.

Interesting...