Justin Johnson Fights The Much Larger John Scott, And Wins

I went to a couple of Manchester Monarchs games while Justin Johnson was on the AHL squad. He was proficient at pummeling dudes, racking up 11 points and 392 penalty minutes in 103 games with Manchester. The Islanders called him up from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers this season, presumably to do similar tasks for them.

Tonight, not even three minutes into the Islanders-Sabres game, Johnson fought with the notorious John Scott. It appeared to be quite a mismatch, as Johnson's listed at 6-foot-1, and Scott's listed at 6-foot-8. But judging from the pregame clip, it was a planned bout.

One could say that Johnson knocked Scott on his ass because of some underdog attribute. (In the clip, the announcer calls it a "David and Goliath" difference in size.) The man who had finally reached the NHL at the age of 32 had a furious drive and desire to prove himself that Scott didn't have. That would be dishonest, though. Justin Johnson knocked John Scott on his ass simply because Justin Johnson can take punches and keep going until he makes the other guy take his punches, as he has done since he left Alaska.