Pro Career
He had his first professional bout on April 24, 1993 against Andre Smiley.
In his first title fight in 2002 Johnson faced John Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight Title. In the tenth round Johnson was disqualified for low blows while losing on all of the judges' scorecards. Johnson appealed the disqualification to the WBA, on the grounds that referee Joe Cortez had erred in calling some of the low blows and did not act impartially (both Ruiz and Cortez are of Puerto Rican descent). Though many boxing commentators agreed that the disqualification was unwarranted, the appeal was ultimately denied by the WBA.
On December 6, 2003 Johnson faced the Ukrainian contender and future champion Vitali Klitschko in New York's Madison Square Garden. He was easily defeated by Klitschko, losing by a second round knockout.
Johnson compounded the Kltschko embarrassment by coming into this fight at 260 pounds — an all time high for him. Johnson weighed 232 pounds in his biggest win, over future WBC Heavyweight Champion Oleg Maskaev, in 2000.
Read more about this topic: Kirk Johnson
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