14 years ago

Date: 12th December 2009

Title: WBC World Heavyweight Title

Promoter: Tom Loeffler

Tv: HBO, RTL & Sky Sports

Vitali Klitschko
( 38 - 2 - 0 )
Weight: 247 lbs

Kevin Johnson
( 22 - 0 - 1 )
Weight: 242½ lbs

On December 12, 2009, Vitali Klitschko successfully defended his WBC heavyweight title against American boxer Kevin Johnson at the PostFinance Arena in Berne, Switzerland. This bout marked Klitschko's third title defence since reclaiming the championship in October of the previous year. Despite Johnson's promise not to be knocked out by Klitschko, the Ukrainian champion secured a unanimous decision victory, with judges scoring the fight 120-108, 120-108, and 119-109 in Klitschko's favour.

Throughout the match, Klitschko, known for his powerful punches, maintained dominance over Johnson, who struggled to connect with significant power punches. According to CompuBox statistics, Klitschko was particularly aggressive in the later rounds, throwing over 100 punches in rounds 10 through 12. Johnson's defensive strategy primarily involved counterattacking with straight left jabs, but he failed to cause any substantial damage to Klitschko.

The fight attracted considerable attention, drawing an audience of 17,000 at the venue and achieving high viewership numbers in Germany and Ukraine. The match averaged 11.16 million viewers in Germany, becoming the second most popular TV program of 2009. In Ukraine, it garnered an average viewership of 4.1 million among adults aged 18 and older in cities with populations exceeding 50,000.

Despite Johnson's durability and success in surviving 12 rounds against Klitschko, he could not present a significant challenge to the champion. Klitschko's victory was comprehensive, as he won every round according to two of the judges' scorecards and nearly all rounds according to the third judge. The match underscored Klitschko's dominance in the heavyweight division and his brother Wladimir's ambition to unify all four major heavyweight titles, a goal they hoped to achieve by taking the WBA belt held by David Haye.