Johanneson fit and healthy ahead of Mitchell clash by Paul Concannon Feb 29th 2008

An old saying goes, ‘reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated'. There have been a few reports flying around about Carl Johanneson; apparently, he's been in the pub when he should have in the gym, masking, the scandal-mongers inform us, a ‘dodgy' back injury (the one that had ruled him out of a previously scheduled January bout with West Ham prospect Kevin Mitchell.) The tenacious, hard-hitting British super-featherweight's champion's camp has been eager to put those rumours to bed, silence the doubters once and for all. On March 8th, Carl will officially get the opportunity to set the record straight when he and Mitchell square off on the undercard to David Haye and Enzo Maccarinelli's eagerly awaited cruiserweight dust-up. Until then, a glimpse at the champion's rigorous training would have to suffice. So, a little over a week before one of the most important bouts of his career, Carl and his team grant us an in-depth look at his final preparations. “There are so many haters out there,” smiles Johanneson, clearly mystified at the reasoning behind the inflammatory chitchat that has surrounded him recently. Carl is typically known to become a little surly during the latter part of his preparations but this current version of the Leeds boxer is clearly enjoying the challenge that the undefeated Mitchell represents. When asked his thoughts on the fight, there are few new words. Carl predicts, “A win,” when questioned about the suggestion his injury was a fake, “It makes me laugh” is all he offers. The real difference is in Carl's attitude; a little over a week before his career's most high profile bout, the Leeds slugger is relaxed and smiling, a pleasing compliment to the intrinsic confidence he, for the most part, possesses. “Carl wanted to fight, it was me that told him to pull out (of the first date with Mitchell),” says trainer Martin Williams. “It was pretty simple; we didn't want to cheat the fans of a great fight,” he continues. Williams feels an injured Johanneson would not only have fooled himself, but also the paying public had he gone into the crucible with the hard-hitting, talented Mitchell in January – but boxing can be a cynical business. Nevertheless, the dark cloud cast by that initial delay has reaped a few positives, as Carl's manager Frank Maloney explains. “These preparations are a continuation of his training for the Michael Gomez bout (Johanneson's last defence in October). After Carl hurt his back, he wasn't able to train, but he was still doing a lot of walking to keep his weight down – all the talk of him partying over Christmas – look at him now (pointing to the skipping champion); show me one picture of him in the pub – you wont find one. He's been working hard here at Sharky's, at David Lloyds and at Martin's gym – a real ghetto gym that shows you what boxing is all about.” So with the back injury healed, Carl, Maloney feels, is somewhere close to his peak both mentally and physically. “The thing about Carl, he needs to know that the people around him are acting in his best interests, working for his benefit. Look at how relaxed he is – he did ten days training with me in Portugal, and Martin, who in my opinion has never been given enough credit, is doing a great job with him here in Leeds.” On to sparring, which for the Mitchell bout has been of the highest quality. “There's no point in him sparring with guys that he can just push around,” says Williams. So, super-bantamweight prospect Rendall Munroe, himself just days away from a European title showdown with Spaniard Kiko Martinez, and Belarusian Sergey Gulyakevich, the current European champion at Super-Featherweight and recent victor over Leva Kirakosyan, a man responsible for two of the three defeats on Johanneson's record, have been brought in to help Johanneson prepare. It's tough going – with both Sergey and Rendall, peak athletes, excellent boxers, each having height and reach advantages over Carl. Each man, Maloney informs us, has been asked to give the British champion no favours over six gruelling rounds of top notch sparring. “These are the type of sparring partners that will make him think, so he doesn't just go blazing in – this bout with Kevin Mitchell could be an opportunity also to show people how well he can box – we've worked on speed a lot for this fight, not just power.” When it comes to the fight, conventional wisdom tells us that the Leeds man will be the bull to the younger, quicker Mitchell's matador. Maloney, however, feels his man will have an antidote for whatever Mitchell throws at them. “We have a plan, A, plan B and a plan C – and if none of them works, then God help us!” he jokes. The March 8th title showdown won't just present questions for Carl, but for the undefeated Mitchell also, as Maloney explains. “I think Carl's going to hit him so hard, he'll put his lights out, he (Mitchell) will have his mum stopping the fight, never mind the ref! Mitchell has been wrapped in cotton wool, I don't believe he'll have the strength to go 12 hard rounds in the trenches with someone like Carl – he's there to win, and he thinks he can, I'm sure – he's the favourite after all, but the underdog role suits us just fine!” When briefly reflecting on the main event, his man David Haye's unification bout with Enzo Maccarinelli, a ticking time bomb featuring two of the UK's hardest punchers, Maloney is equally as confident. “Maccarinelli is a good fighter, but he's never fought anyone as ambitious and powerful as David Haye – I think David knocks him out; I'm looking for two out of two on the 8th,” he smiles. When weighing up Johanneson's bout with Mitchell, it's easy to make a case for and against either fighter. Their respective roles in this one are set in stone, as old as boxing itself, the dangerous veteran champion versus the highly touted youngster. Mitchell brings youth, talent, quickness and that undefeated record, while Johanneson brings power, aggression and experience to the table. There's more than just a title at stake on the 8th; for Carl, at this stage in his career, defeat would mean a tough road back to title contention. For Kevin, a loss would be a huge setback on the meteoric rise to stardom mapped out for him by Frank Warren. Throw in the element of needle, and this super-featherweight dust-up has all the ingredients of a British title classic. Will Johanneson feel any additional pressure, fighting away from home, on a highly publicised world title bill against an undefeated phenom? “No,” he smiles, before going to work on the heavy bag, “I'm just looking forward to the fight.” Photos: Edward Irish

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