Vitalii Klitschko declares: "I will be world heavyweight champion again!"

by Roman Kernitski

NEW YORK - Dr. Vitalii Klitschko will be back in the ring on December 6, for the first time since his highly disputed defeat against World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. The venue for the fight will be Madison Square Garden in New York City, where Klitschko will try to become the official WBC heavyweight contender again. For this to happen he will have to beat Canadian Kirk Johnson - not an easy task.

The Klitschko vs. Johnson bout will be a 12-round WBC No. 1 mandatory eliminator; Lewis must fight the winner of this fight in his next bout, or be stripped of the WBC title, his only remaining belt. HBO Sports will televise the heavyweight extravaganza, the first card in the main arena at the Garden since Bernard Hopkins-Felix Trinidad in September 2001.

The Ukrainian boxer - whose record is 32-2-0, 31 KOs - is the WBC's No. 1 contender and is regarded as one of the best fighters in the division, coming off his impressive performance against Lewis in June. "Dr. Ironfist" was leading on all three judge's scorecards when the bout was stopped due to several cuts Klitschko suffered during the bout, giving Lewis the decision.

Originally, December 6 was reserved as the date for a rematch between Lewis and Klitschko. But Lewis backed off the bout, declaring that he would not be fighting anymore this year. Klitschko, in contrast, stuck with the date, confirming that he would definitely have his next fight in early December.

Lewis was scheduled to fight Kirk Johnson in June, but the fight did not come through because Johnson contracted an injury, and so Vitalii stepped in. If Klitschko beats Johnson - ranked No. 9 on the WBC's heavyweight list - there will be no excuses left for Lewis not to fight Vitalii in a rematch.

"In my eyes, Vitalii beat Lennox. So, Vitalii is the man to beat right now. For him to be fighting me now - it's a wonderful thing. I didn't see any weakness in Vitalii in his fight with Lennox. But, nobody is indestructible. Come fight night, I will box, punch and finish Klitschko just like I finished (Lou) Savarese," Johnson said during a recent press conference in New York City.

"It's been a long-time dream for me to fight in Madison Square Garden. I promise that I will give just an exciting performance against Johnson as I did against Lennox Lewis," Klitschko said. "I wanted very badly to fight Lewis. But he will not fight. I cannot wait for Lewis to make a decision about his career, so I am ready to fight Kirk."

"I am fully prepared for the fight. But I know that beating Johnson won't be easy. It is my wish to show to supporters around the globe the full spectrum of positive emotions that make boxing worth seeing. Therefore, I am inviting them all to follow the fight," Klitschko said.

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The Klitschko Fan Club USA will be organizing fan sectors to support Vitalii at MSG; call 732-921-8862 for details.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, November 16, 2003, No. 46, Vol. LXXI

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