By Mario Ortega Jr. –
Boxing and the motion picture industry have a rich history dating back decades. Before even colorvision had come along, stories around boxing made for great films. Somebody Up There Likes Me, Requiem for a Heavyweight, Fat City, the Rocky franchise, Raging Bull all the way to modern entries in the genre like The Fighter, Southpaw, Creed and too many others to name have been examples of how the sweet science makes for great storytelling. Super featherweight prospect, and avid film buff, Malikai Johnson sees his life playing out like one of his favorite films. Though he is still undefeated as a professional, his story includes a major setback, something every lead character needs to overcome in a great motion picture. With a win on Friday night in his hometown of Sacramento, California, Johnson may have the perfect ending to part one of his biographical film series.
On the night of January 21st, Johnson moved to 9-0-1 (including a win in Rosarito, Mexico yet to be recognized on his official record) with a highlight reel type second-round knockout before his large and supportive fan following at the DoubleTree Hotel, Sacramento. Among his supporters, his greatest supporter of all, his father Tommie Tom. Unfortunately for Johnson and his family, tragedy would cast a pall over his triumph just a handful of days later on February 6th. On that date, Johnson, and everyone ever touched by the kindness of his father, lost Tom.
“My dad was pretty against the vaccine and all that,” explains Johnson. “I kind of racked my brain about it back-and-forth. Maybe I should have forced him, I should have pressed him more to go get the vaccine. You know, I blamed myself. I went back-and-forth in my head about what could I have done. But, everything happens for a reason. It was out of my control. I just had to look back and think about all the lessons that he taught me and appreciate him for the memories that he did give me.”
One of the many qualities Tom passed on to his eldest son was a love of feature films. “He was a movie collector and we have like over 8,000 DVDs,” describes Johnson. “I just had to see my life like a movie. I lived with my mom for half of my life, until I was about twelve-and-a-half. She taught me a lot of love and empathy and that type of stuff. But just like the movie Boyz in the Hood, when he says, ‘Only your dad can teach you how to be a man.’ He taught me a lot of great things, like insurance, ownership, taxes, finance and a lot of logical things. He bred into me how to be a man and how to keep on keeping on.”
When Johnson first moved in with his father as a youth he did not look up to the man that really had just reentered his life. One of the things that kept the young Johnson on the straight and narrow was boxing, and the fact that his dad could take that privilege away. “I had to listen to what he said, because with the boxing, he was paying for it,” explains Johnson. “He told me I had to get good grades or I couldn’t box. So I got good grades. I had to do what he said and live right. But as I started doing it and growing older, I saw that things were going well for me and getting better. I was saving money, investing as a kid, making money and flipping the money to make even more money. Growing up with my mom and being broke, not having any money, I always kind of invested it, and that is how my fight name became Bankroll Mali, because I was in middle school, high school, always trying to make a buck, and I got that from my dad.”
The father-son relationship between Tom and Johnson continued to grow and eventually the two became co-workers. “At age 18 he was like, ‘Hey, I think you should come work with me at UPS. You will have health benefits that will pay for your pro license and all that. You can make a little money. You are in shape and young, so the work won’t be hard on you. You work at night and can box during the day time. So I started at 18. It’s a union job, so he taught me the ways of that. I am getting my seniority up. He taught me a lot of great things and how to maneuver in there.”
It would be while working at UPS that Johnson would really gain an idea of the kind of man his father Tommie Tom was. “I started seeing random people in there, of all shapes, sizes and ethnicities, gay or straight, everybody would come up me, ‘Oh, you’re Tommie Tom’s son? That dude, when I was struggling, he paid for my son’s school supplies. Awww, man, it was a rainy day and I didn’t have a car and had to walk home and he gave me a ride home. He would bring me Starbucks everyday or I was having a bad day and he brought me this. Or my daughter was selling girl scout cookies and he bought two cases, the entire 50-piece boxes they were selling,’” recalls Johnson. “I was thinking, ‘Damn, he’s touching all these people.’ I have visions of being a success in boxing and wanting to get into philanthropy. I am trying to be a pro and have a platform for myself to speak to the people. But, him, he’s changing the world, he’s doing positive things one person at a time. After I saw that he touched so many people out of the generosity of his heart, I was like I want to be like that. When I was 18, working at UPS, that is when I started thinking that I wanted to be just like my dad.”
