Welterweight Benjamin Johnson has not but thrown a punch as an expert, however the 19-year-old from Springdale, Maryland, has already drawn comparisons to one of many world’s greatest fighters, David Benavidez. Standing 6-foot-1, Johnson is aiming to forge his personal path within the sport and can combat for the primary time with out headgear on Friday on the Leisure & Sports activities Area in Washington, D.C., in a bout broadcast on ProBox TV.
His coach, Lamont Roach Sr., who can also be selling the occasion, compares the prospect to the fast-handed Benavidez. Johnson, nonetheless, needs to be the most effective model of himself. In his room, he retains a whiteboard together with his ethical and moral tips and admits Benavidez serves as an inspiration.
“I believe it’s a very good comparability, although I don’t need to evaluate myself to anyone,” he stated. “I prefer to be me. I watch Benavidez loads; he’s certainly one of my favourite fighters. I try to be like him, and I take loads from him.”
“He’s slightly Benavidez together with his aggression and busyness when he’s on, particularly within the pocket,” Roach stated. “However he has a number of completely different kinds, with excessive quantity and quickness. He’s actually quick and strikes like a snake for a giant child.”
As an beginner, Johnson was usually averted. His weight class would empty when he entered tournaments, incomes him a repute as among the best within the nation.
“Folks speak about it loads,” Johnson stated. “Folks would enter my weight class, see I’m in there, they usually’d again out. Folks speak right here and there about me being averted and all that. It’s for a motive, however I strive to not concentrate on that.”
Johnson, like his teammate Jordan Roach (son of Lamont Sr.), enters the professionals with a bitter style left over from the amateurs. He had hoped to compete for an Olympic spot however noticed his goals dashed on the Olympic Trials following a controversial loss to Carlos Flowers.
“I went to the Olympic Trials, and that incident occurred,” Johnson stated. “I really feel I used to be not given a good probability at a good combat. The ref took two factors from me within the third spherical. Just about took the combat from me, and I used to be up going into the third spherical on each scorecards.”
Mentioned Roach: “Ben was successful the combat, up on the playing cards. The one manner he might lose was if he acquired stopped, and he didn’t. He hadn’t misplaced in 5 years, particularly in opposition to that child. He had already crushed him earlier than. The referee took two factors within the final spherical, by no means warned him about something. By no means seen that earlier than in my life.
“So they simply took the ref off the Olympic Trials refereeing for the remainder of the event. I believe they stated it was the referee’s discretion, however they took him out of the trials.”
