Johnny Williams
Born(1926-12-25)25 December 1926
Barmouth, Wales
Died28 January 2007(2007-01-28) (aged 80)
NationalityWelsh
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Boxing record
Total fights75
Wins60
Wins by KO38
Losses11
Draws4
No contests0

Johnny Williams (25 December 1926 – 28 January 2007) was a British former professional boxer in the 1940s and 1950s and was at one time both the British and Empire heavyweight champion.

Life and career

Born in Barmouth, Wales, Williams grew up in Rugby, England, his family having moved there when he was a toddler. He started to box from the age of 10.[1] He turned professional in 1946 and was known for his scientific approach in the ring, with one of his greatest fights being a bout with Jack Gardner on 17 July 1950 in Leicester. It was a Commonwealth title eliminator fight and he lost on points, and according to the BBC it was rated as one of the most grueling bouts ever staged in Britain and left both boxers requiring a night in hospital.[2]

Two years later on 11 March 1952, Williams had his finest hour, when in a rematch with Gardner, he won the 15 round fight, claiming both the British and Empire Heavyweight titles. However the following year he lost these titles to Don Cockell.[3]

Williams made an attempt at winning back the titles in 1955, but was defeated in a fifth-round knockout by Gardner.[4][3]

Williams retired in 1956 with 60 wins, 38 by knockout, 11 losses and 4 draws, and began a career as a farmer at Newton near Rugby.[3]

He died on 28 January 2007 survived by his wife and daughter.[3]

