Marvin Johnson (boxer)

Marvin Johnson (born April 12, 1954)[1] is an American former boxer who was a 3-time light-heavyweight champion of the world. As an amateur, Johnson fought in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, winning a bronze medal, and made his way up the professional ranks in the light heavyweight division soon thereafter. Johnson was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008 alongside Lennox Lewis and Pernell Whitaker. His nickname is "Pops".

Marvin Johnson
Born
Marvin Johnson

(1954-04-12) April 12, 1954 (age 70)
NationalityAmerican
Other namesPops
Statistics
Weight(s)Light heavyweight
Height5 ft 10+12 in (179 cm)
Reach72+12 in (184 cm)
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights49
Wins43
Wins by KO35
Losses6
Medal record
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1972 Munich Middleweight

Amateur career

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  Won the 1971 National Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Championship, March 22 at Fort Worth, Texas:

  Won the 1971 National AAU Light Heavyweight (178 lb.) Championship, May 1 at New Orleans, Louisiana:

  • Finals: Defeated Hernando Molyneaux KO 1

  Won the 1971 North American (178 lb.) Championship, May 31 at Latham, New York:

  • Defeated William Titley (Canada) TKO 1

  Won The 1972 National Golden Gloves Middleweight (165 lb.) Championship, March 20 at Minneapolis, Minnesota:

  • 1/2: Defeated Joey Hadley by decision (Hadley cut under both eyes)
  • Finals: Defeated Don Rucker KO 2 (0:50)

  Represented the United States at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, earning a bronze medal in the 165 pound class, after he was knocked out in the semifinal by eventual gold medalist Vyacheslav Lemeshev of the Soviet Union.

1972 Olympic results

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Below are the results of Marvin Johnson, an American middleweight boxer, who competed at the 1972 Munich Olympics:

  • Round of 16: Defeated Ewald Jarmer (West Germany) by unanimous decision, 5–0
  • Quarterfinal: Defeated Alejandro Montoya (Cuba) by unanimous decision, 5–0
  • Semifinal: Lost to Vyacheslav Lemeshev (Soviet Union) by second-round TKO (was awarded bronze medal)

Professional career

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As a professional, Johnson won his first 15 bouts, including a nationally televised 4th round knockout over highly regarded veteran Tom "The Bomb" Bethea. However, Johnson lost for the first time as a professional in his next fight, against rising contender Matthew Franklin (later known as Matthew Saad Muhammad) by 12th round knockout in a furious battle for the NABF light heavyweight title.[2] Following this setback, Johnson rallied, not for the last time in his career, impressively winning several bouts, until losing a decision to highly ranked Lottie Mwale. A subsequent win over Jerry Celestine set up a world title fight, which saw Johnson taking the WBC light heavyweight crown from fellow southpaw Mate Parlov of Yugoslavia via 10th-round KO in Italy in December 1978. For his first title defense, in April 1979, Johnson chose Matthew Franklin, the very man who had beaten him in an epic war two years earlier. In front of his hometown Indianapolis fans, Johnson engaged Franklin in a rematch of such intensity and drama that it is regarded among boxing historians as one of the greatest title fights in history. Mirroring their first brutal encounter, Johnson controlled the early going, but the Philadelphia-based Franklin gamely hung in. The tide turned in the 6th and 7th rounds as Johnson began to tire. Ultimately Franklin prevailed in the 8th, a round of such ferocity that it would enter boxing lore, stopping Johnson late in the frame, despite bleeding severely himself from the nose and from cuts around both eyes.

Showing the resilience that would mark his career, Johnson would again win a world title belt later that very year—this time the WBA version—by fighting the rugged Victor Galindez from Argentina in New Orleans as part of a three-fight 'television card' that included two title bouts (Antuofermo-Hagler I and Benitez-Leonard) staged in Las Vegas. After a see-saw battle through the first ten rounds, Johnson nailed—and floored—Galindez with one of his fabled 'over-the-top-from-underneath' left hands, and the title changed hands when the champion's corner surrendered after Galindez hit the canvas.

As with his previous first title defense, Johnson again chose the strongest available contender to challenge for his belt, this time Eddie Gregory (later to be known as Eddie Mustafa Muhammad). On the TateWeaver undercard in Knoxville in March 1980, Johnson fought courageously, but ultimately succumbed to Eddie Mustafa Muhammad (né Gregory), who used a vicious body attack to outwork, out-hustle and out last the game champion en route to an 11th-round TKO victory.

