Vitali Klitschko, 39-2 (37), continued the domination by the Klitschko brothers in the heavyweight division, by defending his WBC heavyweight title on Saturday in Bern, Switzerland. The latest victim of the Klitschko’s was Kevin “Kingpin” Johnson, 22-1-1 (9), who barely put up a sparring partner type challenge in a unanimous decision win by Vitali.
Johnson seemed confused and battered from the get go, being backed up along the ropes by Vitali. Johnson, a counter puncher at heart, never seemed to figure out that counter punches only work when thrown. It seemed that Johnson forgot that he was in a heavyweight title fight. The inexperience showed right off the bat in round one, when Vitali backed Johnson up against the ropes and continued to throw punch after punch, only to have distancing jabs sent his way, a sparring partners game plan. The type of game plan that the Klitschko brothers appreciate, as they continue their reign over the heavyweight division. Johnson seemed to be resigned, from round one on, to just lean back on the ropes and shoot a jab out occasionally. This game plan was implemented by Johnson throughout the remainder of the fight.
In round 12, to try to wake up the crowd that dozed off after the sixth round, Vitali raised his right hand towards the crowd and fired a left at Johnson. This seemingly also woke up Kevin Johnson, who had some smack talk of his own for Vitali. Let me just say, there should be a rule that you are only allowed to talk smack to your opponent if you are actually taking part in the contest, not just acting the part of a bad sparring partner. After this “exchange”, Kevin Johnson threw two of the 65 punches he threw the entire fight, both ineffectively. The bell sounded to end one of the most painful heavyweight bouts I have had to sit through, as my wife, an avid fight fan, snores beside me. The ring announcer reads the judges score cards, judges Fabian Guggenheim and Omar Mintun have it 120-108, a complete shutout (the same score as I had it), but somehow judge Guido Cavalleri had it 119-109, unbelievably giving Johnson a round. If Johnson can take anything away from this fight, he is only the second fighter to go twelve rounds against Vitali, former contender Timo Hoffman being the first.
In the end, this fight is what is wrong with the heavyweight division. The domination turned out to be an embarrassment for the heavyweight division. This fight was never competitive and could have been ended at any time for lack of competition. There are far better opponents awaiting a title shot, and Kevin Johnson proved that he is not a guy who deserves to step back into a title shot EVER again.
For more on the Vitali Klitschko-Kevin Johnson “fight”, listen to Bob, Butch and "THE Big Dog" Benny Henderson Jr on Fightin Words Radio Show, Wednesday nights from 8-9pm on 1490 AM WWPR. To listen on line, go to www.1490wwpr.com and look for the "listen here" tab.
