‘Dr. Ironfist’ was one of the most dominant heavyweight champions during his world title reign. Ruling the division alongside his brother, the two were an unstoppable force.
Vitali Klitschko hung up his gloves in 2012, leaving the sport of boxing as a champion. As a two-time title holder, he was only bested twice in his career.
Klitschko suffered a shock loss to Chris Byrd in 2000, ending his first reign as champion. Then, his first attempt to become a two-time belt holder was prevented by Lennox Lewis.
With Klitschko losing to Lewis via TKO in 2003, the Ukrainian began to work his way back towards a title. To do this, he had to face a top contender in the division.
Vitali Klitschko had brutal round two stoppage over Kirk Johnson
Klitschko’s loss to Lewis was just his second of his career, leaving him with a record of 32-2. However, the Ukrainian was still considered a top contender in the division despite his loss to one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
This meant that in his returning bout, he would take on heavyweight contender Kirk Johnson.
Johnson had a professional record of 34-1-1. His sole loss came in a failed title attempt, where he was disqualified for repeated low blows. However, he was still considered to be a worthy title challenger at the time.
In a title eliminator bout, Klitschko and Johnson would meet in Madison Square Garden, New York, in December 2003.
Despite Johnson picking up two wins since his defeat before facing Klitschko, he would not earn a third successive victory. Instead, the former champion would have a brutal performance.
Starting aggressively, Klitschko would immediately find success in the bout. After a good opening round where he outlanded Johnson, Klitschko would be able to end the show in the second round.
Dealing punishment to the Canadian in the corner of the ring, Klitschko’s damage led to Johnson receiving a count. Keeping his momentum going, Klitschko continued his onslaught on his opponent.
Picking combinations excellently, he would find the mark on Johnson as Klitschko finished the bout. The win extended his record to 33-2.
Vitali Klitschko faced his brother’s old foe for vacant heavyweight title
As Klitschko was able to dispatch Johnson in their contender match, he was granted the opportunity to fight for a world title in his next outing.
He would face former Wladimir Klitschko opponent Corrie Sanders in April 2004 for the vacant WBC World Heavyweight title. Klitschko had suffered a shock loss to Sanders as the American claimed the WBO title in his previous outing.
The heavyweights would meet in Los Angeles, as Vitali Klitschko was able to score revenge for his brother.
Scoring an eighth-round stoppage, Klitschko was once again able to become a heavyweight champion. This would also be the second of 13 wins in a row to end his career.