Dyah Davis Upsets Marcus Johnson On Shobox; Also, Bracero Stays Unbeaten….WOODS

Johnson taking a knee. He wasn't in 'go on and get it mode' against Davis, and would be well advised to seriously ponder what he wants to accomplish in the game, because his motivation seems lacking.

It is pondering time for prospect Marcus Johnson. He was outboxed by Dyah Davis, by scores of  98-91, 98-91, 96-93, in the main event of the ShoBox presentation in Laredo, Texas on Friday night, after needing to carve off a half pound to make 170, the max weight for the bout. This was the second straight time he's been heavy, and one has to wonder: how bad does he want it?

Johnson and his team were talking Lucian Bute, but instead should perhaps consider thinking about going back to the most basic of questions: is this the proper vocation for me? He'd been put on the shelf for a dirty urine, and that, along with the weight issues, and this dispassionate performance are certainly grounds for harsh self examination.

Johnson (20-0 with 15 KOs entering; from Houston, Texas ) was 170 pounds,  after shedding a half pound, while Davis (son of 1976 Olympian Howard Davis; 18-2-1 with 9 KOs entering; from Florida) weighed 169 1/4.

Early on, both men had their moments. Davis looked to feint, move, jab, move, while Johnson tried to walk him down, cut off the ring, land a heavy shot. David dictates distance quite well, and he had Johnson on the outside looking in often in the first three rounds. Johnson did close the gap better in the middle rounds. But the crowd showed their dismay, wanting both men to be busier.

Johnson's corner wanted him to be nastier entering round eight, after Davis used his jab to fine effect in the seventh. Davis, by the way, moved mostly to his left, but Johnson didn't pick up on that and exploit it. In round nine, Johnson took a knee, from a gut shot, 30 seconds in. A mean right caught Johnson backing up with 30 seconds remaining.

Brooklyn's Gabriel Bracero (14-0 with 1 KO entering) took on Danny O'Connor (14-0 with 3 KOs entering) of Massachusetts in a junior welter matchup. Bracero was the busier man in the first. He ate a left right before the bell, but took the first. The two stayed busy, and didn't bother moving much. Bracero's rights touched O'Connor a few times in the third. The New Yorker came out fiery in the fourth. A right clanged off O'Connor's head a minute in of a round clearly won by Bracero. O'Connor needed an adrenaline injection or a shot off a Panama Lewis water bottle; he simply wasn't showing the desire a judge wants to see. The Mass man backed up, let Bracero be first and didn't keep the New Yorker at bay with a stiff jab. The blood coming from his nose from round three on probably didn't help matters. O'Connor's corner told him he needed a KO to get the W after round seven. The Mass fighter did work with more urgency but the KO didn't come. We'd go to the cards. The scores were: 80-72, 80-72, 79-73, for Bracero.

Welters Willie Nelson- Vincent Arroyo kicked off the show. The smaller man Arroyo was an effective aggressor against the 6-3 plus Nelson early. He incurred a nick under his right eye in the second. In the third, he had a point deducted for holding. He then scored a knockdown, off a right hand to the chin,  on Nelson right after the deduction. A left hand in round six sent Nelson to the mat again. He clinched to buy time with a minute left. Nelson went to the floor for the third time at the end of the seventh, this time off a right hand which got there first. Nelson did well, I guess, to stay erect, and wait for the judges' cards. The scores were 74-74, 75-73, 75-73, for Arroyo.

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