Where the hell is Kirk Johnson anyway?

That's what I was asking myself while I was writing that Evander post. Between the Maskaev/Rahman debacle and now this Holyfield crap, seems like every other word I write these days is Kirk Freakin Johnson. So where is the motherfucker?

Kirk was one of those dudes with a ton of natural ability, a hell of a God-given body, and not a whole lot going on between his ears. Sort of like The Black Rhino, only better. He had an undistinguished campaign for Canada at the Barcelona Games and then turned pro, where he eventually made it to top-contender status. As I have pointed out a few times, he knocked out Oleg Maskaev in the fourth round of their fight in 2000. But he's probably most famous for backing out of a title fight with Lennox in 2003 due to a training injury. He fought Vitali Klitschko instead later that year at the Garden, and got his ass beat, TKO in the 2nd. He ballooned up to 260 for that fight - in his prime he fought at 230 or so.

Boxrec tells me that he's on the comeback trail, of sorts. Three fights in the last three years, most notably a win over Yanqui Diaz last June. Kirk, look, baby - what are you waiting for? Mediocre Soviet talents rule the heavyweights. Lose twenty pounds and get back in the game. Get that money son.