By Brad Greer

John “Rusty” Johnson was not looking for a knockout victory over fellow Panolian Pete Johnson in their six-round light- heavyweight fight Saturday night at the Fitzgerald Hotel & Casino in Tunica. The 30-year-old Batesville resident just wanted to show his masterful art of the sweet science of boxing.

With the precision of a surgeon, Johnson picked apart Pete Johnson little by little and in the end came away with a unanimous decision. John Johnson won 59-55; 58-56; and 58- 56 on all the scorecards to improve his career record to 13-2 with 10 KO’s.

“One of Pete’s biggest motivations coming into the fight was revenge and anytime a guy is motivated to beat you he is going to give everything he’s got,” John Johnson said. “There has been a lot of jaw-jabbing between camps and I knew he wanted to knock me out. My main game plan was to use my boxing skills and to break him down.

“I was not looking for an early knockout because I knew he was going to be ready to take a good punch,” Johnson continued. “So instead of beating him up for six rounds I wanted to out-skill him for six rounds.”

The first two rounds became a feeling out process for both fighters as neither could connect on a solid punch. John Johnson worked the body mostly while Pete Johnson covered up for the first round.

John Johnson got the first flurry late in the second round with a right that found Pete Johnson’s jaw. Johnson continued to work the body into the third round and hit Pete Johnson with a crisp jab before John countered with two straight jabs to end the round.

The fourth round provided the most action of the night as John Johnson hit his counterpart with a flurry of punches before Pete Johnson retaliated with a uppercut that found the nose of Johnson eights seconds before the bell sounded.

John Johnson ended the fight with a solid final round by rocking Johnson with a left-right combination that bloodied the nose of Pete Johnson.

“Pete came out real fast in the first round and tried to take me out early but I knew that was not going to last,” John said. “I wore him down with a few good body shots and jabs that sooner or later was going to take their toll on him. He got a couple of good shots in but he never really hurt me with any of them. I have got a pretty good chin and can take a punch.“

Pete Johnson was not available for comment after the bout.

The Johnson and Johnson bout was the third bout of a five-bout card.

All bouts except the main event were unanimous decisions by the judges.

In the main event, Mariem “Punchnella” Brakache (5-7-1, 1KO) of Atlanta defeated April “The Assassin” Ward of Batesville, Ark. in a TKO with 1:38 left in the fourth round.

In the first bout, Calvin Rooks of Memphis defeated Sharif Kemp of Atlanta in the four-round cruiser weight bout.

In the heavy weight bout, Maruice Byarm of Washington, D. C. defeated Rodrick Ray of Paris, Tenn. in six rounds.

The youngest professional fighter in the nation, 17-year-old Dusty Harrison remains undefeated in only his second fight with a four-round decision in the welterweight bout against Trenton Titsworth of Omaha, Neb. in the featured bout of the night.

The next Fight at the Fitz will take place Saturday, October 1.