Boxing

Vitali Klitschko Added to Lewis-Johnson World Title Card!

04.05 - Former World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko will continue his quest for a shot at the world heavyweight crown, when he appears on the world heavyweight championship card featuring the undisputed champion Lennox Lewis and No. 8 contender Kirk Johnson on June 21 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

Tickets for the historic world championship bout and undercard are on sale at the STAPLES Center box office and at all TicketMaster locations. Tickets are priced at $950, $700, $450, $350, $250, $150 and $75.

Klitschko will be fighting a 10-round semi-main event against an opponent to be named. Klitschko is promoted by Peter Kohl of Universum.

"We are very excited about the great evening of boxing we will present to the city of Los Angeles," said promoter Gary Shaw of Lion Promotions. "Vitali Klitschko is one of the top heavyweights in the world and we are thrilled to have him fight in the city he now calls home."

"I am excited to be fighting in Los Angeles and on HBO," said Klitschko "The best thing for me is to fight Lennox Lewis, the second best thing is to fight on one of his cards. I am confident that this will bring me closer to a fight with Lennox. I am sure I will convince the American fans with my performance."

Los Angeles last played host to a world heavyweight title fight 44 years ago when Floyd Patterson defended his world crown for the third time by scoring a 13th-round TKO over Roy Harris on Aug. 18, 1958, at the old Wrigley Field. The Lewis-Johnson world championship also represents the biggest heavyweight bout in the City of Angels since Muhammad Ali regained the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) championship in a rematch against Ken Norton on Sept. 10, 1973, at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

Lewis (40-2-1, 31 KOs), of London, England, is 14-2-1 in world title fights. He regained the WBC/IBF/International Boxing Organization (IBO) heavyweight titles on Nov. 17, 2001, by flattening Hasim Rahman in the fourth round of their rematch in Las Vegas. The sensational knockout victory was sweet revenge for Lewis, who had been stopped in the fifth round by Rahman on April 22, 2001, in Brakpak, South Africa. Since defeating Mike Tyson on June 8, 2002, Lewis gave up the IBF belt.

A three-time WBC champion, Lewis won his initial 25 starts. He captured the WBC title the first time with a 12-round decision over Tony Tucker on May 8, 1993, in Las Vegas. Lewis made two successful defenses before Oliver McCall dethroned the champion with a shocking second-round TKO on Sept. 24, 1994, in London. Lewis regained the title by scoring a fifth-round TKO over McCall in their rematch on Feb. 7, 1997, in Las Vegas.

Lewis made four successful defenses before taking on then-WBA/IBF heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield on March 13, 1999, in New York. The majority of those watching felt Lewis had triumphed easily, but the bout ended in a controversial 12-round draw. Undeterred, Lewis rebounded to win a 12-round decision in the rematch the following Nov. 13 in Las Vegas. Lewis then successfully defended the titles three times before splitting the two fights against Rahman in 2001.

Johnson (34-1-1, 25 KOs), of North Preston, Nova Scotia, has won two consecutive bouts since suffering the first loss of his career at the hands of then-WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz on July 27, 2002. Johnson was disqualified in the 10th round after repeated low blows Overall, Johnson has won eight of his past nine decisions since fighting to a 10-round draw against Al "Ice" Cole on Dec. 8, 1998. The three-time Canadian national champion and 1989 World Junior Amateur Champion, who avenged the draw by outpointing Cole across 10 rounds on March 20, 1999, rebounded from the Ruiz bout to score a second-round knockout over Jeremy Bates on Dec. 7, 2002, in Las Vegas. In his last contest, Johnson registered a fourth-round TKO over Lou Savarese on Mar. 15, 2003, in Dallas.

Klitschko (32-1, 31 KOs), of Los Angeles, by way of Kiev, Ukraine, currently is the WBA and WBC No.1 heavyweight contender. The older brother of former WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir will attempt to gain his sixth consecutive victory. In his last outing, Klitschko became the first boxer to stop Larry Donald when he flattened "The Legend" in the 10th round on Nov. 23, 2002, in Germany. Nicknamed "Dr. Iron Fist," Klitschko became the first heavyweight champion with a Ph.D. to capture a world belt when he won the WBO belt with a second-round knockout over Herbie Hide on June 27, 1999. On Nov. 11, 1999, the Guinness Book of World Records added Klitschko for becoming the fastest heavyweight to win 26 fights by KO in the least amount of rounds (60).

The Lewis-Johnson night of boxing is produced by Lion Promotions and Gary Shaw Productions, in association with Prize Fight Promotions, Duva Boxing and STAPLES Center.

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