Stevie Johnston vs Angel Manfredy

Stevie Johnston retained the World Boxing Council lightweight championship by outpointing Angel Manfredy over 12 rounds at Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut, on August 14, 1999. The verdict was unanimous and raised Johnston’s professional record to 28 victories against one defeat. Manfredy, challenging for a recognised world championship for the second time, fell to 28-4-1 with one no-contest. Contemporary accounts described the champion as a clear winner, although the individual judges’ totals are not preserved in the readily accessible reports of the contest.

The match brought together two fighters whose reputations had been formed in contrasting ways. Johnston was a compact, clever southpaw with extensive amateur schooling and a preference for orderly boxing. He had first won the WBC title from Jean-Baptiste Mendy in 1997, defended it three times and then lost a disputed split decision to Cesar Bazan. He regained the championship from Bazan in February 1999 and had since defeated Aldo Nazareno Rios. Manfredy was the more conspicuous figure. His aggressive manner and victories over Arturo Gatti, Jorge Paez and Ivan Robinson had made him a popular television attraction, although Floyd Mayweather Jr had stopped him in two rounds when he challenged for the WBC super-featherweight title eight months earlier.

Manfredy advanced from the opening bell, attempting to force Johnston towards the ropes and create the close exchanges in which his strength and heavier combinations might count. Johnston refused to remain directly in front of him. Boxing from the right side forward, the champion used his jab, short lead left and quick changes of direction to make Manfredy reset his feet before attacking. Manfredy was active and willing, but much of his work began from too far away. Johnston intercepted him on the way in, turned him after the first rush and was generally gone before the challenger could bring both hands into play.

The pattern became clearer as the rounds passed. Manfredy continued to press but was unable to establish a dependable route inside. Johnston did not waste punches or become involved merely to please the crowd. He stepped around Manfredy’s front foot, scored with straight punches and tied him up when the challenger managed to close the distance. There were exchanges along the ropes, but Johnston usually limited them before returning to the centre. Manfredy’s best moments came when he could make the contest physical and work to the body, yet he rarely sustained those attacks for long enough to take control of a round. There were no recorded knockdowns, point deductions or serious fouls.

Johnston’s success rested less upon power than upon timing and placement. Manfredy was made to follow rather than cut off the ring, and his punches frequently struck gloves, arms or space. The champion’s work was cleaner and easier to distinguish. He landed first, moved after punching and repeatedly obliged Manfredy to begin again. By the later rounds the challenger required a decisive change, but the pace and tactical shape of the fight remained much the same. Manfredy pressed with determination, while Johnston continued to collect the clearer scoring blows and avoided giving him the stationary target he needed.

At the end of the 12th round, all three judges voted for Johnston. The decision was received without serious dispute and was reported as a thorough outboxing rather than a narrow escape. Johnston had made a successful second defence of the championship in his restored reign, completing his third title contest of 1999. Manfredy had shown persistence and physical courage, but his forward movement had not been accompanied by sufficient accuracy. Johnston’s command of distance, southpaw angles and pace settled the contest, producing a disciplined victory over a challenger whose reputation had been built upon breaking opponents down in exchanges that the champion never allowed him to control.

I always rated Stevie Johnston as one of those champions the wider public never appreciated properly. He did not have Arturo Gatti’s drama or Angel Manfredy’s swagger, but he understood distance, balance and angles. Johnston had already lost his WBC lightweight title to Cesar Bazan on a split decision, won it back in the rematch and beaten Aldo Nazareno Rios before meeting Manfredy at Foxwoods. He was a proper craftsman entering his prime.

Manfredy was the bigger attraction. He had beaten Gatti, Jorge Paez and Ivan Robinson, and his aggressive image made him popular. But Floyd Mayweather had stopped him inside two rounds eight months earlier, exposing how ordinary he could look against a sharp, disciplined boxer. Against Johnston, the same technical weakness appeared again: Manfredy followed rather than cutting off the ring.

Johnston boxed beautifully without doing anything flashy. From the southpaw stance, he stepped outside Manfredy’s lead foot, scored with straight punches and moved before the return came. Manfredy pressed, but pressure without accurate feet is just walking forward. He could not hold Johnston in position long enough to work properly.

The unanimous decision was absolutely right. There were no knockdowns and little genuine danger for the champion. Johnston controlled the geography of the ring and made a supposedly exciting challenger look predictable.

It was not a famous fight, but it was a fine example of educated boxing beating reputation and aggression.