Things looked bleak when Johnson fought the up-and-coming Michael Spinks in early 1981—just before Spinks dethroned Johnson's latest conqueror, Mustafa Muhammad. Johnson was off to a promising start, but the 1976 Olympian Spinks landed his famous "Spinks jinx" that put Johnson out for good in the fourth round.

Johnson recovered and proceeded to win 16 straight fights, defeating good fighters like Charles Williams along the way, and in February 1986 would again be before his Indianapolis fans, fighting Leslie Stewart of Trinidad and Tobago for the WBA light heavyweight title that became vacant when Spinks abdicated to become a heavyweight. Stewart gave Johnson some fits, but cuts would take their toll on Stewart and were the reason that the fight was stopped in the seventh round, thus making Johnson the first ever three-time champion in the division. An injury postponed his first defense against Jean-Marie Emebe of Cameroon, but the two would hook up in Indianapolis in September of that year. It was the first time that Johnson would both enter and leave the ring as champion—he was the winner by 13th-round TKO.

Next, it was on to Trinidad and Tobago for a rematch with Stewart on May 23, 1987. However, it was all Stewart this time, as he floored Johnson several times in the first few rounds, and while Johnson always regained his feet and was never counted out he did tell his cornermen after eight rounds that 'enough was enough,' and by doing so became an ex-champ for a third time.

Johnson retired after that bout.

Honors

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Named The Ring magazine Comeback of the Year fighter for 1984.

