Johnson’s Victory Is No Gem

Arthur Johnson will not include Monday night’s performance against Miguel Angel Granados in his highlight film. But his left jab and defensive skills were good enough to give Johnson an unimpressive 12-round decision at the Pond before an announced crowd of 2,497.

“You’re not going to knock your opponent out every night,” said Johnson, who retained his North American Boxing Federation flyweight title. “Every fighter has nights like this.”

Johnson won on all three scorecards, but his margin was only one point on one card. He would have lost on all three cards if he fought every round like the first two.

Johnson (14-3) came out swinging and missing with wild overhand rights that Granados (17-5-1) was able to easily duck. Meanwhile, Granados landed several solid combinations and had Johnson backing up.

“I was throwing punches, I just wasn’t getting off,” Johnson said. “That was one of things I was disappointed in tonight.”

By the fourth round, Johnson began shortening his punches and landing jabs and uppercuts to Granados’ jaw. In the seventh, he nearly had Granados on the canvas as he hammered him with powerful combinations. But while he was unloading on Granados’ head, he hurt his right hand.

So for the last three rounds, he used his left jab and left uppercut almost exclusively. In the dressing room, Johnson was in obvious pain as he tried to make a fist with his right hand. Johnson’s last fight at the Pond was a second-round knockout victory over Maikito Martinez in August.

In the semi-main event, Chula Vista welterweight Antonio Margarito put on his second consecutive impressive performance at the Pond--winning a unanimous 10-round decision over Juan Soberanes of Tijuana. Margarito (11-3) pounded Soberanes’ swollen face for 10 rounds and won easily on all three cards. His only slip came in the ninth when he was caught in the stomach with a sneaky left hook that knocked him down.

Soberanes was once 38-1 with 29 knockouts and considered to be as good as Julio Cesar Chavez, but he is just 2-14-2 in the last six years. Margarito is on the way up after winning three of his last four fights.