[kenyan_cheena]

After Joe Beckett had left the ring, Farris interviewed Jack Johnson.

The Texan received considerably less applause than the victorious Englishman had.

"Jack, I guess it goes without saying that you're disappointed with the result of the fight," said Farris.

Johnson smiled and laughed. "Oh, yeah. I'm disappointed, but, probably not as much as you might think. I really think that, up to the point of the knockdown, I was happy with my performance, you know, Bill. I felt I had a good lead in the fight, and as it turns out, if I'd won that final round I would have taken a two point verdict on the cards. So, it was just one terrible mistake that I made, and I paid a big price for that."

"So you feel that you put in a good performance tonight?" Farris asked.

"Yeah, I do. I wouldn't change anything 'cept the final round, man."

"A lot of people said leading into tonight that you hadn't trained hard enough, that there were too many, how should I say it ... "distractions" that, in the end, hampered your performance against Joe Beckett. Would you call that a fair assessment?"

Johnson shook his head. "No, no I wouldn't. I don't think there was anything wrong with my preparation. Knowing that I lost the fight, in hindsight I still wouldn't do anything differently. You know, Joe Beckett fought a hell of a fight, but even so, he was behind in the final round. It all came down to carelessness on my part, where I made a bad mistake, and he was good enough to capitalise off it. You know, I got all the admiration in the world for him. He wasn't expected to win, but he was good enough to take the one chance I gave him. It's something I'll learn from for the future, no doubt. But besides that, I don't think anything else was responsible for my defeat."

"Do you think that you may have brought any added pressure onto yourself with your statement about going through this tournament undefeated?" Farris asked.

Johnson laughed. "Ah, definitely not. I said it, and I don't regret it. That was my ambition, to win every fight in the tournament. I'm sure that if you asked every one of the top guys, they would say the same thing. Maybe just not publicly, though. I don't think it brought any added pressure, but I will say that it certainly gave Joe Beckett some incentive."

"Joe exchanged words with you before he left the ring," said Farris. "Do you mind telling everyone what he said?"

Johnson laughed again, a gregarious laugh that made it hard to believe he had just lost his first pro fight.

"He's a funny guy, I tell ya," Johnson said. "Joe said, 'I'm glad I beat you, Jack, but I really hope you win the rest of your fights.' He's a class act."

The audience laughed at Johnson's fake English accent as he repeated the words Joe Beckett had said to him.

"Jack, once again, commiserations for your loss," said Farris. "However, I think everyone here would agree with me when I say that this is just a speed bump in what will surely be an excellent tournament for you."

The audience applauded and Johnson acknowledged them.

"Why, thank you, Bill. I just want to let my fans know that even though we didn't make the start we were hopin' for, there's still a long way to go. Don't give up on me yet. Just wait and see, you won't be disappointed."

With that, Johnson left the ring, showing an optimistic grin that seemed to be in defiance of the real embarrassment he had suffered at the hands of "The Angry Englishman", Joe Beckett...