He spends extra hours in the ring working on defense because of friends like Stephan Johnson, a Brooklyn fighter who died last fall from a boxing-related concussion.

For his next fight, he faced the more experienced Stephan Johnson in Atlantic City, beating him by a knockout in round eight.

It was Vaden's first fight since Stephan Johnson of Brooklyn died after the two fought on Nov. 20.

Stephan Johnson, a Brooklyn-born boxer, never got a title fight, either.

The death of Stephan Johnson is a sad case study.

DONALD TRUMP was sitting in the front row when Stephan Johnson slumped into a coma.

Stephan Johnson died last Sunday after 15 days in the hospital, but his life was more or less over when he crumpled in the ring a few feet from the owner of the hotel.

In December, a journeyman boxer named Stephan Johnson, suspended in Ontario for marginal CAT scan results, died after a fight in Atlantic City.

A junior middleweight, Jones made his pro debut last June, winning an eight-round decision over Stephan Johnson.

This came into play in 1999, when Stephan Johnson, a Brooklyn-born boxer, died from injuries sustained during a bout in Atlantic City.