9. Mark Johnson (44-5-0, 28 KO)

Born: Aug 13,1971

 

If a better flyweight existed over the past quarter-century, I haven’t seen him.  Johnson may not have beaten top guys.  There are those ranked below him who may have compiled more meaningful title runs.  And while it’s wrong to rank a guy historically based solely on naked-eye evaluations,  Johnson has just enough on his resume to crack the top-ten.

 

Johnson was from D.C. and did a lot of his fighting in California.  So he was sequestered from the flyweight action in Asia and elsewhere.  In his 2nd fight in 1990, he lost a 4-round decision in Ireland and it would be 11 years, until 2001, when he again tasted defeat.  From 1993-95, he held the lightly-regarded WBB title while registering defenses against second-rate contenders.  In 1996, he crushed Francisco Tejedor in 1:35 for the vacant IBF belt.  He registered 7 defenses of that title, including a one-round blast-out over talented American contender Arthur Johnson. 'Too Sharp'never lost in the flyweight division and is now in the Hall of Fame.