Professional boxing record

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49 fights 43 wins 6 losses
By knockout 35 5
By decision 8 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
49 Loss 43–6   Leslie Stewart RTD 8 (12) 1987-05-23   National Stadium, Port-of-Spain Lost WBA Light heavyweight title
48 Win 43–5   Jean Marie Emebe TKO 13 (15) 1986-09-20   Market Square Arena, Indianapolis Retained WBA Light heavyweight title
47 Win 42–5   Leslie Stewart TKO 7 (15) 1986-02-09   Market Square Arena, Indianapolis Won vacant WBA Light heavyweight title
46 Win 41–5   Frank Lux KO 4 (10) 1985-12-04   Market Square Arena, Indianapolis
45 Win 40–5   Raleigh Searcy TKO 4 (10) 1985-10-11   Hulman Center, Terre Haute
44 Win 39–5   Eddie Davis TKO 5 (12) 1985-04-21   Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City Won USBA Light heavyweight title
43 Win 38–5   Charles Henderson TKO 2 (10) 1985-01-17   Holiday Star Theater, Merrillville
42 Win 37–5   Eddie Collins KO 2 (10) 1984-12-13   Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City
41 Win 36–5   Charles Williams UD 10 (10) 1984-11-08   Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
40 Win 35–5   Johnny Davis UD 10 (10) 1984-08-30   Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City
39 Win 34–5   Jerome Clouden RTD 5 (10) 1984-06-14   Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City
38 Win 33–5   Eddie Gonzales KO 4 (10) 1984-03-26   Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City
37 Win 32–5   Elvis Parks TKO 4 (10) 1984-01-18   Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
36 Win 31–5   Mike Brothers TKO 10 (10) 1983-11-21   Americana Congress Hotel, Chicago
35 Win 30–5   Andros Ernie Barr TKO 8 (10) 1983-02-25   Nassau
34 Win 29–5   Alvino Manson KO 1 (12) 1982-10-14   Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
33 Win 28–5   Darnell Hayes TKO 2 (10) 1982-04-06   Civic Center, Danville
32 Loss 27–5   Michael Spinks KO 4 (10) 1981-03-28   Resorts International, Atlantic City
31 Win 27–4   Rick Nash TKO 3 (8) 1981-01-28   Atkinson Hotel, Indianapolis
30 Win 26–4   Eddie Straight TKO 1 (10) 1981-01-15   Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
29 Win 25–4   Dave Lee Royster KO 4 (10) 1980-09-09   Resorts International, Atlantic City
28 Loss 24–4   Eddie Mustafa Muhammad TKO 11 (15) 1980-03-31   Stokely Athletic Center, Knoxville Lost WBA Light heavyweight title
27 Win 24–3   Víctor Galíndez KO 11 (15) 1979-11-30   Superdome, New Orleans Won WBA Light heavyweight title
26 Win 23–3   Carlos Marks UD 10 (10) 1979-09-20   Market Square Arena, Indianapolis
25 Loss 22–3   Matthew Saad Muhammad TKO 8 (15) 1979-04-22   Market Square Arena, Indianapolis Lost WBC Light heavyweight title
24 Win 22–2   Mate Parlov TKO 10 (15) 1978-12-02   Palazzo Dello Sport, Marsala Won WBC Light heavyweight title
23 Win 21–2   Jerry Celestine UD 10 (10) 1978-09-15   Superdome, New Orleans
22 Loss 20–2   Lottie Mwale PTS 8 (8) 1978-06-17   Red Star Stadium, Belgrade
21 Win 20–1   John Baldwin UD 10 (10) 1978-05-24   Spectrum, Philadelphia
20 Win 19–1   Eddie Davis TKO 7 (10) 1978-04-03   Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
19 Win 18–1   Roberto Reynosa KO 1 (10) 1978-01-25   Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
18 Win 17–1   Billy Douglas TKO 5 (10) 1977-11-01   Spectrum, Philadelphia
17 Win 16–1   Johnny Fields KO 1 (10) 1977-09-28   Masonic Auditorium, Cleveland
16 Loss 15–1   Matthew Saad Muhammad TKO 12 (12) 1977-07-26   Spectrum, Philadelphia For NABF Light heavyweight title
15 Win 15–0   Tom Bethea TKO 4 (10) 1977-04-22   Convention Exposition Center, Indianapolis
14 Win 14–0   Johnny Townsend UD 10 (10) 1977-02-21   Spectrum, Philadelphia
13 Win 13–0   Vandell Woods UD 10 (10) 1976-11-30   Spectrum, Philadelphia
12 Win 12–0   Wayne McGee TKO 1 (10) 1976-09-14   Spectrum, Philadelphia
11 Win 11–0   Harold Carter KO 2 (10) 1976-04-15   Indiana Roof Ballroom, Indianapolis
10 Win 10–0   Ray Anderson TKO 6 (10) 1976-04-03   Fairgrounds Coliseum, Indianapolis
9 Win 9–0   Eddie Owens KO 3 (10) 1975-11-13   Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
8 Win 8–0   Paul Cardoza TKO 5 (10) 1975-04-17   Convention Exposition Center, Indianapolis
7 Win 7–0   Gary Summerhays UD 10 (10) 1975-01-29   Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
6 Win 6–0   Jim Adams TKO 1 (8) 1974-12-11   Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
5 Win 5–0   Johnny Words TKO 6 (8) 1974-11-12   Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
4 Win 4–0   Ted Paxton KO 2 (10) 1974-07-17   High Chaparal, Chicago
3 Win 3–0   Chuck Warfield TKO 5 (8) 1973-10-30   Coliseum, Fort Wayne
2 Win 2–0   Al Byrd TKO 1 (8) 1973-09-17   Coliseum, Fort Wayne
1 Win 1–0   Sylvester Wilder KO 2 (6) 1973-05-22   Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis Professional debut

Life after boxing

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Johnson retired from the Marion County Sheriff's Office in Indianapolis, Indiana, after more than 30 years of service as a civilian employee, correctional officer and deputy sheriff.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "A three-time world champion who's not in the International Boxing Hall of Fame: How can that be?". Max Boxing. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  2. ^ "On this day:Matthew Franklin wins epic war against Marvin Johnson". Boxing News. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
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Sporting positions
Amateur boxing titles
Previous:
Nathaniel Jackson
U.S. light heavyweight champion
1971
Next:
Hernando Molyneauz
Previous:
Felton Wood
Golden Gloves
light heavyweight champion

1971
Next:
Verbie Garland
Previous:
Jerry Dobbs
Golden Gloves
Middleweight champion

1972
Next:
Roy Hollis
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBC light-heavyweight champion
December 2, 1978 - April 22, 1979
Succeeded by
Preceded by WBA light-heavyweight champion
November 30, 1979 - March 31, 1980
Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Michael Spinks
WBA light-heavyweight champion
February 9, 1986 - May 23, 1987
Succeeded by
Awards
Previous:
Roberto Durán
The Ring Comeback of the Year
1984
Next:
Lupe Pintor