Kirk Johnson

Kirk Cyron Johnson was born in North Preston, Nova Scotia, Canada, on June 29, 1972.

Kirk Johnson started boxing at eleven years old. Throughout his early amateur bouts, his trainer was his father, Gary Johnson Sr.^[1]

He became the world's best junior heavyweight in August 1989 at just 17 years old.^[2] He made history as the first Nova Scotian and second Canadian to claim gold at the Junior World Championships.^[3]

At the Canadian intermediate amateur boxing championships in December 1989, Johnson captured the title in the heavyweight (91-kilogram) division.^[4]

At 18, Johnson defended his junior world title at the October 1990 Junior World Championships in Lima, Peru,^[5] where he lost in the final to a Soviet opponent. Moving into the senior ranks that year, he secured the Canadian senior national title. In September 1991, he won another title at the Canadian senior national boxing championships in Saskatoon.^[6] As part of Canada's national boxing team, he competed in the 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships held in Sydney, Australia.

Johnson, while still a young prospect and Olympic team member, spent time at a camp of legendary trainer and manager Lou Duva, and worked with him on and off.^[7]

He represented Canada at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona,^[8] where he lost in the quarter-finals against eventual silver medallist David Izon of Nigeria.^[9]

The Olympic quarterfinalist had his first professional bout on April 24, 1993, against Andre Smiley in Las Vegas. He won by TKO in the third round.^[10] Early in his professional development, Johnson trained in Fort Worth, Texas, with ex-world champions Curtis Cokes and Donald Curry, while being co-managed by Ken Lilien and Chris Seeger.^[1]

He fought Tyrone Evans on the Michael Moorer vs. George Foreman card on November 5, 1994, in Las Vegas.^[7]

By the late 1990s, he was managed by boxing promoter and manager Cedric Kushner.^[7] He began training under George Benton around 1997.^[11] Johnson, then an undefeated prospect, fought Al Cole to a ten-round draw in December 1998.^[12] Three months after their first meeting, Kirk Johnson, with Teddy Atlas in his corner, outpointed Al Cole by unanimous decision in March 1999. When Johnson and Atlas parted ways, he reconnected with Curtis Cokes, a Hall of Famer and former welterweight champion who had guided him early on.^[11]

On October 7, 2000, Kirk Johnson stopped Oleg Maskaev, who later became WBC heavyweight champion, with a fourth-round knockout. He captured the PABA Heavyweight Title.^[13]

After defeating Larry Donald on July 7, 2001, Kirk Johnson rose to 32-0-1 and became the WBA's no. 1 contender and the mandatory title challenger.^[14]

His contract with Kushner had expired. He joined Dino Duva's promotion, Duva Boxing, in April 2002, signing a $1.1 million deal after Duva outbid numerous promoters.^[15]

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 trailing on all of the judges' scorecards. It marked his first defeat in his professional career.^[16] He 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).^[17] Though many boxing commentators agreed that the disqualification was unwarranted, the appeal was ultimately denied by the WBA.

He resurrected his career on March 15, 2003, scoring a fourth-round knockout over Lou Savarese in Dallas, Texas.^[18] The win secured him the WBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight Title.^[19] Johnson, then ranked eighth in the world, was set to meet champion Lennox Lewis on June 21, 2003, at the Staples Centre, but the fight between the Canadian Olympians never happened.^[18] Johnson withdrew from the fight on June 6, 2003, after tearing a chest muscle while sparring in his Fort Worth training camp.^[20]

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.^[21] He stepped into the ring at a career-high 260 pounds.^[22]

In 2003, after dropping out of a planned fight against then-heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis because of an injury, Johnson launched a protracted legal battle against the Halifax Regional Police. During the inquiry, Johnson claimed that because of racism and racial profiling by the Halifax Regional Police,^[26] 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.^[27] It is awarded annually to a student from North Preston. Since 2003, 16 students have received awards.^{[citation needed]}

• 1989 Viscount Alexander Award (for Outstanding Junior Male Athlete of the Year)^[28]
• 1990 Harry Jerome Award (for Outstanding Athletic Performance)^[29]
• 1990 Nova Scotia Male Athlete of the Year
• 2024 Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame^[30]