Klitschko decisions Johnson, keeps title

BERN, Switzerland – Vitali Klitschko retained his WBC heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Kevin Johnson of the United States on Saturday.

The 38-year-old Klitschko kept Johnson against the ropes for much of the fight but landed few heavy shots to hurt the 30-year-old challenger.

“I would have preferred a knockout but I’m happy because I won all 12 rounds,” Klitschko told 17,000 fans ringside at PostFinance Arena. “He’s not easy to hit.”

Johnson proved a durable opponent and did his best work with counterattacking straight left jabs, though without managing to rock Klitschko who has never taken a standing count in his career.

“When I first met Vitali I told him, ‘You won’t knock me out.’ It wasn’t a hard fight,” Johnson said. “There are things we need to work on and we’re going to go home to the gym and polish them up.”

Klitschko (39-2, 37 KOs) was making a third successful defense of the belt he reclaimed in October last year after a four-year break to recover from injuries. (AP)