Yusaf Mack - Photo © Marty Rosengarten / Ringsidephotos.com

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Michael Nelson previews Friday night's FNF main-event between Glen Johnson and Yusaf Mack.

Three months ago, a clash between Glen Johnson and Yusaf Mack would have been more than worthy as a Friday Night Fights headliner, but not necessarily one with a great deal of intrigue or mystery. The Road Warrior would have been a prohibitive favorite, coming off a strong performance against Chad Dawson and a dominant win over Daniel Judah.

But Johnson's lackluster performance in his rematch with Bad Chad adds a whole lot more intrigue to tomorrow night's fight in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Was Johnson's inability to get off due to improvements in Dawson's game or was it father time finally sinking his claws into the 41 year old's reflexes and legs?

We're about to find out. The explosive Mack is what you would call a lie detector. The truth gets exposed when he's inside the squared circle; perhaps a notch below the cream of the division, the 30 year old New York resident possesses a lethal right hand that often makes up for his iffy whiskers. His speed and accuracy have dented the chins of some of the hardest men in boxing.

But he tends to be a pot-shotter, and it would behoove him to follow his right hand with a left hook to keep Johnson at bay. Part of Dawson's success against Johnson lied in his combination punching, routinely unleashing a cascade of shots that kept Glen's gloves handcuffed to his cheeks before spinning away. Throwing one or two punches at a time will not discourage the hard-nosed Jamaican from pushing forward.

Similarly, it would behoove Glen Johnson not to play with his food. Johnson has had the power to hurt the vast majority of his opponents, but he's known to let wounded prey limp away instead of clamping down on the jugular. Mack, twice being a knockout victim, and finding himself in dire straits late in his bout with Chris Henry, will be vulnerable to the sting of Johnson's sneaky straight right. It's up to Johnson to not let those opportunities slip from his grasp.

If it's true that age has caught up to Johnson, then he won't have a choice but to rely on fleeting moments among the flash, speed, and power of Yusaf. Fort Lauderdale isn't far from his hometown of Miami though. Mack might have to fight the perfect fight to win the graces of the judges - a task that will prove difficult if he can't solve his tendency to fade down the final stretch. But gaining the favor of hometown judging will only land Johnson inside the den of Tavoris Cloud, a young lion that feasts on aging pugilists. He'd have to win impressively tomorrow to make that a highly anticipated bout.

Mack, for his part, has the opportunity to straighten out an uneven career. Can his physical tools align with focus, acumen, and conditioning?

Welcome to the crossroads.

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