Marcellus Joseph Johnson (born August 13, 1971), better known as Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2006. He is a three-time world champion in two weight classes, having held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight title from 1996 to 1999; the IBF junior-bantamweight title from 1999 to 2000; and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior-bantamweight title from 2003 to 2004.

A fast and skilled southpaw, Johnson reached a peak Ring magazine pound for pound ranking of fifth in 1998,"The Ring Magazine's Annual Ratings: 1998" . BoxRec. Retrieved July 11, 2017. and is the first African-American boxer to win a flyweight world title. In 2012 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.Thomas Hearns leads HOF ballot. ESPN.com. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.

Amateur career Johnson was an amateur standout, winning the 1989 U.S. national championships at light flyweight.

Professional career Flyweight Johnson, defeated Francisco Tejedor to win the IBF Flyweight title in 1996. Although he never attained significant popularity due to his weight class and lack of defining fights, he went on to become one of the top pound for pound fighters in boxing for several years. Johnson conceded in a 2001 interview that his decision to manage his career independently during his peak, rather than signing with an established promoter, contributed to his inability to secure high-profile fights, "I realized I had to have some management like a Don King or a Bob Arum or a [Lou] Duva to get these fights."

Junior Bantamweight Johnson defended that crown seven times until April 1999, when he rose to win the IBF's junior-bantamweight crown with a unanimous decision over Ratanachai Sor Vorapin at Washington, D.C.'s MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena). He defended the junior-bantamweight title twice. However, his career was interrupted when he was sentenced to a year in prison on a drug related parole violation as well as domestic assault charges involving his wife. While incarcerated, he was stripped of his IBF title due to inactivity.

Bantamweight Johnson returned to the ring in 2001, scoring two consecutive wins. In his third fight at bantamweight Johnson lost in an upset to up and coming Rafael Marquez by split decision over 10 rounds later that year. This bout was clouded by the fact that Johnson was docked two points for holding. In the rematch the following year, Marquez took Johnson apart, winning by TKO in the 8th round. In 2003, Johnson upset WBO junior-bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel. Johnson defended that title once before losing by knockout in the 8th round to Ivan Hernández. Johnson retired following his second straight loss in February 2006 after falling by eighth-round knockout to current WBC featherweight titleholder Jhonny González.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes50Loss44–5 Jhonny GonzálezKO8 (12), Feb 25, 200649Loss44–4 Iván HernándezKO8 (12), Sep 25, 200448Win44–3 Paulino VillalobosUD10Jul 17, 200447Win43–3 Luis BolanoKO4 (12), Mar 6, 200446Win42–3 Fernando Montiel12Aug 16, 200345Win41–3 Ricardo MedinaUD8Jun 28, 200344Loss40–3 Rafael MárquezTKO8 (12), Feb 23, 200243Loss40–2 Rafael MárquezSD10Oct 6, 200142Win40–1 Arturo ValenzuelaTKO6 (10), Jul 24, 200141Win39–1 Sergio PerezUD10Jun 8, 20014038–1 Raul JuarezNC4 (12), Nov 19, 199939Win38–1Jorge Lacierva8 (12), Aug 13, 199938Win37–1Ratanachai Sor VorapinUD12Apr 24, 199937Win36–1José LaureanoTKO6 (12), Sep 4, 199836Win35–1Luis RolonUD12Jul 26, 199835Win34–1Arthur JohnsonKO1 (12), Feb 22, 199834Win33–1Angel AlmenaUD12Sep 16, 199733Win32–1Cecilio EspinoKO2 (12), Jun 1, 199732Win31–1Alejandro MontielUD12Feb 10, 199731Win30–1Raul JuarezTKO8 (12), Aug 5, 199630Win29–1Francisco TejedorKO1 (12), May 4, 199629Win28–1Raul RiosKO3 (10)Dec 11, 199528Win27–1Ernest SneedTKO1Oct 15, 199527Win26–1Marcos PachecoTKO4Sep 11, 199526Win25–1Josué CamachoTKO8 (12), Jul 15, 199525Win24–1Rafael GranilloKO5 (12), Jun 10, 199524Win23–1Mauro DiazTKO3 (12)Apr 24, 199523Win22–1Leon Salazar3 (12), Feb 20, 199522Win21–1Enrique OrozcoTKO12 (12), Oct 22, 199421Win20–1Jose QuirinoKO3 (12)Jun 11, 199420Win19–1Javier JuarezKO3 (12), May 9, 199419Win18–1Ancee GedeonPTS10Apr 23, 199418Win17–1Eduardo RamirezKO2 (12)Mar 1, 199417Win16–1Roberto Betillo AlvarezUD12Dec 6, 199316Win15–1Armando DiazUD12Aug 9, 199315Win14–1Alberto Jimenez12May 18, 199314Win13–1Rudy BradleyPTS8Apr 5, 199313Win12–1Luis RosarioKO2Feb 19, 199312Win11–1Daniel MoranTKO1Nov 29, 199211Win10–1Raul HernandezKO2Oct 3, 199210Win9–1Steve ColemanKO1Jun 13, 19929Win8–1Aureo Dominguez6Jan 11, 19928Win7–1Martin LloveraKO2 (6)Sep 21, 19917Win6–1Joe BordleyKO2Jul 24, 19916Win5–1Derrick ShepherdKO1May 4, 19915Win4–1Derrick ShepherdPTS6Mar 9, 19914Win3–1Darian RileyKO2Feb 26, 19913Win2–1Wayne JohnsonKO1Jan 11, 19912Loss1–1Richie Wenton4Mar 17, 19901Win1–0Ray González3 (4)Feb 24, 1990

References

External links

The Trial and Tribulations of a DC Boxer, 1995 article at The Washington Post