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Derrick Webster Crushes
53-Bout Vet In Memphis
Derrick “Take it to the Bank” Webster (19-0, 10 KOs) scored
his second consecutive stoppage victory on Friday night,
blasting through gritty 53-bout veteran William Johnson at
W.C. Handy Pavilion in Memphis Tennessee. Webster put on
arguably the best performance of his professional career in
the five-round destruction, which ended via TKO.
“Going into the fight, I didn’t know a whole lot about my
opponent,” Webster admitted. “He was a tough guy, a real
hard-nosed guy. I would put him in the category of a Darnell
Boone (whom Webster defeated via decision in 2013), a guy
with a really hard shell. I took care of business with a lot
of rapid-fire combinations and kept the jab on him. During
this training camp, we focused on a lot of power, so all of
my combinations had bad intentions behind them to where he
was cut at several different places on his face. As I was
hitting him with all of these combinations, I kept looking
at the referee to stop the fight. At the end of the day, the
guy didn’t do anything wrong to me, so I didn’t want to put
any unnecessary harm upon him. I would say it was my best
performance as far as punch output, the combinations I put
together, and just how poised and focused I stayed inside
the ring.”
Now an owner of double-digit knockouts and performing at the
highest level of his career, Webster is just outside the
door of an opportunity to show the world exactly what kind
of fighter he truly is. Arriving to that kind of stage is
where the Glassboro native has strived to reach since he
first laced up a pair of boxing gloves, and he intends to
take full advantage.
“This is such a huge excitement for me,” he said of entering
the next chapter of his professional career. “It’s always
exciting when you are able to put your craft into action.
After all of the pull-outs and date changes that I’ve dealt
with throughout my career, I just want to remain busy
because I feel like we are truly turning the corner and
finding my comfort level inside the ring. Up until this
point, I didn’t really feel like I was fighting yet. I was
just working off my natural ability. The things I saw in
there this fight, along with the growth I’ve seen in myself,
I’m ready to show the world what they’ve been missing.”
As far as bout number 20 is concerned, a tentative date is
already on the table.
“Right now, we are looking at July 17th in Las Vegas, which
is exciting in itself. My entire career, I couldn’t wait to
get to Vegas,” Webster stated. “We don’t know the opponent
yet, but we’re looking at being a main event or co-feature.
We’ll be fighting someone more relevant, which is also
exciting. Hopefully, the fight will be for a regional title
or more recognized belt.
“Once we get this recognized belt and get world-ranked, I
want a world title shot against Miguel Cotto (who defends
his WBC belt against Daniel Geale this Saturday in
Brooklyn).”
Something that has always followed Webster throughout his
career is an incredibly loyal fan base, something of which
the undefeated super middleweight has never taken for
granted.
“I appreciate everybody’s support, all of those people who
have been standing behind me this whole time,” Webster
remarked. “The ride is only going to get better from here on
out, too. I’m already right back in the gym, and we’re
looking to close out the year in fantastic fashion.”
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