In his first title fight in 2002 Johnson faced John Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight Title. In the tenth round Johnson was disqualified for low blows while losing on all of the judges' scorecards. Johnson appealed the disqualification to the WBA, on the grounds that referee Joe Cortez had erred in calling some of the low blows and did not act impartially (both Ruiz and Cortez are of Puerto Rican descent). Though many boxing commentators agreed that the disqualification was unwarranted, the appeal was ultimately denied by the WBA.