Thursday, Aug. 31, 2000 | 9:27 a.m.
When Stevie Johnston's title reign was interrupted in 1998 he quickly redeemed himself, defeating the man -- Cesar Bazan -- who earlier had taken the World Boxing Council lightweight championship from him.
Now Johnston is on a similar mission and Sept. 15 in Denver he will attempt to repeat history and beat Jose Luis Castillo, who upset the Colorado native June 17 in Bell Gardens, Calif.
As was the case in his rematch with Bazan, Johnston is expected to reclaim the WBC belt with a win over Castillo. But he's not taking it for granted.
"He's sort of dirty but he's a good inside fighter," Johnston said of Castillo. "I know I didn't do enough against him the first time to keep my championship.
"This time I will."
Johnston, who is training in Las Vegas at the Top Rank Gym through Sept. 12, is generally regarded as the leading fighter in the world at 135 pounds. Yet that claim rings hollow without his WBC belt in tow.
"Castillo is a good fighter but he's not in the same class as Stevie," said Johnston's trainer, Miguel Diaz. "Their fight won't be a picnic in the park, but Stevie should win. He recouped his title before when he was in the same situation."
Johnston was undefeated when Bazan surprised him two years ago and won a decision in El Paso, Texas. But Johnston turned the tables a year later, winning the rematch by decision in Miami.
Now, for a second time, he must defeat an earlier conqueror.
"I got off my game plan in the first fight," Johnston said. "No excuses, Castillo won the fight. But I had an off day. I got bullheaded and didn't fight him like I should have."
Johnston, 27, is 30-2 with 15 knockouts but is not regarded as a big puncher and has won only one of his 11 WBC title fights by knockout. As a result, Diaz has him concentrating on becoming a premier counterpuncher.
"That's what he does best," Diaz said. "He has to be in shape to do it and he doesn't need to chase his opponent around. I just want him to use his force against the force that's coming at him."
In the gym Johnston has been getting excellent work from Ahmed Santos. They went eight rounds Monday, with Diaz continually pushing each man to pressure the other.
"He was on the warpath," Johnston said later, flashing his typically bright smile. "I know what he's doing. I'm fine with it."
He wants that WBC belt back and to position himself for better fights in the future, perhaps with the younger champions at 130 pounds who are inching toward the lightweight division.
"I'm keeping my fingers crossed," he said of the chance of facing someone such as Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2001. "That's it, I'll wait til they come."
Johnston has had some reasonably big fights and claims wins over Jean-Baptiste Mendy -- which gave him the WBC championship in 1997 -- and tough guy Angel Manfredy as highlights of his career. Yet in some respects he has labored in oblivion.
"I think Top Rank has tried to do things for me," Johnston said. "I can't complain about them. It's just hard to believe that there's no one really well known for me to fight in my division."
The other world champions at 135 pounds are Paul Spadafora (IBF) and Takanori Hatakeyama (WBA), neither of whom is a household name.
Of course Johnston didn't help his marketability by losing to Castillo.
"I didn't have a good training camp for that one," he said. "I stayed home too much with my wife, who was pregnant, and I had a lot of distractions. And the day of the fight I wasn't focused and it was hot.
"But this time I haven't had any distractions. I'm running every day and working out and eating the right foods.
"I'm totally prepared."
Castillo is 41-4 with 37 knockouts and won the fight with Johnston, which was held in a parking lot outside an Indian casino, by majority decision when two judges had him ahead (by five and two points) while the third had it even.
The rematch will be televised by ABC from the Pepsi Center in Denver.
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