George Johnson
Born(1938-12-15)December 15, 1938
Oklahoma City
DiedApril 9, 2016(2016-04-09) (aged 77)
NationalityAmerican
Other namesScrap Iron
Statistics
Weight(s)235 (1972)[1]
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights54
Wins22
Wins by KO11
Losses27
Draws5

George Raft "Scrap Iron" Johnson (December 15, 1938 – April 9, 2016)[2] was an American heavyweight boxer whose career spanned the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Johnson fought many of the top fighters of his era, including George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston, Ron Lyle, Duane Bobick, Joe Bugner, Jerry Quarry, and Eddie Machen.[3]

Whilst a journeyman fighter he was nonetheless notorious for being extremely durable. He could take vast amounts of punishment. George Foreman said he had the best chin of all his opponents.[4] He retired in 1975 with a record of 22–27–5. He was inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005.[5][6][7][8]

Johnson was nicknamed "Scrap" by girls in his neighborhood in Oklahoma City when he was about seven years old, because he used a wheelbarrow to salvage machinery parts to earn money. By high school, his American football teammates tacked on the "iron."[9][10]

In 1969, after putting together a string of wins, Johnson was defeated by Sonny Liston in Las Vegas after seven rounds. Johnson had been scheduled to get married at midnight after the fight, but pushed off the wedding to the next day to recover. Johnson later claimed "Liston hit me so hard, I married the wrong woman."[11][12]

Professional boxing record

22 Wins (11 knockouts, 11 decisions), 27 Losses (12 knockouts, 15 decisions), 5 Draws[13] Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes Loss 31–0 Duane Bobick RTD 4 13 Nov 1975 Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota Draw 14–1 Scott LeDoux PTS 10 14 Aug 1975 Saint Paul Civic Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota SD for LeDoux overturned due to crowd response. Loss 12–0 Leroy Jones PTS 10 18 Mar 1975 Honolulu, Hawaii Loss 49–7–4 Jerry Quarry UD 10 25 Feb 1975 Hawaii International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii [14] Loss 10–0 Johnny Boudreaux PTS 10 16 Sep 1974 Houston, Texas Loss 29–2 Boone Kirkman UD 10 23 Oct 1973 Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, Washington Win 4–6–1 Joe Tiger Harris TKO 3 2 Jul 1973 Las Vegas, Nevada Win — John Robinson KO 2 16 May 1973 Las Vegas, Nevada Win 5–17–1 Terry Sorrell KO 5 25 Apr 1973 Las Vegas, Nevada Sorrell knocked out at 1:41 of the fifth round. Win 1–3 Dave Sherman TKO 2 11 Apr 1973 Las Vegas, Nevada Loss 12–0 Ron Lyle KO 3 25 Mar 1972 Denver, Colorado Johnson knocked out at 0:31 of the third round. Loss 26–9–6 Juergen Blin TKO 2 1 Oct 1971 Hamburg, Germany Win 7–8 MacArthur Swindell PTS 10 30 Jun 1971 Silver Slipper, Paradise, Nevada Loss 28–2 Joe Bugner PTS 10 3 Nov 1970 Royal Albert Hall, London, England [15][16] Loss 19–0 George Foreman TKO 7 16 May 1970 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California Referee stopped the bout at 1:41 of the seventh round. Loss 34–4–4 Jerry Quarry UD 10 19 Mar 1970 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Loss 47–3 Sonny Liston TKO 7 19 May 1969 Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, Nevada Referee stopped the bout at 2:55 of the seventh round.[11][17] Win 13–5–1 Bob Felstein PTS 10 18 Feb 1969 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Win 3–13–1 Alvin Tiger TKO 6 2 Oct 1968 Silver Slipper, Paradise, Nevada Win 5–6–1 Roy Wallace UD 10 22 Aug 1968 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Win 8–5–1 Ray White UD 10 28 Nov 1967 Community Concourse, San Diego, California [18] Win 9–4–1 Earl Averette UD 10 26 Oct 1967 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Win 57–8–3 Santo Amonti TKO 10 2 Aug 1967 Los Angeles Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California Referee stopped the bout at 1:19 of the tenth round. Loss 15–0 Joe Frazier UD 10 4 May 1967 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California [19] Win 25–3–4 Otha Brown TKO 7 15 Dec 1966 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Referee stopped the bout at 0:59 of the seventh round. Loss 49–8–3 Eddie Machen UD 10 29 Sep 1966 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Win 6–6 Emil Umek UD 10 26 Jul 1966 Stockyards Coliseum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Loss 15–0–2 Jerry Quarry TKO 2 7 Apr 1966 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Referee stopped the bout at 2:40 of the second round. Draw 11–8–1 Chuck Leslie PTS 10 6 Jan 1966 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Draw 5–5–1 Manuel Ramos PTS 10 4 Nov 1965 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Win 9–2–1 Jimmy Harryman TKO 10 21 Oct 1965 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Referee stopped the bout at 1:18 of the tenth round. Loss 12–1–2 Elmer Rush UD 10 27 Sep 1965 The Hacienda, Paradise, Nevada Loss 7–2–1 Henry Clark PTS 10 23 Sep 1965 Kezar Pavilion, San Francisco, California 1-6. Loss 32–7–1 Amos Lincoln KO 5 5 Aug 1965 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Johnson knocked out at 2:27 of the fifth round. Win 8–3–1 Roy Rogers TKO 7 22 Jun 1965 Lubbock, Texas Referee stopped the bout at 2:30 of the seventh round. Loss 7–1–1 Roy "Cowboy" Rogers UD 10 9 Nov 1964 Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas Loss 19–2 Thad Spencer KO 4 4 Aug 1964 Castaways Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada Loss 17–17–2 Sonny "Policeman" Moore PTS 10 25 May 1964 Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas Win 17–16–2 Sonny Moore SD 10 14 Apr 1964 Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Draw 5–4–1 John L. Davey PTS 10 7 Apr 1964 Stockyards Coliseum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Win 0–2 Roy Crear SD 10 17 Mar 1964 Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Win 0–8 Leo Bennett TKO 2 11 Feb 1964 Stockyards Coliseum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Draw 35–10–1 Buddy Turman PTS 10 5 Nov 1962 Tyler, Texas Loss 14–14–1 Ernie Cab KO 6 25 Apr 1961 City Auditorium, Houston, Texas Loss 11–0 Tod Herring KO 6 7 Mar 1961 Houston, Texas Loss 34–10–1 Donnie Fleeman TKO 7 28 Nov 1960 Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas Win 0–3 Leo "Zorro" Bennett KO 1 15 Sep 1960 Oklahoma City Municipal Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Bennett knocked out at 2:45 of the first round. Loss 13–4–1 Floyd Joyner PTS 6 31 Aug 1960 Albuquerque Civic Auditorium, Albuquerque, New Mexico Win 0–1 Benny Lee Bowser PTS 6 2 Aug 1960 Port Arthur, Texas Win — Donny Blue PTS 6 13 Jun 1960 Wichita, Kansas Loss 3–1 Wayne Heath PTS 6 12 Apr 1960 Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Loss 1–0 Wayne Heath PTS 4 24 Nov 1959 Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Win 2–7 Ted Hester PTS 4 10 Nov 1959 Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Loss 11–16–2 Johnny "J.C." Carroll TKO 2 9 Jun 1958 Tucson Sports Center, Tucson, Arizona

