“Kevin Johnson to Kevin Vladimirovich,” Former American boxer turns 100% Russian to honor Vladimir Putin ahead of $1,000,000 purse fight

Boxing veteran Kevin Johnson changes his name to Kevin Vladimirovich and wears a t-shirt of Vladimir Putin to his Weigh-ins.

“Kevin Johnson to Kevin Vladimirovich,” Former American boxer turns 100% Russian to honor Vladimir Putin ahead of $1,000,000 purse fight

Kevin Johnson and Vladmir Putin (Image Courtesy:Telecom Asia)

Kevin ‘Kingpin’ Johnson, a 43-year-old heavyweight boxing veteran (36-21-2, 20 KOs), said in an interview with a foreign publication that he is now Russian and has changed his identity to Kevin Vladimirovich. Johnson claimed that the name change was made in honor of Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia.

“As a compliment to President Vladimir Putin, I decided to change my name. I will now be called Kevin Vladimirovich — in honor of Vladimir Putin. Now I am 100%, no joke, 100% Russian,” Johnson said to Russian newspaper Izvestia. According to the boxer, he wanted the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, to acknowledge him, so he changed his name and is extremely serious about it.

https://youtu.be/FS__ukiVMiw

The heavyweight battles Russian Mark Petrovsky (5-0-0) on Friday in Moscow. This will be the 60th match of a career that has seen 36 victories and 21 losses. Ahead of the weigh-ins, Johnson arrived at the weigh-in wearing a tribute to Putin and topped the scales at 238 pounds.

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The 43-year-old was dressed in a t-shirt with a large image of the president’s visage and the white, blue, and red colors of the Russian flag. It seems like the veteran is committed to his beliefs about Russia and wants to send a message.

Related: “He was fantastic,” Donald Trump outmatches Vladimir Putin in praises for Khabib Nurmagomedov’s special skill

Kevin Johnson’s journey to becoming Kevin Vladimirovich

Kevin Johnson (Image Courtesy:Telecom Asiat)
Kevin Johnson (Image Courtesy:Telecom Asia)

Back in April, Kevin Johnson easily defeated mixed martial arts fighter Vyacheslav Datsik in a crossover boxing match. Following that, Johnson told nearby reporters that he wanted to live in Russia and pleaded for Russian citizenship.

Russia has been constantly at war with neighboring Ukraine since the start of 2022, and it is important to highlight that in 2009, Johnson fought Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko for the WBC heavyweight title and lost the fight via decision. Currently, Klitschko is the mayor of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.

Johnson has been in the fighting business for some time now and during his long career, he has fought some of the biggest names such as Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Daniel Dubois, Andy Ruiz, Derek Chisora, Filip Hrgovi, Subrat Pulev, etc. It would be interesting to see how Johnson approaches his upcoming fight and if he ever gets an opportunity to live in Russia.

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