Kirk Johnson turns 37 on June 29

Kulak.. · May 30, 2009

lmartin said: ↑

He's already announced his retirement, moved to Japan and is currently giving the sport of Sumo Wrestling a go. I found this article and posted it for you.

"Former Heavyweight Champ Drops fight trunks, Dons the Sumo Rags

Osaka, Reuters - Having been a former world boxing heavyweight champion might not be the conventional path to glory in the sport of Sumo, but to Kirk Johnson it's the logical next step in a career filled with a few highs and more than one low. Johnson last fought professionally in March of 2006 when the sometimes unmotivated fighter suffered a severe dislocation of his left knee in a fight against journeyman Javier Mora. Initially declared a TKO loss, the results of that fight were later overturned to a no-contest and Johnson officially began thinking of another line of work.
"I've always been criticized for coming into my fights too heavy, but it never really affected ny performance in the ring," the obviously angered fighter said from his new home in the suburbs of Osaka. "I'm just a naturally big guy and I was weakening my body by trying to listen to the critics who said I looked like a beached whale."
That particularly nasty comment came after Johnson's disappointing harpooning at the hands of Ukranian Vitaly Klitschklo during a WBC Heavyweight eliminator. That second-round annihilation to the huge, body-beautiful Ukranian followed by press row's derision touched the rotund Johnson's nerves.
"After all those smart-ass comments about my weight, I decided that Sumo Wrestling might be a sport for me and Asia might be a better location. I was watching ESPN or Fox Sports one day and I saw these two huge guys dressed in white thongs who made me look like a cross between Manute Bol and an anorexic but the fans were cheering for them wildly. I'd be shitting you if I told you I didn't want some of that - - that sport I mean."
Johnson is currently enrolled in the famed Osaka/Yamato School of Sumo Masters a mere mile from his quaint Osaka flat and trains one to four times a week depending on his motivation level. He says the convenience of location and his lack of guilt concerning his steadily escalating weight has made a fit with this new sport that goes beyond mere comfort and acceptance.
"It took me a while to acquire a taste for sushi but I've always loved the smell of fish, hell, what man doesn't like that smell," the former World Boxing Association champ noted. "My diet is totally different over here. I can eat anything I want to eat, go to the beach or the park and take off my shirt and not worry about being judged. In America, no one ever had the guts to actually came up to me and say anything but I knew what they were thinking."
The troubled former pugilist also remembered a time when he considered joining the U.S. Marines but changed his mind after recalling another former fighter's treatment at the hands of the U.S. government.
This is the same group of people (the U.S. government) that dropped a hydrogen bomb on Tokyo during Vietnam." (Editor's note: Actually the first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during World War Two)
Asked if he had any idea when he might compete in his first official event in his new-found sport, Johnson said he was not sure and was in no hurry.
"Timetables are for people who allow themselves to be pressured by others. I don't want nobody telling me when I got to do something or how much I'm supposed to weigh when I do."
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It's possible that you have a lot of time on your hands.

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Kirk Johnson turns 37 on June 29

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Kirk Johnson turns 37 on June 29

Kulak.. Member Full Member