Bahamian middleweight professional boxer Tureano “Reno” Johnson arrived in Indio, California on Tuesday and is ready for his title fight against Mexican Jaime Munguia, set for tomorrow night at the Fantasy Spring Resort Casino in Indio.
Johnson is going after the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Intercontinental middleweight belt as he looks to improve his stocks to get a shot at the middleweight title. The fight will be the main card and will be aired on DAZN network at 8 p.m. They will both fight under the Golden Boy Promotions tag. There will be no spectators due to the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines.
The weigh-in is today at 4 p.m.
“This fight is very important to me,” Johnson said. “This is the stepping stone that literally makes me having a world title one step away. There are so many great fighters out there. I cannot speak to just one.”
He is focused on Munguia for now and feels great physically heading into tomorrow night.
“Physically, I feel great, I feel energized. I always say I am not getting older but I’m getting younger. I have taken the necessary steps to make sure that I am healthy. I am no longer training brutally hard that puts extreme damages on the body. Do I still train hard? Yes, but I train even smarter,” Johnson said.
The 36-year-old veteran sports a 21-2-1 win/loss/draw record with 15 of those wins coming by way of knockout. Munguia has an unblemished 35-win record with 28 of those wins coming by knockout. There is a 13-year age difference between the two fighters with Johnson at age 36 and Munguia at age 23.
Johnson is the underdog in this bout, as he was in his last fight. He checks on social media but now that the fight is near, he limits his usage of social media.
“My primary focus is the task at hand,” Johnson said. “I am aware that for most of my fights, I am rated as the underdog, but that only gives me more fuel to go out there and fight that much harder and get that victory.”
The last time Johnson fought was at the same venue in a North American Boxing Federation (NABF) middleweight title fight against then-undefeated Irishman Jason Quigley in July 2019. The Bahamian dominated that fight to lift the title.
This time in California is different for Johnson who said that he and his team were in quarantine in separate rooms from Tuesday until they got their results yesterday. Once they are cleared, they will be free to meet with team members. Other than that, the right-handed boxer has already adjusted to California on the West Coast coming from Brooklyn, New York on the East Coast.
“Fans can expect to see a Tureano who has evolved as a fighter. I am a more complete fighter. I would simply say watch the fight. If they had seen my last fight, they can expect an even better Tureano come Friday night. We made some adjustments to my fight style and I know that it will work in my favor.”
The 2008 Olympian added: “I am not going in there with the mindset that I have to knock him out in order to win, but if it happens, that would be great; but it will definitely have to come naturally. I am going in there to fight, to leave it all in the ring and walk away with the victory.”
He is trained by Issidoro Nicolas, Andre Rozier and Terence Simpson who works along with Andre Rozier. In keeping with the COVID-19 restriction, he is only allowed two of his coaches with him.
For the past two weeks, he and his camp started to finalize the finishing stages of the camp. They were working on sharpening his technical skills, sparring, continual endurance training and making sure that his weight is where it needs to be.
This is rest week for Johnson. It has been one of extreme caution for him as he and his team ensure that he is 100 percent physically healthy for this fight. Johnson continues to study footage of Munguia during this week as he has been doing from the fight card was announced.
Johnson has always been one to fly the flag proud throughout his career. This fight is no different. He will be clad in the aquamarine, gold and black colors on his trunks, gloves and shoes. He sees himself not only as a boxer but as an ambassador and a flag bearer. Johnson is encouraging all Bahamians to tune in to DAZN.
As usual, he thanked God for the opportunity to step into the ring. He also thanked his wife, daughter, mom, dad, Apostle Phalmon Ferguson and the United Faith Ministries. His main sponsors are KS Moses and Aquapure.
The post Johnson ready for Munguia tomorrow night appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/johnson-ready-for-munguia-tomorrow-night/
No comments:
Post a Comment