Harold Johnson (boxer)

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Harold Johnson boxer
Data
Birth Name Harold Johnson
Weight class Light heavyweight
nationality US-american
birthday August 9, 1928
place of birth Philadelphia
Date of death 19th February 2015
Place of death Philadelphia
style Left delivery
size 1.78 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles 87
Victories 76
Knockout victories 32
Defeats 10
No value 1

Harold Johnson (born August 9, 1928 in Philadelphia , † February 19, 2015 there ) was an American boxer.

Career

In 1946, the black counter-boxer from Philadelphia, who was considered a gifted stylist, began his professional career. After 24 victories, including over the ex-challenger to Joe Louis , Arturo Godoy , he was defeated for the first time in 1949 by his feared opponent, the light heavyweight legend Archie Moore . He met Moore a total of five times during his career, but could only win once. In October 1949, he beat Jimmy Bivins .

In 1950 he met Jersey Joe Walcott and lost by knockout in the third round after falling over in the ring without being hit. A medical examination later revealed that he had sustained a disc injury.

In 1951 and 1952 there were three fights in a row against Moore within four months: Johnson lost in September '51, in December he won and in January '52 he was again defeated. The powerful Moore was able to intimidate the bad taker Johnson again and again and score out.

He later defeated the highly rated Clarence Henry in 1952 , but lost to the equally well-known powerful Bob Satterfield and had to go to the ground in the fight. Against the Cuban heavyweight Niño Valdés , whom Rocky Marciano avoided, he won every round. He was also able to defeat former heavyweight world champion Ezzard Charles , who had beaten Moore three times, in 1953.

It was not until 1954 that he received his first world championship fight, but after a completely even fight he lost again to Archie Moore by knockout. Shortly before the end of the fight, he had Moore himself on the ground.

He beat Marty Marshall , the first man to beat Sonny Liston , in 1954 . In 1957 he defeated Satterfield again in a rematch.

In 1961, at the age of 32, he got his second title fight for the partial title of the NBA against the Willie Pastrano host Jesse Bowdry after the NBA no longer recognized Moore. He won by KO. More important, however, was his victory over the highly rated heavyweight Eddie Make a little later.

In 1962 he was generally recognized as the light heavyweight world champion by a clear points win against Doug Jones , whom Muhammad Ali would later beat only very controversial.

His first title defense took place a month later in the Olympiastadion Berlin against Bubi Scholz . Johnson won over fifteen rounds on points.

At the next title defense, however, he lost narrowly and controversially against Willie Pastrano. He boxed sporadically until 1968, but without completing another significant fight. In 1971 he returned to the ring for a fight, finally ending his career after a knockout defeat.

In 1993 Johnson was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame . He died on February 19, 2015, at the age of 87, in his hometown of Philadelphia of complications from pneumonia .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bruce Weber: Harold Johnson, Boxing's Tough-Luck Champion, Dies at 87. In: The New York Times, February 22, 2015 (English, accessed February 23, 2015).
personal data
SURNAME Johnson, Harold
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American boxer
DATE OF BIRTH August 9, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia
DATE OF DEATH 19th February 2015
Place of death Philadelphia