Johnny Williams (Boxer)
Johnny Williams ( born December 25, 1926 in Barmouth, Wales, † 29 January 2007 Please Well, Leicestershire ) was a British boxer.
Career
Johnny Williams grew up in Rugby. His parents were farmers. As a child he began at the age of 10 years with the boxes, but later worked in athletics before he again began at age 16 with the boxes. He also denied some amateur fights, without coming into this profession to great successes. At age 19, he was but grown into a young man of 1.85 m tall and 85 kg body weight. Due to these excellent physical condition for a boxer he was the well-known manager Ted Broadribb recommended the Johnny Williams took them under contract at the end of 1945.
On February 12, 1946, he denied then as well nineteen in Leicester his first professional fight against Billy Rhodes, which he won on points. Over the next two and a half years, Johnny Williams denied then in England 28 fights that were more or less all construction fights. Of these 28 fights he won 25, lost one and twice fought draw. He was trained in those years of Freddie Mills, a British former world champion in the light heavyweight division. Given its speed, Johnny Williams was in those days, the nickname of the Welsh flash.
On May 18, 1948, he arrived in Coventry on the first well-known opponent, Don Cockell, as an aspiring young boxer, who was also eager to make the leap into the English class. Johnny Williams lost that fight on points. But on July 27, 1948 he succeeded in Birmingham already in revenge against Don Cockell by a technical knockout victory in the second round.
On August 17, 1949 Johnny Williams then entered the international boxing scene. In Porthcawl, Wales, he won safely over 10 rounds on points over Belgian champions Piet Wilde and struck out three weeks later in London and the French champion Stefan Olek on points. After these victories Johnny Williams appeared in the European rankings of heavyweights for the first time in the top ten boxers.
On July 17, 1950 Johnny Williams fought the almost the same Jack Gardner in the finals for a fight and the British Empire title in the heavyweight division. Jack Gardner won that fight over 12 rounds due to his stronger physique against the better technician Johnny Williams. On December 12, 1950 Johnny Williams suffered an early defeat in the fight against Bill Weinberg. He came to this fight with an arm injury, but still won each of the first five rounds. In the 6th round he was sent by the vineyard to "9" to the ground and then gave this fight on.
On June 5, 1951 Johnny Williams celebrated a knockout victory over the Austrian ex-European champion Joe Weidin (Josef Weidinger ), who had lost his title to Jack Gardner. On October 14, 1951, he then punched the first time outside of England. In Dortmund, he met the German Heinz Neuhaus, who was on the go to number "1" in Europe and Johnny Williams saw an easy target. Heinz Neuhaus was informed of this but better. Johnny Willimas delivered against Neuhaus the best fight of his career so far and it was only thanks to the composition of the court martial that the fight was "undecided " counted. Ted Broadribb was so incensed that he threatened to never let you take the Boxer his barn back in Germany.
On March 11, 1952, the rematch against Jack Gardner took place in London. That case involved the British Empire Title and the British Heavyweight Championship. Johnny Williams was in excellent form and won this title by a convincing points victory after 15 laps. After a successful title defense on October 13, 1952 against Johnny Arthur, whom he beat in the 7th round KO, Johnny Williams lost his title on May 12, 1952 Don Cockell, the European champions had become light heavyweight in 1953 but moved to the heavyweight. Before Johnny Williams had on February 15, 1953 even need to know the bitterness of a knockout defeat when Heinz Neuhaus, again prematurely sent him to Dortmund, in the 9 round on the boards.
Starting in 1954, showed that Harry Williams had passed the zenith of its power. Although he won at the beginning of the year 1954 in Germany against the European champion in the light heavyweight Gerhard Hecht by knockout in the second round and defeated shortly afterwards superior in Dortmund Hugo Salfeld on points, but was then on June 6, 1955 by Jack Gardner knocked out in the finals of the British Empire title in the 5th round. He then fought amongst others still draw against the German former European champion in the light heavyweight Willi Hoepner on February 4, 1956 in Frankfurt am Main. But on 27 August 1956, he lost in Cardiff against Joe Erskine in the fight for the British Heavyweight Championship on points and on November 16, 1956 against Joe Bygraves in the 6th round technical knockout
He stepped back then and worked for the rest of his life as a farmer.
Championship fights by Johnny Williams