HOLLYWOOD, FL, April 5 – Glen Johnson and Montell Griffin, two of this era’s premier light heavyweights, and former world boxing champions who have never crossed paths despite both being in the ring with the likes of Roy Jones Jr., Antonio Tarver, and Julio Gonzalez, will finally meet in a 12 round bout on Wednesday, May 16th at the Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena in Hollywood, Florida to determine the number one challenger to IBF world 175-pound champion Clinton Woods..
ESPN2’s Wednesday Night Fights will telecast the boxing bout, which is presented by Seminole Warriors Boxing, beginning at 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT.
Tickets for this event, priced at $150, $100, $50 and $25 are on sale now and may be purchased by visiting the Hard Rock Live Box Office or all TicketMaster Outlets.
2004’s Fighter of The Year, the rise of Glen Johnson (44-11-2, 29 KOs) to the top of the light heavyweight boxing division has been nothing short of inspiring. Robbed of countless decisions over the years, the Jamaica native finally started to see daylight after a 2003 decision win over Eric Harding. Two fights later, Glen won his first world title by decisioning Clinton Woods, and in his first defense he stunned the boxing world with a devastating knockout of Roy Jones Jr. If that wasn’t enough, Johnson decisioned Antonio Tarver less than three months later to cap off an amazing 12 months. Tarver regained his title from Johnson via a hard fought decision in June of 2005, but the 38-year-old ‘Road Warrior’ is primed for a return to the title race, as evidenced by impressive wins over George Khalid Jones and Richard Hall, and a razor-thin loss to the man he hopes to face for a fourth time, Clinton Woods.
A 1992 US Olympian and the first man to defeat Roy Jones Jr., Montell Griffin (48-6, 30 KOs) has been one of the most underrated fighters of the last 25 years. A slick boxer who learned the finer points of the game under the legendary Eddie Futch, Griffin parlayed two wins over James Toney into a light heavyweight boxing title shot in 1997, and he frustrated Jones throughout their fight before Jones was disqualified in the ninth round, giving the Chicago native the title. Griffin would lose their rematch, but he would stay in the mix at 175 pounds, fighting the best the division has to offer. Winner of two of his last three bouts, with the only loss a controversial technical decision defeat to Julio Gonzalez, the 36-year old Griffin is ready to claim a world title once again.
A high-impact undercard will be announced at a later date.