Bahamian professional boxer Taureano Johnson has been on a tear since his controversial loss to American boxer Curtis Stevens last April. The 31-year-old has won his last four fights in impressive fashion and has climbed up the ranks in the middleweight division, joining veteran fighters such as Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto and American Willie Monroe.
After his last victory moved him up the rankings, Johnson was looking to get a shot at World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Organization's (IBO) Middleweight Champion Gennady Golovkin (32-0, 29 KOs), of Kazakhstan. However, in a recent television appearance, Johnson said although he would love a shot at the champ, right now he is not the front-runner for a title shot. According to Johnson, 28-year-old Argentine Jorge Sebastian Heiland (25-4-2, 13 KOs) is next in line to face Golovkin.
"I want a Golovkin fight bad," said Johnson. "Some say Heiland has the better resume. Why? Why are people forgetting that I took all of Stevens' power shots and was up 8-1 or 7-2 on everyone's cards going into the 10th? The fact that I got 'caught' with 51 seconds left somehow erases my work in the entire fight? Was Paul Williams' career garbage because Sergio Martinez caught him with one punch?
"The bottom line is Heiland is an opponent. He has four losses and two draws, and some of those were questionable. I may have lost five to 10 rounds tops as a pro. I'm a 2008 Olympian with over 300 amateur fights. I made the quarter-finals at the Olympics. I'm no bum, and as far as not beating a top-15 opponent is concerned, I have accepted every fight as a pro."
Gary Shaw, Johnson's long-time promoter, also weighed in on the matter. He also said that a fight against Cotto could be in the works for Johnson.
"We like the Taureano-Golovkin fight, and Taureano versus Miguel Cotto as well," he said. "Either fight is the right one for Taureano. If we don't get Golovkin, maybe we can get the Cotto fight. Taureano is deserving of a big shot. He's worked his way up, he wasn't given anything. As for the loss, that will always be a win in my book. One fight doesn't make a career."
In Johnson's last fight, he won a unanimous decision over Colombian Alex Theran (17-2).
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