If there was a part of Johnny who felt bad about shooting Izuku down about using him as a stand in for the bears, he didn't show it. He had never been particularly light on his students back in his own world and he felt the kids here not only needed the rougher touch but they were more than capable of overcoming it. He had seen Izuku fight against the Leviathan and he had even picked a fight with the kid while training for it. He knew the kid could handle rough.

Plus a kid in a bear costume was not as scary as running from actual bears, even if the kid was actually way scarier than a bear.

What does impress Johnny is the way Izuku takes to the challenge and embraces the sport of it. It gives him more hope that the kids will embrace the tournament rather than write it off as something stupid as a few have. The spirit of competition is high and invigorates Johnny to try harder too.

So here he is sparring against Izuku to help him prepare for what this tournament has to offer. He eyes the kid's form as he launches into the roundhouse kick and while defense isn't exactly Johnny's style, he does his hand up to perform a high outside block to prevent it from making contact.

"Good. Good. You've got power behind that and you threw your weight into it. You might be over extending a little but you know what you're doing."