Mark Johnson (boxer)

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, 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.

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.