Johnson prepared to take on Lumiex

Johnson prepared to take on Lumiex
Tureano Johnson.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Middleweight Tureano Johnson is preparing for what could possibly be the most important fight of his career.

As it stands now, Johnson is outside of the top 10 in his division, but a win against former World Champion David Lemieux could catapult him up the ranks.

Johnson takes on Lemieux on December 15 in Madison Square Gardens. It will be Johnson’s first fight since losing a title eliminator to Sergiy Derevyanchenko last year and Lemiuex’s first match since winning a title eliminator on September 15 against Gary O’ Sullivan.

In an interview yesterday with Eyewitness Sports, Johnson, 34, said he’s looking to work his way back into the championship contention, and this is the first step on that journey.

Johnson was originally supposed to fight Chris Pearson in August, but the sides couldn’t work out a deal.

“I was excited about the chance to fight Chris, but due to circumstances beyond my control, the fight did not happen,” Johnson said. “However, this current fight is a great opportunity for me to prove that I am able to fight the best and I deserve to be a world champion.

“David is an incredible opponent with a very elaborate record that speaks for itself.”

Johnson, who currently trains at the X3 Sports Base in Atlanta, Georgia, said he is focused on bringing a more technical style to the ring.

“I have learned a lot from my past mistakes and my most recent fight. I would say that it made me a more complete fighter,” Johnson said. “My training is going great. I am learning new techniques and capitalize on older aspects of boxing that I might have thought needed to be obsolete. But once we revisited the fundamentals, I was able to find a style that works for me. He’s a very strong puncher, but I have learned some new techniques that will give me the upper hand.”

Johnson was the mandatory number one contender for the World Boxing Council (WBC) Middleweight Title before losing last August. The fight against Derevyanchenko was an elimination bout for the number one contender spot for Gennady Golovkin’s title. Johnson originally had a shot at the WBC Middleweight title in 2016, however, the fight never took place.

About Randy Smith

Randy Smith is the producer of the widely-watched local television show “Beyond The Headlines” and the web content manager of Eyewitness News. He joined Eyewitness News as a sportscaster in 2018, a role he still performs, and has previously covered a slew of international sporting events, including the 2015 Pan American Games, the Nike EYBL Showcase, several IAAF World Relays, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the Commonwealth Youth Games, the Bahamas Bowl and multiple CARIFTA Swimming and Track & Field Championships. Randy has been recognized by the Bahamas Press Club with awards for “Best Sports Broadcast” as a sportscaster and “Best TV Talk Show” as a producer.