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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. 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.

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.

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

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.

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

Professional boxing record

60 Wins (38 knockouts, 22 decisions), 11 Losses (6 knockouts, 5 decisions), 4 Draws
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

• List of British heavyweight boxing champions
• List of Commonwealth Boxing Council champions

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. ^ "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

• Boxing record for Johnny Williams from BoxRec (registration required)
• Welcome To New Champion 1952 – Short British Pathé newsreel of Williams at a victory celebration in 1952

• 1926 births
• 2007 deaths
• Sportspeople from Gwynedd
• Welsh male boxers
• Heavyweight boxers
• Sportspeople from Rugby, Warwickshire
• People from Barmouth