Two
weeks ago, I got a phone call from my old friend Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson. He
was feeling pretty confident that in his first year of eligibility, he would be
elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, promising that when the
announcement came, this reporter would be the first he would call. Well, at 10:08 AM on Tuesday, I got a ring from the 202 area code.
It was Johnson; he had made it. He can book his flight and he'll be in Canastota, New York from June 7-10, alongside
the likes of Thomas Hearns, Freddie Roach, Al Bernstein, Michael Katz and
Michael Buffer.
Johnson's
a Hall-of-Famer. First ballot, to boot.
“Man, I'm just so excited to be able to get in directly after five years like
guys like Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and it's definitely a big event for me,”
he told Maxboxing. “It's big to me because nobody else has been in the Hall of Fame
from the D.C. area but me and Ray, so that's just a plus.”
(Leonard
actually hailed from the Maryland area, meaning he's more of a Raven
than a Redskin like Johnson.)
When
asked if he was nervous about the process as ballots were turned in, Johnson
said, “I think the nervous part of it was that I think most of the writers knew
the accomplishments that I did and the article that you did (maxboxing.com/stating-the-case-for-too-sharp)
enlightened people on exactly what Mark Johnson was and what he did and for
Cameron Dunkin to come on and say, ‘OK, the reason why Mark didn't get those
fights (with Johnny Tapia and Danny Romero) was because I was those guys’
manager and I wouldn't make those fights.’ I knew that right then and there,
people would look at it as, ‘OK, so it wasn't Mark that was ducking people.’ So
I think that was a big plus for me- and it was.”
For
Johnson, the fight where he burst on to the scene and stamped himself a player
at the Forum was his most memorable moment.
“The [Alberto] ‘Raton’ Jimenez fight. I
was a guy who never went past eight rounds in boxing. I went straight to a 12-rounder
and I beat the number two contender in the world who just came off a WBC
[title] fight,” recalled Johnson of his thrilling back-and-forth bout with a
guy who later had a productive run as a WBO flyweight titlist. Beating a
fighter managed by the influential Ricardo Maldonado was damn near impossible at
the Forum in those days but “Too Sharp” somehow managed to do it. “I think that
may have been one of the biggest [wins]. I think right then and there, I knew I
could compete with the best of ‘em.”
Long
ago, I dubbed Johnson “The Jackie Robinson of Flyweights” as he was the first
African-American to pick up a major title at 112 pounds but even that trinket
was not enough to entice the real marquee names between 108 and 115 pounds to
ever step in a ring with him. To this day, it has left Johnson a bit unfulfilled
and frustrated. He says, “I think this makes up for a lot of it. I think when
you talk about football, basketball, no matter what sport you talk about and
you say, ‘Hall of Fame, ah, man, that's something big within itself.’ And
hopefully, now I can get the ESPN, HBO, the Showtime commentating jobs that
I've been trying to get for so long- but once again, here we go, ‘He
left-handed. He's too short and he's an African-American,’” said Johnson,
laughing at the thought of it all.
Nowadays,
“Too Sharp” is still working with his colorful father, “Ham,” in the city he
was born and raised in.
“Right
now, me and my dad, we have an at-risk youth program,” said Johnson, now 40
years old, “but I do work for the D.C. Department of Recreation. It's a program
called ‘The Roving Leader Program.’ What I do is everything that a social
worker do. I'm in high schools. I do mediations, home visits, court visits. So
I'm going back. That's what I like about the whole thing.” But boxing will
always be in his blood. Johnson has also expressed interest in being either a
judge or referee in the near future.
The
timing of this announcement couldn't have been any more appropriate as “The
Capital City Showdown” taking place this weekend marks the return of major
league boxing to this region on a show televised by HBO.
“When you talk about boxing and D.C., I think we have the best talent here.
Most importantly, what I think is going on is that we don't have no casinos
here. Without those casinos, a lot of promoters don't want to run to D.C.
because they have to pay for everything as far as the venue, the hotels and
different things like that. But if it's a casino, they'll give you everything
to bring the fight there to bring the fight there but I still believe D.C. has
the best talent when it comes to boxing, hands down,” said Johnson, who came up
with the likes of Sharmba Mitchell, William Joppy and Keith Holmes, who all
captured championships during their careers.
On Saturday night at the Convention
Center, local Lamont Peterson takes on junior welterweight beltholder Amir
Khan. However, Peterson is a decided underdog. Johnson states, “I think Lamont
has a good chance because Amir Khan is overlooking him. I think that Amir Khan
thinks that this is going to be an easy fight. That's one of the reasons why he
brought the fight here. I think Lamont has a good chance. I've seen both of ‘em.
I've watched both of ‘em fight. What I think Lamont has a little better than
Amir is better boxing skills. I think if Lamont goes out there and boxed and
fights like he knows and not like how he faced Tim Bradley, I think he can beat
Amir Khan.
“Marcos
Maidana had hurt Amir and I don't think he is half the talent that Lamont is.”
If
there is someone from D.C. who can follow in Johnson’s footsteps one day, it's
the ultra-talented Gary Russell Jr. who looks like he has all the tangibles
early on in his pro career (and is no stranger to Johnson). Like Johnson, Russell
is a quicksilver southpaw with undeniable skills.
“I've
watched Gary. I've known Gary since he was a kid. All his brothers could fight,
every last one of ‘em. I think he's one of the best. Right now, I'm looking
forward to seeing him step up, getting ready to fight better and better guys.
But it's one of them things, like me, is he going to be a too fast, left-handed
African-American and have the same problems that I had?” asked Johnson, who
believes that Russell’s association with the influential Al Haymon will make
his career path a much easier journey than his own.