Professional boxing record

60 Wins (38 knockouts, 22 decisions), 11 Losses (6 knockouts, 5 decisions), 4 Draws [1] Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes Loss 33-9 Joe Bygraves TKO 6 1956-11-16 Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, Belle Vue, Manchester Loss 28-0-1 Joe Erskine PTS 15 1956-08-27 Maindy Stadium, Cardiff BBBofC Heavyweight Title. Loss 26-4-1 Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson TKO 4 1956-04-13 Uline Arena, Washington, District of Columbia Referee stopped the bout at 2:49 of the fourth round. Draw 45-5-1 Willi Hoepner PTS 10 1956-02-04 Festhalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hesse Win 23-3-2 Kitione Lave TKO 1 1955-07-26 Embassy Sportsdrome, Birmingham, West Midlands Loss 26-5 Jack Gardner KO 5 1955-06-06 Nottingham Ice Stadium, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire BBBofC/Commonwealth Heavyweight Title Eliminators. Win 7-4-1 Lucien Touzard TKO 3 1955-04-18 Maindy Stadium, Cardiff Win 13-2-1 Hennie Quentemeijer KO 2 1955-03-05 Newtown, Powys Win 12-3-1 Roger Francis Coeuret TKO 4 1954-12-10 Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, Belle Vue, Manchester Win 15-2 "Miracle" Jack Hobbs TKO 7 1954-09-14 Harringay Arena, London Win 14-3-10 Hugo Salfeld PTS 10 1954-04-04 Stadion Rote Erde, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia Win 42-4-6 Gerhard Hecht KO 2 1954-01-22 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin Win 4-4-1 Bernard Verdoolaeghe PTS 10 1953-11-10 Empress Hall, Earl's Court, London Win 28-7 Fred Powell KO 2 1953-10-05 Granby Halls, Leicester, Leicestershire Loss 59-11-1 Don Cockell PTS 15 1953-05-12 Harringay Arena, London BBBofC/Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles. Win 15-11-1 Ansell Adams PTS 10 1953-04-13 Granby Halls, Leicester, Leicestershire Loss 25-1-4 Heinz Neuhaus KO 9 1953-02-15 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia Win 23-2-4 Werner Wiegand KO 5 1952-12-10 Harringay Arena, London Win 20-2 John Duncan Arthur TKO 7 1952-10-13 Granby Halls, Leicester, Leicestershire Commonwealth Heavyweight Title. Win 13-13-7 Jimmy Rouse TKO 7 1952-07-22 Meadowbrook Bowl, Newark, New Jersey Win 22-4 Jack Gardner PTS 15 1952-03-11 Empress Hall, Earl's Court, London BBBofC/Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles. Win 46-15 Omelio Agramonte PTS 10 1951-12-04 Harringay Arena, London Draw 21-0-3 Heinz Neuhaus PTS 10 1951-10-14 Stadion Rote Erde, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia Win 28-8-1 Jo Weidin TKO 6 1951-06-05 White City Stadium, London Win 17-3 Aaron Wilson PTS 8 1951-03-27 Empress Hall, Earl's Court, London Win 29-5-4 Reg Andrews KO 2 1951-03-19 Granby Halls, Leicester, Leicestershire Loss 42-21-5 Bill Weinberg TKO 6 1950-12-12 Harringay Arena, London Win 19-2 George Kaplan TKO 7 1950-11-14 Earls Court Arena, London Loss 19-2 Jack Gardner PTS 12 1950-07-17 Granby Halls, Leicester, Leicestershire Loss 72-11-2 Pat Comiskey TKO 6 1950-06-06 White City Stadium, London Win 23-11 Vern Escoe PTS 10 1950-02-28 Harringay Arena, London Win 18-8 Lloyd Barnett PTS 10 1950-02-20 Embassy Sportsdrome, Birmingham, West Midlands Win 18-10 Piet Wilde KO 4 1950-01-24 Empress Hall, Earl's Court, London Win 19-8-1 Stephane Olek PTS 8 1949-09-06 Harringay Arena, London Win 17-8 Piet Wilde PTS 10 1949-08-17 Coney Beach Pleasure Park, Porthcawl Win 11-4 Paddy Slavin TKO 3 1949-06-20 St Andrew's, Birmingham, West Midlands Win 10-5-1 Nils Andersson PTS 8 1949-06-02 White City Stadium, London Win 23-8-4 Ken Shaw TKO 8 1949-04-19 Royal Albert Hall, London Win 14-6-2 Nick Wolmarans TKO 4 1949-01-29 Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng Win 3-3-1 Billy Wood KO 4 1948-12-16 City Hall, Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal Win 10-6 Fred Vorster PTS 8 1948-11-06 Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng Win 17-9-3 Jock Frederick Taylor PTS 6 1948-09-21 Harringay Arena, London Win 22-13-7 Reg Spring TKO 6 1948-09-02 Exeter Civic Hall, Exeter, Devon Win 32-4-1 Don Cockell TKO 2 1948-07-27 Embassy Rink, Birmingham, West Midlands Win 7-12 Gene "KO" Fowler KO 3 1948-06-22 St James Park, Exeter, Devon Loss 28-4-1 Don Cockell PTS 8 1948-05-18 Highfield Road, Coventry, West Midlands Win 6-0 Bobby Ogg PTS 6 1948-04-20 Harringay Arena, London Win 1-0 Sid Falconer RTD 3 1948-03-11 Smethwick, Sandwell, West Midlands Win 1-0 Billy Phillips TKO 3 1948-02-17 Harringay Arena, London Win 21-3 Allan Cooke TKO 1 1948-02-12 Hull Arena, Hull, Yorkshire Win 12-12-3 Matt Locke KO 1 1948-01-26 Coventry Drill Hall, Coventry, West Midlands Win 13-13-1 Des Jones PTS 8 1948-01-15 Rink Market, Smethwick, Sandwell, West Midlands Loss 14-10-6 Reg Spring PTS 8 1947-12-02 Co-op Hall, Rugby, Warwickshire Win 4-1 Doug Richards PTS 8 1947-11-24 Cheltenham Town Hall, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire Win 7-7 George Barratt TKO 3 1947-11-10 Coventry, West Midlands Win 9-7-1 Jimmy Carroll KO 5 1947-11-03 Granby Halls, Leicester, Leicestershire Win 27-27-7 Trevor Burt KO 2 1947-09-16 Battery Drill Hall, Rugby, Warwickshire Win 7-6 Jimmy Carroll TKO 5 1947-08-12 Wembley Town Hall, London Win -- Bernard O'Neill TKO 2 1947-07-07 Wembley Town Hall, London Draw 26-7-5 Johnny Houlston PTS 8 1947-06-16 Corporation Bus Depot, Newport Win 41-59-5 Paddy Roche TKO 7 1947-04-03 Leamington, Warwickshire Win 2-1 Jock Kerry TKO 5 1947-03-24 Birmingham, West Midlands Win 2-2 Wally With PTS 8 1947-03-19 Caledonian Road Baths, London Win 2-3 Art Owen TKO 6 1947-02-24 Kettering, Northamptonshire Win 19-42-6 Ted Barter KO 3 1947-02-10 Oxford Town Hall, Oxford, Oxfordshire Win 2-2-2 Tommy Bostock TKO 4 1946-12-09 Assembly Rooms, Market Harborough, Leicestershire Win 0-1 Joe Burt PTS 8 1946-11-04 Birmingham, West Midlands Draw 12-3-4 Jim Greaves PTS 8 1946-10-21 Granby Halls, Leicester, Leicestershire Win 7-2-1 Jim Hollis PTS 6 1946-09-24 Embassy Rink, Birmingham, West Midlands Win 12-17-2 Harry O'Grady KO 4 1946-06-04 Battery Drill Hall, Rugby, Warwickshire Win -- Joe Williams PTS 8 1946-04-15 Birmingham, West Midlands Win 5-4 "Seaman" Tom Smith TKO 5 1946-04-01 Birmingham, West Midlands Win -- Michael Guerin KO 1 1946-02-26 Co-op Hall, Rugby, Warwickshire Guerin knocked out at 1:40 of the first round. Win 2-3 "Seaman" Tom Smith PTS 6 1946-02-15 Crossington Street Baths, Leicester, Leicestershire Win 1-0 Billy Rhodes PTS 6 1946-02-12 Crossington Street Baths, Leicester, Leicestershire

See also

References

  1. ^ "Johnny Williams". Welsh Boxers. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Ex-British champion Williams dies". BBC. 6 February 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d "Obituaries: Johnny Williams". The Telegraph. 5 February 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Uk: Boxing: Gardner V Williams: 1955". British Pathé. Retrieved 16 November 2020.

External links

Categories