Kirk Cyron Johnson (born June 29, 1972) is a Canadian former
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 ...
who competed from 1993 to 2010, and challenged once for the WBA
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 ...
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, where he lost in the quarter-finals against eventual silver medallist
David Izon
David Izonritei (born 29 April 1968) is a Nigerian former boxer. Also known as David Izon, Izonritei won the Heavyweight silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. During his professional career, he defeated world title challengers D ...
(Nigeria).
Highlights
Junior World Championships, Bayamon, Puerto Rico, August 1989:
*1/4: Defeated Pencho Dzhurov (Bulgaria) KO 1
*1/2: Defeated Bobby Harris (United States) RSCH 1
*Finals: Defeated Dmitriy Avdalyan (Soviet Union) on points, 24–11
Trofeo Italia,
Mestre
Mestre () is a borough of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Venice, on the mainland opposite the historical island city in the region of Veneto, Italy.
Administratively, Mestre forms (together with the nearby Carpenedo) the ''Municipalità di ...
,
Venice, Italy
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...
, March 1991:
*1/4: Defeated Peter Hart (Hungary) RET 1
*1/2: Lost to Peter Stettinger (Germany) by unanimous decision, 0–5
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
,
Sydney, Australia
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...
, November 1991:
*1/4: Lost to
Félix Savón
Félix Savón Fabre (born 22 September 1967) is a retired Cuban amateur boxer, who competed from 1980 to 2000. Considered one of the all-time greatest amateur boxers, he became three-time Olympic gold medalist, and the World Champion six times ...
(Cuba) RET 2
Box-Am Tournament, Badalona, Spain, February 1992:
*1/4: Defeated
Georgios Stefanopoulos
Georgios Stefanopoulos (; born March 31, 1962 in Peristeri, Attiki) is a former boxer from Greece, who participated in two Summer Olympics for his native country in the men's heavyweight division (– 91 kg), starting in 1984 in Los Angel ...
(Greece) on points, 12–7
*1/2: Defeated Sandor Deak (Hungary) RET 2
*Finals: Lost to
Félix Savón
Félix Savón Fabre (born 22 September 1967) is a retired Cuban amateur boxer, who competed from 1980 to 2000. Considered one of the all-time greatest amateur boxers, he became three-time Olympic gold medalist, and the World Champion six times ...
(Cuba) on points, 5–14
North & Central American Olympic Qualifications,
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
, total_type = Total
, population_density_km2 = auto
, timezone = AST (UTC −4)
, area_code_type = Area codes
, area_code = 809, 829, 849
, postal_code_type = Postal codes
, postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional)
, webs ...
, April 1992:
*1/2: Defeated Aridio Fana (Dominican Republic) on points, 18–2
*Finals: Defeated Jose Aníbal Marrero (Puerto Rico) on points, 28–4
Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
,
Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, July–August 1992:
*1/8: Defeated
Joseph Akhasamba
Joseph Mukuku Akhasamba (born June 20, 1963, in Nairobi) is a Kenyan retired professional boxer who held the African heavyweight title from 1998 to 1999. As an amateur, he represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, star ...
(Kenya) RSC 2
*1/4: Lost to
David Izonritei
David Izonritei (born 29 April 1968) is a Nigerian former boxer. Also known as David Izon, Izonritei won the Heavyweight silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. During his professional career, he defeated world title challengers De ...
(Nigeria) on points, 5–9
His amateur record was 76 wins and 7 losses.
Professional career
Johnson had his first professional bout on April 24, 1993, against Andre Smiley.
In his first title fight in 2002 Johnson faced
John Ruiz
John Ruiz (born January 4, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2010, and held the WBA heavyweight title twice between 2001 and 2005. Ruiz is of Puerto Rican descent, and is the first Latino boxer to win a wo ...
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
Joe Cortez (born October 13, 1945) is an American former boxing referee who has officiated in many important world title bouts. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011.
Biography
Cortez is of Puerto Rican descent. H ...
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
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
contender and future champion
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 KyivNew York's
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
. He was easily defeated by Klitschko, losing by a second-round knockout.
Johnson compounded the Klitschko 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 Maskayev
Oleg Alexandrovich Maskayev (russian: Олег Александрович Маскаев; also Maskaev; born 2 March 1969) is a Russian-American former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2013, and held the WBC heavyweight title from 2 ...
, in 2000.
Comeback
After the Klitschko fight, Johnson staged a comeback. He knocked out Mexican heavyweight Gilbert Martinez in July 2004 and won a technical decision over Cuban
Yanqui Díaz
Yamplier ("Yanqui") Azcuy Díaz (born January 23, 1976, in Pinar del Río) is a former professional heavyweight boxer from Cuba.
Amateur career
Diaz started boxing at the age of twelve and had 205 amateur fights (191-14). He fought as an amateur ...
in June 2005, although he lost his next bout (later changed to a technical decision) against Californian Javier Mora in March 2006. Mora appeared to have accidentally stepped on Johnson's foot, causing Johnson to dislocate his knee. This decision was subsequently appealed and the result changed to a No Decision. Johnson has since recovered from his knee injury.
On April 29, 2010, Johnson returned to the ring after a four-year absence and fought journeyman Douglas Robertson defeating him via first-round TKO.
Johnson's record is now at 37–2–1 (27 KOs), with one No Decision.
Halifax Regional Police lawsuit
In 2003, after dropping out of a planned fight against then-heavyweight champion
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...
because of an injury, Johnson launched a protracted legal battle against the
Halifax Regional Police
The Halifax Regional Police (HRP) is one of a number of law enforcement agencies operating in the Halifax, Nova Scotia; the other primaries being the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Forces Military Police. The city also is home to a ...
. During the inquiry, Johnson claimed that because of racism and racial profiling by the Halifax Regional Police he had his car stopped 28 times over five years while in Halifax. Johnson was awarded $10,000 in damages, in addition to $4,790 to cover his travel expenses. The police service was also ordered to create a scholarship in Johnson's name.CBC News: Boxer Johnson wins Racism Complaint. December 23, 2003 Retrieved 29 December 2008 It is awarded annually to a student from North Preston. Since 2003, 16 students have received awards.