The Klitschkos Will Soon Monopolize Boxing's Heavyweight Division

WBC world heavyweight champion Vitali “Dr. Iron Fist” Klitschko easily defeated Kevin “Kingpin” Johnson by a unanimous decision Saturday afternoon at the PostFinance Arena in Bern, Switzerland.

“I would have preferred a knockout but I’m happy because I won all 12 rounds,” said Klitschko, 38, a Ukrainian who owns the highest knockout percentage of any heavyweight boxing champion ever. “He’s not easy to hit.”

After taking a four-year hiatus from boxing to recover from injuries, Klitschko (39-2, 37 KOs) has been extremely active and this weekend marked his fourth fight since he returned to the ring in October 2008.

“When I first met Vitali I told him, ‘You won’t knock me out.’ It wasn’t a hard fight,” said Johnson, 30, a native of Asbury Park, New Jersey. “There are things we need to work on and we’re going to go home to the gym and polish them up.”

Johnson (22-1-1, 9 KOs) was once considered America’s best heavyweight prospect mainly because of his dominant jab.

Unfortunately, Johnson’s commanding jab is marginalized because the “Kingpin” badly lacks knockout power in either of his feathery fists.

Curiously, Johnson is relatively well-built and he certainly appears to be a powerful specimen who could render one senseless.

So, it is surprising that he has only been able to knockout nine of his 24 opponents.

It is evident that Johnson needs to drastically improve his strength in order to become an elite prizefighter in the heavyweight division.

On the contrary, Klitschko is an extremely potent pugilist and the only fighter that could seemingly give him a genuine contest at this stage is his younger brother, Wladimir, 33, who is currently the IBF, WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine heavyweight champion.

Much to the disappointment of fight fans, the Klitschko brothers have adamantly stated that they will never face each other in the ring.

However, both Vitali and Wladimir (53-3, 47 KOs) have expressed their desire to collectively own all four major heavyweight titles before the conclusion of 2010.

In order for that to occur, one of the two brothers will need to trump cocky WBA world heavyweight champion David “The Hayemaker” Haye (23-1, 21 KOs).

Haye, 29, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, is a muscular British boxer who won his title in November by outscoring Nikolai Valuev on points.

Haye is next scheduled to battle John “The Quiet Man” Ruiz in a mandatory defense of his title in April at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

Ruiz, 37, a former two-time WBA world heavyweight champion who was raised in the Boston suburbs, will prove to be a difficult matchup for Haye.

Nevertheless, Haye will ultimately prevail versus Ruiz (44-8-1-1, 30 KOs) and the stage will be prepared for the Klitschko’s to finalize their monopoly of the heavyweight division.

“We have a dream and we will do our best to make our dream come true,” said Vitali Klitschko, who is also referred to by his supporters as “Iron Chin” because he has never been knocked down or received a standing eight count as a professional.

“It will be very interesting in the next year.”

2010 could certainly become a “dream” year for the Klitschko’s.