Klitschko.com - English

I've read that this fight was announced on the German _base_d channel RTL for Dec.12. And he was rumored to have been his next opponent even before the Arreola fight. Boxrec.com also has it listed as Vitali's next fight. This looks to by another easy fight for Vitali who should have no problem unloading his full arsenal on Johnson; who with a meager 9 KO's out of his 22 wins has nothing to make Vitali worried about. Also its a little strange to me but mych appreciated to see Vitali back in the ring and training just 3 months after his last fight.

Rappaport denies Vitali-Oleg

By Matt Richardson

Dennis Rappaport, the veteran promoter of former WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev, has denied reports that Maskaev could get the next crack against current WBC champ Vitali Klitschko. “No one has contacted us about the fight,” Rappaport said on Wednesday afternoon. Maskaev manager Fred Kesch also denied reports that Maskaev could be next for Klitschko. Team Maskaev is actually busy making final preparations for Maskaev to fight on Friday, December 11th at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California. Negotiations on an opponent are still ongoing though Kesch did claim that it would be a “name” opponent. Maskaev (36-6, 27 KO’s) needs to get in some rounds before securing a _title_ shot. He has only fought once so far this year – a first round knockout of the hapless Rich Boruff in March in Mordovia. Should a clash between Maskaev and Klitschko be put off for the time being, Klitschko (38-2, 37 KO’s) would likely proceed with a fight against unbeaten American Kevin Johnson on December 12th.

19
Oct
2009
Vitali-Johnson in Switzerland

After his tremendous victory against Chris Arreola, WBC Champion Vitali Klitschko steps into the ring again in 2009. His opponent will be Kevin Johnson at PostFinance-Arena in Bern, Switzerland, on December 12th. Bernd Bönte, Managing Director of the Klitschko Management Group: “Vitali`s performance against Chris Arreola in Los Angeles showed his extra class. With Kevin Johnson, Vitali will again face a very strong contender. Johnson is undefeated, self-conscious and knows what a great chance this will be for him. The PostFinance-Arena in Bern is a fantastic venue and the right arena for a huge _title_ fight.”

Vitali Klitschko will defend his _title_ for the 3rd time in 2009. In March, “Dr. Ironfist” won against Juan Carlos Gomez by technical KO in round 9 and last month he knocked out Chris Arreola in round 10 in Los Angeles.

Vitali Klitschko: “I am in an excellent shape and had a perfect preparation and fight in Los Angeles. I can hardly wait to step into the ring again. Kevin Johnson is very dangerous. He already had 23 fights as a pro and is undefeated. He is technically much better than my last opponent Arreola. I know I can`t underestimate Johnson but I have no doubt to keep the WBC belt.” The 38-year-old Klitschko has a professional record of 38 wins (37 KOs) and 2 defeats due to injury.

The 30-year-old Kevin Johnson, alias “The Kingpin”, measures 1,91 m (6.3 ft) and lives in Atlanta, USA. In May, Johnson won against Devin Vargas, who has been undefeated until then, as well as against former WBA World Heavyweight Champion Bruce Seldon. Johnson is ranked as number 6 of both WBC and WBA and has a professional record of 22 wins (9 KOs) and 1 draw.

Kevin Johnson: “I’ve been working hard for this chance and I will definitely take it. On December 12th, there will finally be an American heavyweight champion again. I am sorry for ruining Klitschko’s Christmas holidays.”

In Germany, Switzerland and Austria, the fight at PostFinance-Arena in Bern will be broadcast live and exclusively on RTL. Ticket sale will start on October 24.

Vitali Klitschko vs Kevin Johnson: Kingpin And DeGuardia Head To Switzerland

On December 12th, Star Boxing's undefeated heavyweight contender Kevin "Kingpin" Johnson (22-0-1, 9KO) finally will have his chance to stake his claim as the best heavyweight in the world when he challenges Vitali "Dr. Ironfist" Klitschko (38-2, 37KO) for Vitali's WBC Heavyweight Championship at the Post Finance Arena in Berne, Switzerland.

Kingpin, along with promoter Joe DeGuardia, will travel to Switzerland today to officially announce the upcoming bout
Johnson, (WBC #6, WBA #6, WBO #9, IBF #12) is coming off an impressive fifth round stoppage victory over previously unbeaten, 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Captain, Devin Vargas in May on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights".

Klitschko is coming off a ten round beat down over previously unbeaten Chris Arreola (27-1, 24KO) on September 26th..

For sometime now boxing experts have considered Johnson to be the top American Heavyweight prospect, and on December 12th he will finally get his chance to prove it.

"Ever since I first signed Kevin in 2006 I have been telling people that I have the next heavyweight champion of the world. On December 12th Kevin has the opportunity to finally make that happen," stated Joe DeGuardia, CEO and founder of Star Boxing. "Kevin has the ability and more importantly the _style_ to beat Vitali, there is no doubt in my mind about that. Vitali controls most of his fights with his jab, but Kevin's hands are much faster and his jab is much sharper than Vitali's, so it will be interesting to see how Vitali can adjust when he is in with someone of Kevin's caliber."

Early in his career Johnson developed the reputation as a flashy boxer, with tremendous hand speed and athleticism, a jab that many compared to all-time great heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, and a mouth like the greatest ever, Muhammad Ali. The knock on Johnson though was that he didn't have the big heavyweight knockout punch.

As of late Johnson has done his best to silence those critics, scoring three consecutive spectacular stoppage victories, the most recent being against the aforementioned Vargas, who had over three hundred fights as an amateur and seventeen as a pro, none for which he ever tasted the canvas.

In Johnson, Klitschko will be facing a true heavyweight. Johnson usually weighs in around the 240 lb. mark, and at 6'3" he carries that weight extremely well. Johnson also sports an 82 inch reach, two inches longer than Klitschko's, something that Klitschko hasn't had to deal with since his epic war with former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world Lennox Lewis back in 2003.

Another interesting footnote that must be mentioned is that Johnson and Klitschko aren't exactly strangers to one another. Johnson has had sparring sessions with Vitali's younger brother Wladimir, the current IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion in past years for which Vitali was present.

"Vitali is a great champion, there is no disputing that, and I really want to applaud him for taking a fight against a heavyweight that none of the other champions wanted anything to do with. After speaking with Kevin I must say that he has us very confident in the outcome and we are looking forward to returning back to the United States with the new WBC heavyweight champion of the world," says DeGuardia.