The Story of Johnny Barbosa: Barbosa Forever

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Game: Fight Night Champion

With his past behind him, a once broken Barbosa returns to boxing. This time because he wants to.

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The small 800 square foot apartment is again cold and dreary. Howling sounds of the tired, routine city creep through the slightly opened window, surprisingly serving as background music to a good night’s sleep. In darkness an alarm clock violently rings and then fades. It’s morning again for this broken spirit.

Johnny Barbosa is a retired, one-time Heavyweight boxing champion. “Champion” served as a shallow title and not so much a milestone achievement for Johnny. A tumultuous life he would lead, almost existing in paranoia, only to be sometimes grounded by an ailing but dedicated trainer and then forever supported by his loving, older brother, Victorino. Yet, Johnny’s external hauntings kept him unsteady, and when a tragic accident would end his only true source of absolute, Johnny would again wander from himself, never mourning...never truly grieving.

But time, as it most assuredly does, makes you count the nights and the moments. It can break a man for the good, ground him and offer a healthy perspective. And now what was fractured, time healed. And now..hearing his brother’s words, “You’re better than this, Johnny” gives life.

It’s morning again, and for Johnny Barbosa that cold dark living space is lucid and beautiful. His spirit is broken for the better.

[WeLLWeLL]

Awesome write-up. I usually don't follow these but I'm very interested in this.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

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The Other Main Event
Written by Jared Watts

We’re not too sure what to make of this one. While Stanley Knight was doing business and easily taking the heavyweight title from Leo Cutter, there was an unspoken of main event going down on Saturday night. At first rumored to be, but now confirmed here at BI, an amateur video circulating on Youtube does in fact contain footage of former heavyweight champion, Johnny Barbosa...in the ring...boxing. As we know, Barbosa left the sport very early and hasn’t been seen or heard from in over 4 years.

By the way, the video claims “40 year old Johnny Babrosa” to be fighting, when in fact we have Barbosa at 36. Anyway, check out the footage below:

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Need to edit this card.

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Written by Jared Watts

Johnny Barbosa's Quiet Return to Boxing

He’s 36. His optimism puts him at 22. This is not the Johnny Barbosa that showed zero emotion when he defeated Joseph Curtis for the heavyweight championship, almost 5 years ago.

Everyone has since witnessed the Youtube footage of Johnny Barbosa’s return to the ring, which caused a bit of interest in boxing fans and at the same time, speculation. The interest because Barbosa has always been fun to watch, but the speculation comes because Johnny has been out of the sport for over 4 years. “I’ve been out of the sport, but I feel I could easily step back in,” Barbosa claims.


Barbosa raising his hand in victory in his now famous Youtube video

Okay, we’ll give him that. Barbosa looks to be in excellent condition and claims his morning routine is more intense now than it was then. But what about the abrupt retirement and the odd behavior after winning the championship...do real champions act like they didn’t want to be there? “I didn’t want to be there,” exclaims Johnny. “I wasn’t boxing for me or those closest to me, and then I lost what was closest to me.” Johnny lost his brother, Victorino, in a tragic accident shortly after his championship win, something that took him much time to heal over.


Five years ago.

So we have the video and now the admitted interest in Barbosa returning to boxing. There is definitely room for him, and Barbosa answers the speculation. “A fighter knows when it’s not there. It’s still there,” he says.

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[Matt10]

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Love this, man. The mystique, the write ups, the layout - it just works. Following for sure!

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Written by Jared Watts

Barbosa Talks Boxing, Why He Left the Sport and Why He Came Back

In this exclusive BI interview, we sit down with former champ, Johnny Barbosa, talk about what went wrong before he left the sport and how he plans on approaching his comeback.

BI: Johnny, thanks so much for sitting down with us.

Barbosa: No problem at all, Jared. Thank you.

BI: Okay. You come back to boxing after abruptly leaving the sport and a 4 year hiatus. You look to be in excellent condition, set up your first fight and you lose a 6 round decision against up and comer Ishamel Brooks. Not the comeback you and your fans had in mind. Fast forward to today and you easily knockout Severin King by round 4. Describe the difference in these two fights.

Barbosa: (Laughs) You are right, not the comeback many had in mind. But for me, and how I am approaching this, I think my positioning is good. The first fight was a test more on my stamina. Yes, I lost the first 5 rounds but by round 6, things were turning in my favor. I was able to land a left hook that shook Ishmael up some but really just ran out of time. I'd love to have another shot at a fight like that. With my recent fight, it was more a matter of fighting a guy (Severin King) that was trying too hard to close it out early. I chose to take my time and began to counter more after round 2 and it worked in my favor with the knockout.

BI:You currently don't have a consistent trainer where they are watching everything you do and helping in getting you in a position to compete with higher ranked fighters. This sort of reminds us of a younger Johnny and being "in and out" with your boxing consistency. Are there plans to seek out some different training?

Barbosa: Well, as you know the passing of Sal, actually before I won the title, was tough, not just from a boxing standpoint, but also for our family. Sal meant a lot to our family and his influence in my life and my brother's was very beneficial. But the trainer thing will come. I understand its importance and things will work out in time.

BI: You mentioned your family. Let's talk about what happened with your brother (Victorino). That okay?

Barbosa: (Smiles) Sure.

BI: Victorino never took up boxing, but was very much a part of your involvement in it. Then of course the tragic car accident that took his life, but what about your response to that. How much of his death pulled you away from what you accomplished...

Barbosa: (interrupts) I didn't accomplish anything. All I did was beat Curtis for the heavyweight title, but there was no sense of accomplishment. It was like I was watching it on TV. There were no internal feelings. Everything felt external. But I understand why that was now. Everything I did was external. It was always for someone else, someone or something that had no appreciation for me but only to make people money. It's a very unhealthy system to be caught up in.

You asked about my brother's death and what that meant. Looking back, it's more about his life and how important that was for me. After Sal passed, Vic was the last source of boxing inspiration I had. Rather than seeing me as money, Vic saw me as a competitor, was all the way behind me a drove me to be better. Not having that constant in my life brought me down pretty quick.

BI: That brings us to now. Today. You say you are beyond the hurt of it all. You come back to boxing only to lose your first fight, but you sit there laid back smiling, like it was an easy win. How serious is this for you and do you really see yourself a title holder again?

Barbosa: I'm going to give this everything I have. That is all I can tell you. I smile because all of this is happening inside me now. It's a good place to be in. Now, when I fight, even when I get hit flush in the gut and my knees want to buckle, I don't see that happening. I feel it deep inside and from there I keep moving forward.