Upbeat Johnson says title victory is written in stars
Briton insists that he will win for his late father Beterbiev is toughest challenge of his career
Callum Johnson, the British lightheavyweight champion, hopes to be inspired by the memory of his late father when he fights for the world title in Chicago tonight.
If he inflicts a first defeat on Russian Artur Beterbiev and lifts the International Boxing Federation title, it will be as much for his father as it will for him.
Paul Johnson died unexpectedly in 2016 at the age of 52. “Boxing was his sport,” Johnson said. “I can remember punching my dad’s hand as young as five years old. He trained me from day one, right up until the day he died. No matter where I’ve been in my career, he’s been a big part of my training.”
Paul trained his son to win a Commonwealth gold medal in 2010 – representing Scotland. But Callum’s fight career and life itself – he and his father were market traders together in Boston, Lincolnshire – nosedived when Paul died.
Callum admitted he could not get out of bed for weeks at a time, deeply depressed. “I wasn’t just losing my dad. He was my best friend, my trainer, my boss at work and it had a massive effect on me.
“It still does, but I’ve learnt to manage it now. When I start feeling myself slip away like I used to, I know how to handle it and process it so I don’t go in that dark hole.”
Indeed, it was realising one day in the midst of despair that he needed to be the figure for his own son that his father had been for him that got his life up and running again. He has visited his father’s grave, in Boston, before his fights.
“He’ll always be with me. I hear his voice all the time. In the changing room before the Frank Buglioni fight [when Johnson won the British title this year] about five minutes before I walked out, I turned to my mate and said: ‘How can I lose here tonight when I’ve got my dad here with me?’
“There was something special about that night. I felt invincible, unbeatable. The way I went into the ring and the way I performed, I was a man on a mission.”
That is the feeling 33-year-old Johnson, unbeaten in 17 contests, 12 by knockout, takes with him to Chicago tonight on promoter Eddie Hearn’s first Matchroom card in the United States, streamed in the country on DAZN and on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.
No doubt this will be a tough night, but Johnson – like Beterbiev – possesses fight-changing power. “My dad always used to say to me, the only person who will beat you is yourself. I know I’ve got tremendous power and I believe in my power. I also believe in my skills.”
This must be the performance of his career against Beterbiev, who has stopped all 12 of his rivals. “He is a beast. It’s a massive, massive task for me, I’m not deluded. I also know what I’m capable of. I just know deep down, I truly believe if I can produce the best that I can produce, I can win that fight. I just believe it’s written in the stars for me.”