The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Fresh off his 2nd round victory over Alexander Hernandez in the Dominican Republic, Taureano 'Reno' Johnson has his boxing gloves set on what could be his ninth consecutive victory on June 16.

Johnson, 28, who now resides in Georgia, is scheduled to be back in the US where he is expected to take on Ricardo Young at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

"The match was pretty good. We had to step out of the United States for a moment but we took care of business there," said Johnson of his May 14 bout in Gimnasio Joan Guzman, Guachupita, Dominican Republic.

In that match, Johnson said he out-classed Hernandez to the point where he refused to answer the bell to come out for the second round, which resulted in a technical knockout.

Now Johnson, who has reeled off a string of victories since turning pro on March 5, 2010, said he's looking forward to fighting Johnson, an orthodox competitor.

"He's an experienced guy. He's my weight and height," said the five-foot, 10-inch fighter. "He's my calibre of fighter. But the good Lord is on my side and with my condition and health intact, I feel like this fight is also going to be in my favour."

Heading into the fight, Johnson said he will be engaging in some strength training, which he hasn't done since last year.

"I feel that things will be much different. The rounds are not going to be as long as they used to be as far as my most recent fight," he said. "I'm now 8-0 with six knockouts. I'm looking forward to continuing that knockout streak."

Young, according to reports, hails out of New Jersey. He has a 5-4 win-loss record with one draw in his 10 fights.

"I know about his record but I don't know anything about his boxing style," Johnson said.

"But I can tell you that I'm going to go in there with all my strength and all my might that the good Lord has given me and I will pursue a knockout, whichever one comes first, a knockout or a decision. Hopefully, the knockout will be the one that comes first."

Johnson is surprised that he's still undefeated at this point in his young career since turning pro after making history as the first Bahamian to win a match at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

"With the workout that I've been doing, it's been strenuous and hard," he said. "I'm very much surprised but I'm looking forward to being even better. If I can go this far, I can go even further."