Is Kevin ?Kingpin? Johnson the best American heavyweight today? What was so hard about boxing Vitali? What does Kevin think legends like Norton, Holmes, Louis and Jack Johnson think when they see the current American heavyweights? Read on for what this talented and colorful heavyweight contender has to say about a wide range of subjects?
BoxingInsider: Kevin Johnson, the man with one of the, if not THE best jab in boxing today.
Kevin Johnson: ?Always, always, always, got one of the best jabs. One of the best boxers in the sport, one of the best boxers in the division. If I take my time getting back to the top, watching fights like (Arreola-Ahunanya). You got Chris Arreola out there, claiming he?s the best American heavyweight. He?s not the best American heavyweight. I am. I am one of the greats and will be heavyweight champion of the world. Regardless of how long the Klitschkos stay in there. I will let you know I can beat him, hands down, dollars up, I can beat him. David Haye talked his ass off. $20 million payday which he knows his ass couldn?t cash. Me, I don?t talk my way to the payday. When I got in there I fought and I lost. And I took my loss as a man. But there?s one thing about Kevin Johnson ? can?t nobody stop me again. For fighting for the heavyweight championship of the world again. Nobody. I got my way there. Me and my brother. We walked our way there. Now again we?re working our way to it again. It?s less than a couple months short. This time I want top opposition. It?s messed up what they call top opposition. And they?re calling Seth Mitchell top opposition. Hopefully we can get a deal worked out between Seth Mitchell and Arreola where I can bust their ass.?
BoxingInsider: Did Mitchell respond to your famous $1 offer to fight him?
Kevin Johnson: ?He ain?t gonna say nothing. You know why? Because the offer is like a dollar and a dream. He dreamin right now. I?m that dollar. He don?t want to wake up from that dream. This is real. I?ll bust his ass for that dollar purse. You can pay me later. It?s like an IOU. If I lose, you take that dollar. When I win, pay me my damn purse. I?ll bust his ass anytime. I want the same deal for Arreola. I?ll take the same bet for Arreola. One dollar. I bet you I bust his ass. He?s not a boxer, he?s not artistic. Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, Joe Louis, Jack Johnson ? they?re at home crying with guys like that in the ring.?
BoxingInsider: You?re disappointed by Arreola?
Kevin Johnson: ?I?ve been disappointed. He?s not my level of opposition. Guys like Eddie Chambers ? they deserve to be there. Come on man, I?ll crack his ass.?
BoxingInsider: Going back to your fight with Vitali Klitschko. What makes him so difficult to fight?
Kevin Johnson: ?Vitali is not that hard to fight. The problem with fighting any Klitschko is that they hit so hard. Me fighting them, I wasn?t worried about getting hit because you can?t hit what you can?t catch. That?s my biggest thing. With me having the injury that I had ? I should have postponed/canceled ? but me being a true fighter and living up to that moment, I wasn?t canceling it. I thought, maybe as flashy and fast as I was with my skills, I thought I could go in and land something. The same thing Lennox did, I cut him open. Which I did in the third or fourth round. He was cut open. So my injury ? I messed up my bicep ? in that fight ? it unabled me from reaching that cut and bustin it up even more. I got to it but I couldn?t rip it all the way open. Anybody, even after I fought Vitali, Shannon Briggs came back, you seen what happened to him. I don?t wish nothing bad on no one. But that lets you know the guy ain?t no dummy. His skills are very good. It?s a very precarious sport when you?re going against opposition like that. Really, those guys are really basically like robots, Lord knows what?s under their skin. So guys like that I?m never worried about. I never feared any heavyweight. I got in the ring with an injury and never in my life, ever, as far as you been watching boxing, you never seen anybody put their hands on Kevin Johnson. So when you see shit like Arreola??
BoxingInsider: It was an impressive performance that you did against Vitali. He was frustrated and it?s rare to see that. What did he say to you after the fight?
Kevin Johnson: ?I will be heavyweight champion ? but not right now.?
BoxingInsider: He said that to you?
Kevin Johnson: ?Yeah, honest to God. I will. You can go on any of the RTLs or Internet. RTL ? where we did the press conference. That?s the only thing he talked about. Is Kevin Johnson good? Yes. Is Kevin Johnson better than me? He said no. But will Kevin Johnson be heavyweight champion of the world? Yes, but not right now.?
BoxingInsider: Vitali does not say that about a lot of guys he fought.
Kevin Johnson: ?He don?t, trust me.?
