Klitschko defends heavyweight title
BERN: Ukraine's Vitali Klitschko easily defended his World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title against American challenger Kevin Johnson on Saturday.
The 38-year-old Ukrainian won with an unanimous decision after dominating all 12 rounds of the fight. Although Johnson taunted Klitschko at times and managed to hurt the Ukrainian's right eye in the fourth round, he was parrying blows during most of the fight.
Johnson survived 12 rounds against the Ukrainian, but he couldn't earn enough points from the judges. Fabian Guggenheim and Omar Mintum scored it 120-108, while Guido Cavalleri had it 119-109. Johnson proved a durable opponent and did his best with counterattacking straight left jabs, though he never managed to damage a fighter who has never taken a standing count. "When I first met Vitali I told him, 'You won't knock me out.' It wasn't a hard fight," Johnson said.
Klitschko (39-2) was making his third defense of the belt he reclaimed in October last year, after a four-year break to recover from injuries. He took the fight just 11 weeks after beating Cris Arreola, another unbeaten American who did not come out for the 11th round of their bout.
Johnson (22-1-1) was the WBC's sixth-ranked contender, but few gave him much of a chance against the larger champion. At 6-foot-7 and 247 pounds, Klitschko had a height advantage of more than 3 inches and a slight weight advantage. It forced Johnson to spend most of the night on defense, inviting Klitschko to come at him beginning in the second round. Klitschko aimed mostly head shots at Johnson, but a succession of overhand rights found the challenger turning away.
Klitschko's right cheek was marked in the fourth round, and Johnson connected with a left hook in the sixth. But he failed to mount many combinations and Klitschko kept winning rounds with steady jabs, more big rights and an occasional straight left. The fight heated up in the 11th when Klitschko responded to Johnson's taunting, hands-spread gesture with a flurry of blows. In the final round, Johnson pointed at his chin as if to goad Klitschko into another attack, and the bout ended with them trading punches. The two squared up after the bell and Johnson was ushered back to his corner by Klitschko's younger brother Wladimir.
