Klitschko Makes Fast Work of Johnson

On a weekend when heavy snowfall brought this city to a crawl, Vitali Klitschko looked like a man in a hurry.

Klitschko has been impatient for a rematch with World Boxing Council champion Lennox Lewis, and if that meant fighting an elimination bout against Kirk Johnson, he wasn’t about to waste any time.

In front of a crowd of chanting and singing countrymen in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, the Ukrainian-born heavyweight won by TKO at 2 minutes 54 seconds of the second round.

“Hello, Lennox, I know you saw the fight too,” he said afterward. “I was ready to beat you six months ago and I’m ready to beat you now.”

In June at Staples Center, Klitschko was leading Lewis on the judges’ scorecards when the fight was stopped in the sixth round because of a deep cut over Klitschko’s left eye.

By virtue of Saturday’s victory in front of 10,823, Klitschko (33-2, 32 knockouts) becomes the mandatory challenger for the WBC title.

There is no guarantee he will get the second chance he so desires. Lewis has been on an extended vacation and hinting at retirement.

But Klitschko did his part to make the fight happen with a convincing performance.

“This was my dream situation, fighting in Madison Square Garden,” he said.

Johnson entered the ring looking like a boxer who, at 260 pounds, was fighting 17 pounds heavier than in any of his previous bouts.

He was supposed to be the quicker of the two men, able to circle and stay out of trouble. Maybe even beat Klitschko to the punch.

None of that quickness was in evidence.

Standing flat-footed much of the time, he allowed the taller, fitter Klitschko to set up at the center of the ring and take aim.

“My game plan was to move, use angles,” Johnson said. “Instead of doing that, I wanted to look impressive and basically knock him out.”

Klitschko out-punched Johnson, 55-9, according to Compubox statistics, and landed an astounding 49% of his punches.

The difference became glaringly apparent midway through the second round when he backed Johnson into a corner and drove him down with a flurry of punches.

The Canadian got up, but his mouth was bleeding and his left eye was starting to close.

Like a commuter late for a train, Klitschko rushed in.

A heavy right hand put Johnson back down on the canvas, slumping onto his side as referee Arthur Mercante Jr. waved an arm to end the bout.

“I had a sluggish night,” said Johnson (34-2-1, 25 KOs), in something of an understatement. “I had a sluggish night against a man you can’t afford to have a sluggish night against.”

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The co-feature was supposed to showcase an up-and-coming heavyweight from Buffalo, N.Y., Joe Mesi, who calls himself the city’s “third franchise” along with the Bills and Sabres.

Unlike his hometown teams this season, Mesi came out a winner Saturday night.

But the majority decision was not a popular one. After Mesi scored a fifth-round knockdown, his opponent, Monte Barrett, appeared to take control of the 10-round bout.

Barrett switched from counter-punching to a more aggressive offensive style. The Queens, N.Y., boxer knocked Mesi down in the seventh and seemed to bewilder the slower fighter with his combinations.

“Once I started making adjustments, I was better,” said Barrett, whose record slipped to 29-3, with 16 KOs.

The bout ended with the crowd booing the decision.

“Monte is a slick fighter,” Mesi (28-0, 25 KOs) said. “He’s more experienced than me and I learned from it.”