Kirk Johnson has waited nine years and logged 33 fights in his pro career. Yet it seems even longer than that for the Canadian heavyweight, whose July 27 challenge of WBA champion John Ruiz has been long in the making.

Marked as a top prospect for years, Johnson's victories over Oleg Maskaev and Larry Donald landed him the mandatory shot at Ruiz, after numerous changes in trainers and promotional squabbles. Despite Lennox Lewis' widespread recognition as the linear heavyweight champ, Johnson doesn't let that interfere with the task at hand. And he doesn't pay attention to the fact that he's a 3-1 favorite with the bookmakers.

"Whoever walks away with the victory is the favorite," Johnson said last week in a national conference call with both camps. "He fought Holyfield three times and grabbed. He can't grab Kirk Johnson, or he'll get ate up like a machine gun."

Johnson's trainer Curtis Cokes predicted the fight will go seven or eight rounds before Ruiz is worn down and stopped. Norman Stone, manager of Ruiz and a staunch defender of his charge, replied with his own prediction.

"I really don't think the fight will go more than four rounds," he said. There was spontaneous laughter from the Johnson camp, and Lou Duva replied, "You don't really think that, do ya Norm?"

Kibitzing aside, Johnson's long journey to the fight pits him against a Ruiz who is somewhere between being seen as a paper champion, and an underrated fighter. It's not his fault that Lennox Lewis dumped the WBA belt rather than fight him, and Ruiz expectably takes each bout as a chance to land some hard-earned respect that's he a top heavyweight. With each performance, Ruiz may not prove he's the best heavyweight in the world, as Stone would tell you, but a pretty good one who certainly belongs in the top five. It's a pretty good accomplishment since that debacle against Tua six years ago.

Johnson is held in a similar regard, a definite top-ten guy with a bucking for the elite status currently held by Lewis. Call it a definitive eliminator as a possible opponent for Lewis or whomever replaces him down the road.

"He's a good kid. He bitches a little bit, but if he didn't I would be worried," said Cokes. "He's gong to be champ and he's going to reign for a long time, and he's gonna retire with the belt."

Lewis thus far has revealed little of what his post-Tyson plans are, but a Johnson win would likely grab Lennox' attention, making an all-Canada match an attractive proposition (with Lewis suddenly touting his Canadian credentials). If Ruiz wins, it's doubtful that Lewis will fight him soon, but that's okay, because the longer Johnny Ruiz keeps winning, the more and more feasible it seems that he is what Stone purports him to be – a pretty good fighter.

Johnson doesn't even have a Holyfield on his ledger, just a Maskaev who has since proven badly shopworn, and a Donald that doesn't seem to have the heart for the fighting game, despite his skills. It's not a threadbare resume, but it's not exactly overwhelming. So just what does he bring to the dance?

A lot, but he's still a work in progress. It's Johnson's fight to lose, no matter how loud Stone may shout. He's got the size, reach and skills, and he could make it an easy fight by jabbing 25-30 times a round. If Johnson forgets to box and resorts to the wide-swinging, haymaker attack that looked so amateurish against Donald, he'll be giving Ruiz the fight he needs to take it inside and rough him up.

Johnson may have fallen in love with his power after the Maskeav fight, where he basically lost the first three rounds in the face of a pressure attack that he seemingly couldn't figure out, before landing a winging left hook that turned the fight around, putting Maskaev's career in the agate type.

Sometimes a guy will read too much into a victory, and start thinking he can do things he can't. For example, witness the media buildup that actually purported that Hasim Rahman had a pretty good chance to beat Lewis in the rematch. But looking at Rahman sparring, any body with less than six beers in them would realize that Rahman still looked like he always did: chunky punches, one-two, one-two, clinch, push, repeat. It was not a blazing pedigree on display, nor the stuff of a revolutionary heavyweight. Yet off the sensational one-punch knockout it was believed that Rahman actually could outbox Lewis, despite the fact that he wasn't doing a whole lot before the knockout and was, in fact, looking nearly as worn as Lewis.

Johnson, luckily, doesn't have to topple a Lewis. But he's got to fight a fight with simple jabs, straight punches, and keep Ruiz at a distance, otherwise he's letting Ruiz be right where he wants to be. And letting the other guy do what he wants is the ultimate no-no, especially with heavyweights. Ruiz is definitely feeling the confidence of having gone 36 rounds with Holyfield.

"We're both young guys in our prime. You have two young fighters that are looking to be great," Johnson said.

You get the feeling that the loser will probably have to leave town, while the winner might get some grudging respect.