References

  1. ^ Ryan, Joe. Heavyweight Boxing in The 1970s: The Great Fighters and Rivalries Archived 2024-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, p. 133 (2013)
  2. ^ "The Secretariat of trial horses". Boxing.com. 20 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  3. ^ Hudson, David L. & Mike Fitzgerald. Boxing's Most Wanted Archived 2024-04-28 at the Wayback Machine (2004)
  4. ^ "Best I Faced: George Foreman". The Ring. 2014-07-04. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  5. ^ California Boxing Hall of Fame Inductees, Californiaboxinghalloffame.com (via archive.com 26 June 2008 version of list)
  6. ^ Ortiz, Johnny (5 March 2005). Golden Era Boxers Enter California Hall of Fame Archived 2024-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, Boxing Scene
  7. ^ Stewart, Larry (3 March 2005). Imhoff Says Hundley's Line Isn't So 'Hot' Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine, Los Angeles Times (confirms hall of fame induction)
  8. ^ (8 April 1966). Boxer Fills Old 'Tradition' Archived 2024-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, The Spokesman-Review
  9. ^ Barrett, Eldon (23 October 1973). 'Scrap Iron' faces Kirkman Archived 2024-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, Ellensburg Daily Record (UPI story)
  10. ^ (15 March 1970). There's A Ring to Scrap Iron's Name Archived 2016-08-19 at the Wayback Machine, Independent Press-Telegram
  11. ^ a b (20 May 1969). 'Scrap' Postpones Wedding After Fight with Liston, Owosso Argus-Press (Associated Press story)
  12. ^ Stewart, Larry (6 March 2004). He Liked Running With Tough Crowds Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine, Los Angeles Times
  13. ^ Boxing record for George Johnson from BoxRec (registration required)
  14. ^ (27 February 1975). Quarry Takes Unanimous Decision Over Scrap Iron Archived 2024-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, Observer–Reporter (Associated Press story)
  15. ^ "Bugner passes stiff test". The Canberra Times. 5 November 1970. p. 32. Archived from the original on 28 April 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ 1970 Joe Bugner and George "Scrap Iron" Johnson ,boxers Archived 2014-02-01 at the Wayback Machine, Argentaimages.com, Retrieved 23 January 2014 (photo of Bugner and Johnson)
  17. ^ (20 May 1969). Liston Starts Early, Dumps 'Scrap Iron', Milwaukee Journal
  18. ^ Crowe, Jerry (15 May 2011). Ray "Windmill" White left his mark on boxing -- from behind Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine, Los Angeles Times
  19. ^ (5 May 1967). Frazier Wins But No Kayo, The Miami News (Associated Press story)

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