- Leavander Johnson
Infobox Boxer
name=Leavander Johnson
realname=Leavander Johnson
nickname=
weight=Lightweight
nationality=Flagicon|USA American
birth_date=birth date|1969|12|24|mf=y
birth_place=Atlantic City,New Jersey , U.S.
death_date=death date and age|2005|9|22|1969|12|24|mf=y
death_place=Las Vegas,Nevada , U.S.
style=Orthodox
total=42
wins=34
KO=26
losses=5
draws=2
no contests=1|Leavander Johnson (
December 24 1969 –September 22 2005 ) was an Americanlightweight boxer fromAtlantic City, New Jersey [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE6DF1630F93AA2575AC0A9639C8B63 "Sports Briefing"] , "The New York Times ",September 19 ,2005 . AccessedDecember 20 ,2007 .] , who once held theInternational Boxing Federation version of the world title. He won the title onJune 17 ,2005 , against the Italian fighterStefano Zoff , winning after the referee stopped the fight in the seventh round.Johnson made his debut as a professional boxer in 1989 following a successful amateur career, during which he fought in over 130 contests. As a professional he quickly built on his reputation as a top prospect by remaining undefeated after his first 22 contests (one of which was drawn). His next fight was against another highly rated youngster,
Sharmba Mitchell (who was also undefeated as a professional). Johnson won the fight, earning himself his first world title shot, by knocking his opponent out in the eighth round. The world title fight came onAugust 6 1994 againstMiguel Angel Gonzalez for the WBC Lightweight crown. The fight, which was fought inCiudad Juárez ,Mexico , ended with Johnson suffering his first loss as a professional, the fight being stopped in the eighth roundJohnson got his second world title shot in May 1997, this time challenging
Orzubek Nazarov for the WBA version of the lightweight world title. Johnson's challenge once again proved unsuccessful as the fight was stopped in the seventh round for his second loss. He did not fight in another world championship fight for six and a half years after this, during which time he lost once more after he was disqualified for headbutting Michael Clark during a contest inAtlantic City .After losing to
Javier Jauregui in a fight for the vacant IBF world title in November 2003, he only fought once in the eighteen months after before getting another shot at the IBF crown, against Zoff. Johnson won the fight, in what proved to be the highlight of his career.Johnson's career record was 34 wins (26 by KO), 5 losses, 2 draws, and 1 no contest.
Death
Johnson defended his title for the first time on
September 17 ,2005 , against Mexican fighterJesús Chávez . The fight was stopped early in the 11th round after Johnson received a barrage of punches from his opponent. Despite being able to leave the ring under his own momentum, he collapsed in his dressing room shortly afterwards. He was rushed to the hospital and had emergency surgery to correct asubdural hematoma (swelling and bleeding on the brain). Following the surgery, Johnson was placed in a drug-inducedcoma . Despite initial fears that he would not survive the night even after the surgery, he survived into the next week and was showing some early signs of improvement, but still remained in critical condition. However, his condition stopped improving and onSeptember 22 ,2005 , it was decided to discontinue efforts to artificially prolong his life. He was pronounced dead at 4:23 p.m. PDT surrounded by his family.References
www.LeavanderJohnsonFoundation.org
External links
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* [http://www.LeavanderJohnsonFoundation.org] Leavander Johnson's Foundation: Official Site
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