In addition to the kindness he saw in his father, Johnson also took up his dad’s work ethic. “He was a hustler,” says Johnson. “Everybody in the wherehouse would tell me how he’s pulling three shifts or always trying to maneuver his hours so he could get the double pay on Sundays, whatever he could do to make the most money. He would work like 80 hours a week. He liked to brag that he made $200,000 a year, just being a trucker. But somehow, this fool always ended up losing sleep just so he could come watch me box, watch me train sometimes. He just loved to support me and loved to be there. He taught me that anything you care about, anything that you have a shot at greatness with, you should go all out. Most people can go to school and follow the herd, but if you have a real shot or a real talent, why not go all the way, but have a backup plan. That’s why he got me in with UPS. So I could have an opportunity to make x amount. I was in AP and honors and he was always proud of that.”
Prior to late last year, a rift had existed among members of Tom’s family. Around Christmas, Johnson’s grandmother had made a plea to members of the family to squash whatever had split them up for her sake. At his grandmother’s urging, members of the family had done just that and started mending fences.
“With that, I ended up getting even closer with my grandma,” explains Johnson. “I would do anything for her. After his passing, she asked that I go to Buddhist temple every Sunday for 49 days after his passing. At first I was thinking it would be really boring, but I was in a dark place right after my dad had passed. Getting in touch with my Vietnamese side and their Buddhist culture, it was amazing. Every Sunday we would go and pray. Us praying, we were asking Buddha to please get him into Heaven and the more people that would show up, it would show how many people he affected. So we would all show up in nice clothes and bring food for his altar every day, like we were feeding him. And pray. It made the process a lot easier and I cried a couple times there because I felt good, like he was almost still alive. On the 100th day, you come back, and it just happens to be the Sunday after the fight. So after this fight, I will have a little celebration on Saturday, but I am not going to stay up too late because I will be waking up for Buddhist temple on Sunday morning and go back and pray for my dad. When I am going to be there, I am going to show him and make him proud.”
Even though Johnson will be taking to the ring for the first time without his father’s support or their normal pre-fight ritual of prayer, a crack of the back and an elaborate handshake, Tommie Tom did not leave his son alone to continue this boxing journey on his own.
“Even though my dad passed, he left me with a lot of great people and a lot of great support,” explains Johnson. “He always told me to call my uncles and my aunts and they have been real good to me throughout this whole process. My sponsor Gold USA has made a lot of connections. My aunts and uncle have stepped in and have helped sell so many tickets and shirts and stuff. So my support system has been great and I have a lot of great fans thanks in part to my dad and the fact that he promoted me or posted for me everyday as such a proud dad.”
The only thing standing in Johnson’s way of a feature film type ending this coming weekend is 32-fight veteran Pablo Batres of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, his opponent for the Friday night’s six-round main event at the DoubleTree Hotel.
“I just know he’s got a lot of experience, so I can’t go in there expecting that I am just going to run him over,” says Johnson of Batres. “I am going to treat him like he’s a world champion. I am going to be in there, implement my game plan, break him down and box him from the first round, get him tired and finish him if I find the opening.”
Beginning with the fight on Friday, followed by his Sunday of prayer, this coming weekend figures to possibly be the most emotionally charged weekend in the young “Machine Gun” Johnson’s life. On Friday and Sunday, Tommie Tom’s first born, who happens to share his birthday, plans to show his father the type of man he raised while applying some of the lessons he learned while under his dad’s care.
“I am going to live my life and make the choices like he was here,” says Johnson. “I know he is looking down proud and when he was here he was proud. While I am here, I just want to do right by him.”
Tickets for the event, titled “May Madness: Show Up or Shut Up” and promoted by Upper Cut Promotions, are available online at uppercutpro.com
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at [email protected] or followed on Twitter @MarioG280
