Marvin Johnson
Born
Marvin Johnson

(1954-04-12) April 12, 1954
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 place1972 MunichMiddleweight

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".

Amateur career

1st place, gold medalist(s) Won the 1971 National Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Championship, March 22 at Fort Worth, Texas:

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

    • Finals: Defeated Hernando Molyneaux KO 1

    1st place, gold medalist(s) Won the 1971 North American (178 lb.) Championship, May 31 at Latham, New York:

    • Defeated William Titley (Canada) TKO 1

    1st place, gold medalist(s) 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)

    3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 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

    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

    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 (née 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

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

    Professional boxing record

    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 Trinidad and Tobago Leslie Stewart RTD 8 (12) 1987-05-23 Trinidad and Tobago National Stadium, Port-of-Spain Lost WBA Light heavyweight title
    48 Win 43–5 Cameroon Jean Marie Emebe TKO 13 (15) 1986-09-20 United States Market Square Arena, Indianapolis Retained WBA Light heavyweight title
    47 Win 42–5 Trinidad and Tobago Leslie Stewart TKO 7 (15) 1986-02-09 United States Market Square Arena, Indianapolis Won vacant WBA Light heavyweight title
    46 Win 41–5 United States Frank Lux KO 4 (10) 1985-12-04 United States Market Square Arena, Indianapolis
    45 Win 40–5 United States Raleigh Searcy TKO 4 (10) 1985-10-11 United States Hulman Center, Terre Haute
    44 Win 39–5 United States Eddie Davis TKO 5 (12) 1985-04-21 United States Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City Won USBA Light heavyweight title
    43 Win 38–5 United States Charles Henderson TKO 2 (10) 1985-01-17 United States Holiday Star Theater, Merrillville
    42 Win 37–5 United States Eddie Collins KO 2 (10) 1984-12-13 United States Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City
    41 Win 36–5 United States Charles Williams UD 10 (10) 1984-11-08 United States Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
    40 Win 35–5 United States Johnny Davis UD 10 (10) 1984-08-30 United States Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City
    39 Win 34–5 United States Jerome Clouden RTD 5 (10) 1984-06-14 United States Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City
    38 Win 33–5 United States Eddie Gonzales KO 4 (10) 1984-03-26 United States Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City
    37 Win 32–5 United States Elvis Parks TKO 4 (10) 1984-01-18 United States Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
    36 Win 31–5 United States Mike Brothers TKO 10 (10) 1983-11-21 United States Americana Congress Hotel, Chicago
    35 Win 30–5 The Bahamas Andros Ernie Barr TKO 8 (10) 1983-02-25 The Bahamas Nassau
    34 Win 29–5 United States Alvino Manson KO 1 (12) 1982-10-14 United States Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
    33 Win 28–5 United States Darnell Hayes TKO 2 (10) 1982-04-06 United States Civic Center, Danville
    32 Loss 27–5 United States Michael Spinks KO 4 (10) 1981-03-28 United States Resorts International, Atlantic City
    31 Win 27–4 United States Rick Nash TKO 3 (8) 1981-01-28 United States Atkinson Hotel, Indianapolis
    30 Win 26–4 United States Eddie Straight TKO 1 (10) 1981-01-15 United States Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
    29 Win 25–4 United States Dave Lee Royster KO 4 (10) 1980-09-09 United States Resorts International, Atlantic City
    28 Loss 24–4 United States Eddie Mustafa Muhammad TKO 11 (15) 1980-03-31 United States Stokely Athletic Center, Knoxville Lost WBA Light heavyweight title
    27 Win 24–3 Argentina Víctor Galíndez KO 11 (15) 1979-11-30 United States Superdome, New Orleans Won WBA Light heavyweight title
    26 Win 23–3 Trinidad and Tobago Carlos Marks UD 10 (10) 1979-09-20 United States Market Square Arena, Indianapolis
    25 Loss 22–3 United States Matthew Saad Muhammad TKO 8 (15) 1979-04-22 United States Market Square Arena, Indianapolis Lost WBC Light heavyweight title
    24 Win 22–2 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Mate Parlov TKO 10 (15) 1978-12-02 Italy Palazzo Dello Sport, Marsala Won WBC Light heavyweight title
    23 Win 21–2 United States Jerry Celestine UD 10 (10) 1978-09-15 United States Superdome, New Orleans
    22 Loss 20–2 Zambia Lottie Mwale PTS 8 (8) 1978-06-17 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Stadium, Belgrade
    21 Win 20–1 United States John Baldwin UD 10 (10) 1978-05-24 United States Spectrum, Philadelphia
    20 Win 19–1 United States Eddie Davis TKO 7 (10) 1978-04-03 United States Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
    19 Win 18–1 United States Roberto Reynosa KO 1 (10) 1978-01-25 United States Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
    18 Win 17–1 United States Billy Douglas TKO 5 (10) 1977-11-01 United States Spectrum, Philadelphia
    17 Win 16–1 United States Johnny Fields KO 1 (10) 1977-09-28 United States Masonic Auditorium, Cleveland
    16 Loss 15–1 United States Matthew Saad Muhammad TKO 12 (12) 1977-07-26 United States Spectrum, Philadelphia For NABF Light heavyweight title
    15 Win 15–0 United States Tom Bethea TKO 4 (10) 1977-04-22 United States Convention Exposition Center, Indianapolis
    14 Win 14–0 United States Johnny Townsend UD 10 (10) 1977-02-21 United States Spectrum, Philadelphia
    13 Win 13–0 United States Vandell Woods UD 10 (10) 1976-11-30 United States Spectrum, Philadelphia
    12 Win 12–0 United States Wayne McGee TKO 1 (10) 1976-09-14 United States Spectrum, Philadelphia
    11 Win 11–0 United States Harold Carter KO 2 (10) 1976-04-15 United States Indiana Roof Ballroom, Indianapolis
    10 Win 10–0 United States Ray Anderson TKO 6 (10) 1976-04-03 United States Fairgrounds Coliseum, Indianapolis
    9 Win 9–0 United States Eddie Owens KO 3 (10) 1975-11-13 United States Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
    8 Win 8–0 United States Paul Cardoza TKO 5 (10) 1975-04-17 United States Convention Exposition Center, Indianapolis
    7 Win 7–0 Canada Gary Summerhays UD 10 (10) 1975-01-29 United States Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
    6 Win 6–0 United States Jim Adams TKO 1 (8) 1974-12-11 United States Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
    5 Win 5–0 United States Johnny Words TKO 6 (8) 1974-11-12 United States Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
    4 Win 4–0 United States Ted Paxton KO 2 (10) 1974-07-17 United States High Chaparal, Chicago
    3 Win 3–0 United States Chuck Warfield TKO 5 (8) 1973-10-30 United States Coliseum, Fort Wayne
    2 Win 2–0 United States Al Byrd TKO 1 (8) 1973-09-17 United States Coliseum, Fort Wayne
    1 Win 1–0 United States Sylvester Wilder KO 2 (6) 1973-05-22 United States Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis Professional debut

    Life after boxing

    Johnson currently serves as a civilian employee for the Marion County Sheriff's Office in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he formerly served as a Deputy.[3]

    See also

    References

    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.
    3. "BEST I FACED: MARVIN JOHNSON". The Ring. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
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