Kevin Blue Johnson (born September 7, 1979) is an American
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
heavyweight
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Boxing Professional
Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...
title in 2009. He holds notable wins over former world champions
Bruce Seldon
Bruce Samuel Seldon (born January 30, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 1996, and 2004 to 2009. He held the WBA heavyweight title from 1995 to 1996, most notably losing to Mike Tyson via knockout in his se ...
and
Yoan Pablo Hernández
Yoan Pablo Hernández Suárez (born October 28, 1984) is a Cuban-German professional boxer. He is a former unified cruiserweight world champion, having held the IBF and ''Ring'' magazine titles between 2011 and 2015, as well as the WBA interi ...
.
Amateur career
Johnson started boxing at the age of 18. He was an unheralded amateur with only a 14–2 record but won the New Jersey
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...
.
Professional career
He turned pro in 2002. After only three fights the lanky counterpuncher was thrown in with an undefeated Olympian in
Timor Ibragimov
Timur Ibragimov (Тимур Ибрагимов; born January 15, 1975) is an Uzbekistani former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2012. As an amateur, he competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Early years
Ibragimov is from Uzbekistan. ...
, who already had 13 victories. To the great surprise of the audience, Johnson held Ibragimov to a draw. Three fights later in 2004 he handily beat well-known
clubfighter
A club fighter (or clubfighter) is a professional boxing, boxer who usually fights locally and has a mediocre record. Club fighters generally are not nationally recognized and have not won any fights that show the ability to win a championship. T ...
Robert Wiggins, who was 19–3–1 at the time. After being somewhat inactive in 2005 he had another good win over a clubfighter in Robert Hawkins 2006 against whom he won a shutout decision. He was regarded by some as America's best heavyweight prospect largely to his dominant
jab
A jab is a type of punch used in martial arts. Several variations of the jab exist, but every jab shares these characteristics: while in a fighting stance, the lead fist is thrown straight ahead and the arm is fully extended from the side of ...
.
On April 18, 2008, at the Buffalo Run Casino in
Miami, Oklahoma
Miami ( ) is a city in and county seat of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States, founded in 1891. Lead and zinc mining were established by 1918, causing the area's economy to boom.
This area was part of Indian Territory. Miami is the capital of ...
, Johnson defeated Terry Smith by unanimous decision. Johnson used his long jab and hand speed to maneuver his way around the aggression of Smith. Johnson scored the biggest win of his career with a TKO victory over a badly faded
Bruce Seldon
Bruce Samuel Seldon (born January 30, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 1996, and 2004 to 2009. He held the WBA heavyweight title from 1995 to 1996, most notably losing to Mike Tyson via knockout in his se ...
in September 2008 in
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
. Johnson defeated
Devin Vargas
Devin Vargas (born December 25, 1981) is an American professional boxer. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2003 Pan American Games and competed at the 2004 Olympics, both in the heavyweight division.
Amateur career
Vargas had a ...
on May 15, 2009. Johnson was declared winner by technical knockout after Vargas's corner threw in the towel early in the sixth round. With the win, Johnson earned a shot at the world title.
On 12 December 2009 Johnson took on
Vitali Klitschko
Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of KyivWBC Heavyweight title in
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. Klitschko was never troubled by Johnson in front of an 18,000-strong crowd. The previously unbeaten Johnson was unable to land his trademark jab on the 6 ft 7in Vitali, and went on to lose every round of the contest to the Ukrainian. Johnson injured his shoulder 2 weeks prior to the fight.
After the loss to Klitschko, Johnson racked up victories against Charles Davis and Julius Long before signing up for in
Eddie Hearn
Edward John Hearn (born 8 June 1979) is a British sports promoter who is chairman of Matchroom Sport and Professional Darts Corporation. Hearn is the son of promoter Barry Hearn, the founder of Matchroom Sport.
Education
Hearn was a student a ...
's
Prizefighter
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
tournament in the UK. Johnson would lose in the final against
Tor Hamer
Tor Hamer (born January 20, 1983) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2008 to 2013. As an amateur, he won the 2008 National Golden Gloves at super heavyweight.
Early life
Raised in Harlem as well as suburban Baltimore, h ...
. Johnson would settle in a
gatekeeper
A gatekeeper is a person who controls access to something, for example via a city gate or bouncer, or more abstractly, controls who is granted access to a category or status. Gatekeepers assess who is "in or out", in the classic words of manage ...
role after the tournament, dropping decisions to
Tyson Fury
Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the World Boxing Council, WBC title since defeating Deontay Wilder in 2020, and ''The Ring (magazine), The Ring'' ...
,
Christian Hammer
Christian Hammer (born Cristian Ciocan) is a Romanian-German professional boxer who held the WBO European heavyweight title three times between 2012 and 2018.
Professional career
Ciocan's first coach was Felix Păun.
Hammer vs. Gregorin
He t ...
,
Manuel Charr
Mahmoud Omeirat Charr ( ar, محمود عميرات شعار), previously known as Manuel Charr, is a German professional boxer who held the WBA (Regular) heavyweight title from 2017 to 2021, and challenged for the WBC heavyweight title in 201 ...
, and
Derek Chisora
Derek Chisora (born 29 December 1983) is a British professional boxer. He has challenged twice for the WBC heavyweight title in 2012 and 2022. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the British and Common ...
, but beating
Solomon Haumono
Solomon Haumono ( to, Solomone Haumono; born 13 October 1975) is a former professional boxer and former rugby league footballer of Tongan descent.
Early life
He attended Newtown Boys High School, Newtown, New South Wales. He then went on to C ...
.
On Saturday May 30, 2015, Johnson lost to undefeated
Anthony Joshua
Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua (born 15 October 1989) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles twice between 2016 and 2021. At r ...
by second-round knockout, after having been knocked down twice in the first round. This was Johnson's first stoppage loss. Johnson announced his retirement from boxing after the loss to Joshua.
He returned in 2017 with a points win over
journeyman
A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...
Jamal Woods and later challenged
Kubrat Pulev
Kubrat Venkov Pulev ( bg, Кубрат Венков Пулев; born 4 May 1981) is a Bulgarian professional boxer. He has challenged twice for the unified heavyweight title in 2014 and 2020. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight ...
for the WBA Inter-Continental title. Despite being outboxed from the start, he managed to take Pulev 12 rounds. Johnson lost a unanimous decision 120–108, 120–108, and 119–109.
On October 14, 2017, Johnson beat Francesco Pianeta via TKO in the seventh round.
After three consecutive losses following his Pianeta victory, Johnson recorded his 33rd and 34th wins against Haris Radmilovic, with a pair of third-round technical knockout victories both coming against Radmilovic in December 2018.
Five consecutive losses later, Johnson scored a seventh-round knockout victory against former
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
Yoan Pablo Hernández
Yoan Pablo Hernández Suárez (born October 28, 1984) is a Cuban-German professional boxer. He is a former unified cruiserweight world champion, having held the IBF and ''Ring'' magazine titles between 2011 and 2015, as well as the WBA interi ...
on August 22, 2020.
The following year, Johnson returned to the ring on June 5, 2021 to face undefeated
Agit Kabayel
Agit Kabayel (born 23 September 1992) is a German professional boxer. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the European title from 2017 to 2019.
Professional career
European heavyweight champion
Kaba ...
. Johnson suffered the 18th loss of his career, losing a unanimous decision with scores of 118–111, 118–111, and 119–110.