Marvin Johnson vs. Tom Bethea
Marvin Johnson 175 lbs beat Tom Bethea 170 lbs by TKO at 2:50 in round 4 of 10
- Date: 1977-04-22
- Location: Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
- This bout was a quarter-final in the $1,000,000 WTC (World Television Championships) tournament.
- The tournament collapsed shortly after this. Had it continued, Johnson would have met Eddie Davis in his semi-final bout.
- This bout was a co-featured bout on this card along with another quarter-final bout between Yaqui Lopez and Lonnie Bennett.
- Purses: Johnson - $5,000, Bethea - $6,500
- "I wasn't surprised the fight ended so soon. Bethea is the best professional I've fought, but that doesn't mean he's better than me." -Marvin Johnson
"Another semi-finalist will be unbeaten Marvin Johnson of Indianapolis, who scored a 4th round TKO against veteran Tom Bethea in the first of the two televised main events in the Indianapolis Convention Center. Johnson, 10 years younger than Bethea, mixed punches to the body and head and kept Bethea off balance from the start. He opened a cut in Bethea's mouth before the end of the 1st round, and he opened cuts over Bethea's right and left eyebrows in the 2nd round. He continued pounding at the head with lefts and rights through the end of the 3rd round. Both fighters appeared to slow down as the 4th round started, but Johnson unleashed a quick flurry that sent Bethea, his face covered with blood, to the ropes in the final minute of the round." -Associated Press
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