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10/15/2007 Archived Entry: "Rolando Reyes Stops Stevie Johnston!"
Rolando Reyes Stops Stevie Johnston!
By Ricardo Ibarra
Courtesy of Boxingprospects.net
WORLEY, Idaho - An exciting main event capped off another great evening of boxing at the Coeur D'Alene Casino's House of Fury, in Worley Idaho Friday October 12th. In the main attraction former two time Lightweight world champion Stevie Johnston (41-5 18KO's) and young Californian prospect Rolando Reyes (29-4 19KO's) battled for the IBA lightweight title.
It was experience versus youth, unfortunately for Johnston (left) youth won as Reyes forced Johnston to remain on his stool at the start of the eleventh round.
The fight began at a slow pace as both fighters felt each other out for the first two rounds. Johnston moved around the ring stepping in behind his jab with body shots while Reyes laid back and looked for an opening. Reyes found that opening in the third round unloading a crisp one-two that caught Stevie Johnston flush, dropping him for an eight count. Johnston did not appear to be hurt as the punch seemed to catch him off balance. Nevertheless, Reyes pressed the action, unloading a big right hand as Johnston found himself cornered. Johnston fought back well and closed out the round pressing Reyes along the ropes.
The former champ regained some momentum in the fourth and fifth rounds as he pressed with effective body work. Reyes remained undeterred, patiently waiting to counter with his right hand. His patience paid off in the closing moments of the fifth round as a snapping counter left hook, followed by a right uppercut, put Johnston in some trouble. Reyes stunned his opponent once again in the sixth with a hard straight counter right hand. The punch sent Johnston reeling back into the ropes where Reyes opened up and landed repeatedly with hard hooks to the head. While the late barrage seemed to do damage to the veteran fighter, he slowed his opponent's momentum in the seventh round where he was able to land repeatedly with hard shots to the mid-section. Johnston won the round, but the hard counter punching of his opponent was visibly taking its toll on the old champ.
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