10 Kevin Johnson opponents who have fought for a world title

Kevin Johnson
  1. BRUCE SELDON (W RSF 5 – SEPTEMBER 2008)
    Johnson was unbeaten in 20 fights when he took on ex-WBA titlist Seldon in Atlantic City. A right hand dropped the veteran to the mat and he was deemed unable to continue by the referee.
  2. VITALI KLITSCHKO (L UD 12 – DECEMBER 2009)
    Making his third defence in his second reign as WBC king, Klitschko comprehensively outpointed Johnson in Switzerland to become the first man to defeat the durable American.
  3. ALBERT SOSNOWSKI (W SD 3 – JUNE 2012)
    In the semi-final of an international Prizefighter tournament in Bethnal Green, Johnson got the better of former WBC title challenger Sosnowski on the scorecards to secure his spot in the final.
  4. TYSON FURY (L UD 12 – DECEMBER 2012)
    Stepping in as a late substitute, Johnson was widely outscored by Fury in a WBC title eliminator in Belfast. Three years later, the larger-than-life Englishman became a unified world champion.
  5. DERECK CHISORA (L UD 12 – FEBRUARY 2014)
    Two years after unsuccessfully challenging for the WBC crown, an in-form Chisora welcomed Johnson to Stratford. “Del Boy” recorded a knockdown en route to a comfortable win on the cards.
  6. ANTHONY JOSHUA (L RSF 2 – MAY 2015)
    By now fully settled into his role as a sturdy gatekeeper, Johnson suffered his first-ever inside-schedule loss at the hands of Joshua in Greenwich. Just over 10 months after this, “AJ” won his first world title.
  7. KUBRAT PULEV (L UD 12 – APRIL 2017)
    Performing in front of his home fans in Bulgaria, Pulev cruised to a wide points success over Johnson. Nearly two-and-a-half years prior to this, the Eastern European challenged for the unified world championship.
  8. FRANCESCO PIANETA (W RSF 7 – OCTOBER 2017)
    Johnson’s triumph over local favourite Pianeta in Germany was his first noteworthy victory in close to four-and-a-half years. The previous WBA, IBF and WBO title contestant was finished by a body shot.
  9. ANDY RUIZ JNR (L UD 10 – JULY 2018)
    Fresno in California was the venue as Johnson was convincingly defeated over the distance by Ruiz, who would go on to be crowned as a unified world ruler just 11 months later.
  10. MARIUSZ WACH (L UD 10 – JUNE 2020)
    An ex-challenger for the unified world title, Wach inflicted a familiar defeat upon Johnson in Poland. Of the New Jersey native’s 17 career losses, 14 have come over the long route.

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