Chad Johnson Got Knocked Down Late But Survived His Boxing Debut

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The first of two celebrity boxing exhibitions on Sunday night in Miami saw former NFL star receiver Chad Johnson — aka Ochocinco — go up against ex-MMA fighter Brian Maxwell in a four round fight on the undercard ahead of the Floyd Mayweather-Logan Paul fight.
For those concerned that Johnson would meet the same fate as Nate Robinson in his first experience in the boxing ring, the first round was an impressive display from the former football player, who was moving great in the ring and even tagged Maxwell a few times to the delight of Desus and Mero on the call.

.@ochocinco tags Maxwell in the first round #JohnsonMaxwell #MayweatherPaul pic.twitter.com/WdTK1jYLjG
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) June 7, 2021

Many felt Ochocinco had a lead through three rounds, although because it was an exhibition there were no judges ringside to provide a decision on the fight if it made it the distance, but in the fourth round, Johnson almost met his demise when he caught a right hand from Maxwell that put him to the canvas.

Brian Maxwell drops Chad Johnson in the 4th round #JohnsonMaxwell #MayweatherPaul pic.twitter.com/mPRZ4AohF7
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) June 7, 2021

Johnson was able to pop up almost immediately and avoid being memed to death by the internet, and survived his boxing debut without being knocked out, only suffering the one knockdown, and got off some strong punches and looked fairly comfortable, which has to seem like a win even with no official winner. As you can see from the Compubox stats, Johnson was active with the jab while Maxwell sat back and wasn’t particularly aggressive until later in the fight as Johnson was clearly running out of steam when he got put on the mat.

Final ⁦@CompuBox⁩ for Johnson-Maxwell. #boxing #MayweatherPaul pic.twitter.com/Bp2mrZ0HvZ
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) June 7, 2021

All in all, it was a successful night for Ochocinco, who even had support ringside from Terrell Owens.

TO in the bldg @ochocinco #MayweatherPaul #BraggingRights pic.twitter.com/15o8JIISx2
— Mayweather Promotions (@MayweatherPromo) June 7, 2021