The
hope is that on Saturday night, some sort of tribute will be paid to
Johnson during this card. After all, he is now a Hall-of-Famer.
THANKS
Johnson
was very grateful to those who advocated his cause, going all the way back to
his days with Forum Boxing. “I gotta thank guys like John Beyrooty also,” he
told me. Before his days at Brener-Zwikel, Beyrooty was the head publicist for
Forum Boxing.
“I'm
pleasantly shocked because when I used to do the Forum program columns, I
remember having Mark rated number one pound-for-pound before he was even a
world champion- which is the way I felt. I had him ranked above everybody,”
said Beyrooty on Tuesday afternoon.
I
happened to cut my teeth in boxing in the era when Forum Boxing featured the
likes of Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez and Johnson all under its
promotional banner. I don't think I realized how lucky I was to have been there
before they closed their doors in 1999.
Beyrooty
says, “There were a lot of great fighters like that, that fought on Monday nights on Prime Ticket in Inglewood, California before several
thousand people. People still remember the great fights. People certainly
remember all the upsets- which is certainly the result of great fights- but I
remember Mark's first fight at the Forum and he fought Rudy Bradley, a fast
guy, an eight-rounder. I think Mark just outsped him. Mark did everything. I'm
pleasantly shocked because he made it on his first try. So many Hall of Fames
mess things up and don't get it right and never get it right- and these guys
got it right.
“I'm
just very, very happy for him.”
Johnson
ended our conversation by stating, “But like I say, Muhammad Ali had Howard
Cosell, Mark Johnson had Steve Kim.”
Seriously,
that made my day but I certainly wasn't the only scribe to have vouched for
him. I know that Jake Donovan, Lem Satterfield and Eric Raskin penned their own columns
advocating his cause and it was the actual members of the BWAA who voted him in.
I know he's grateful to them also.
THE
MARQUEZ GUYS
If you've
read me over the years, you know about Daryl and Kirk, who are best known as
the two gringos who have an incredible loyalty to Marquez (then went as far as
to book flights to Indonesia to see him face Chris John before the
original date of that fight was postponed). I remember meeting them back in
2003 after Marquez won his first major world title against Manuel Medina inside
one of the small ballrooms at the Mandalay Bay. Over drinks late into that
February night, they told both me and Doug Fischer that it would be our
responsibility to see that guys like Johnson got their just due at the end.
Kirk
sent this email yesterday:
How you livin brotha? Just dropping you a line because I saw
that Too Sharp made the HOF. I
remember seeing Mark for the first time as an amateur at the Olympic Training
Center in
’92 and thinking, “WOW’. Good
as he was….he doesn’t make it into the Hall without a push from the hardcore
boxing guys in general…..you specifically. It’s great to see a lesser known guy
get his just due. Truth is,
Too Sharp was better than 95 percent of the people already inducted. Had he been 50 lbs larger he’d
would’ve been heavyweight champion of the world. I’d go so far as to say that he
probably would’ve given a prime Juan Manuel Marquez a run for the
money. And, no matter how the fight played out, he would’ve won a
clear decision on your completely unbiased card.
Speed and I were in Uncasville when he fought Montiel….and we both
suspected his trip to Canastota depended on a victory over
Montiel. He looked like a
goat fighting a gazelle that nite, but he found a way to win. We saw him at the bar later and I
really wanted to buy him a bottle of Ripple to celebrate, but those casinos
don’t carry the good stuff anymore. It will always be one of my
favorite boxing memories.
It’s been too long and we need to get
together for drinks soon. In
fact, we may have to head to Canastota in June, just to make sure Too Sharp is
properly represented.
Love, Peace, Hair Grease,
--
Kirk Christiano
Kirk, it's been too
long since one of our vaunted trips. I still remember (well…some of it) the
time we had in Tahoe back in 2006 but you got me thinking about it. I have
never been to Canastota for the IBHOF ceremonies and folks in the boxing
community have been telling me for awhile that I have to do it just once in my
lifetime. Y’ know, if a class including the likes of Roach, Katz (who I've had
close relationships with and worked alongside) and “The Hitman” can't get me
out there, nothing will.
I guess what I'm
saying is, you can tentatively put me on the bout sheet for early June.
(And geez, you
never will let me forget or live down your disgust over my Pacquiao-Marquez II
scorecard, will you?)
HALL OF FAME
FLURRIES
I also spoke to
Michael Katz and as I told him that I just might have to make my one pilgrimage
to Canastota, he countered, “Yeah, so will I.” Love him or hate him, Katz had a
way with words and he could really turn a phrase…The Saturday show at the Honda Center that featured a quartet
of bantams on Showtime sold 1,161 tickets for a gate of $70,313. It goes to
show that in the pissing contest that is counterprogramming, really, nobody
wins...Speaking of that card, I was impressed by how Abner Mares made
adjustments in his rematch with Joseph Agbeko and Anselmo Moreno just boxes a
lot like Pernell Whitaker, doesn't he?...The December 17th edition of Top Rank Live
features Robert Marroquin at the WinStar Casino in Thackerville, OK....Seriously,
is Reeves Nelson even worth all this trouble to UCLA? It's not like he's Ed O'Bannon or something...If
Arizona State hires June Jones, that's a bold move and adds to the roster of
some top-notch coaches in the PAC-12...My vote for the Stiff-Arm Trophy (aka the
Heisman) is Robert Griffin III of Baylor...With all these trade rumors, I guess
the Lakers really are not going to stand pat in the final years of one Kobe
Bean Bryant...I'm still speechless over the most recent episode of “Boardwalk
Empire”...
