George Johnson (boxer)

George Johnson
Statistics
Nickname(s) Scrap Iron
Rated at 235 (1972)[1]
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Nationality American
Born Oklahoma City
Died April 9, 2016

George Raft "Scrap Iron" Johnson (b. c. 1941)[2] was an American heavyweight boxer whose career spanned the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Johnson fought many of the top fighters of his era, including George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston, Jerry Quarry, Duane Bobick, Joe Bugner and Eddie Machen.[3] Whilst a journeyman fighter he was nonetheless notorious for being extremely durable. He could take vast amounts of punishment. He retired in 1975 with a record of 22-27-5. He was inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005.[4][5][6][7]

Johnson was nicknamed "Scrap" by girls in his neighborhood in Oklahoma City when he was about seven years old, because he used a wheelbarrow to salvage machinery parts to earn money. By high school, his American football teammates tacked on the "iron."[8][9]

In 1969, after putting together a string of wins, Johnson was defeated by Sonny Liston in Las Vegas after seven rounds. Johnson had been scheduled to get married at midnight after the fight, but pushed off the wedding to the next day to recover. Johnson later claimed "Liston hit me so hard, I married the wrong woman."[10][11]

Professional boxing record

22 Wins (11 knockouts, 11 decisions), 27 Losses (12 knockouts, 15 decisions), 5 Draws[12]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 31-0 United States Duane Bobick RTD 4 13/11/1975 United States Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
Draw 14-1 United States Scott LeDoux PTS 10 14/08/1975 United States Saint Paul Civic Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota SD for LeDoux overturned due to crowd response.
Loss 12-0 United States Leroy Jones PTS 10 18/03/1975 United States Honolulu, Hawaii
Loss 49-7-4 United States Jerry Quarry UD 10 25/02/1975 United States Hawaii International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii [13]
Loss 10-0 United States Johnny Boudreaux PTS 10 16/09/1974 United States Houston, Texas
Loss 29-2 United States Boone Kirkman UD 10 23/10/1973 United States Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, Washington 89-100, 92-100, 92-99.
Win 4-6-1 United States Joe Tiger Harris TKO 3 02/07/1973 United States Las Vegas, Nevada
Win -- United States John Robinson KO 2 16/05/1973 United States Las Vegas, Nevada
Win 5-17-1 United States Terry Sorrell KO 5 25/04/1973 United States Las Vegas, Nevada Sorrell knocked out at 1:41 of the fifth round.
Win 1-3 United States Dave Sherman TKO 2 11/04/1973 United States Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss 12-0 United States Ron Lyle KO 3 25/03/1972 United States Denver, Colorado Johnson knocked out at 0:31 of the third round.
Loss 26-9-6 Germany Juergen Blin TKO 2 01/10/1971 Germany Hamburg
Win 7-8 United States MacArthur Swindell PTS 10 30/06/1971 United States Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss 28-2 Australia Joe Bugner PTS 10 03/11/1970 United Kingdom Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London [14][15]
Loss 19-0 United States George Foreman TKO 7 16/05/1970 United States Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California Referee stopped the bout at 1:41 of the seventh round.
Loss 34-4-4 United States Jerry Quarry UD 10 19/03/1970 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California 3-6, 4-5, 1-6.
Loss 47-3 United States Sonny Liston TKO 7 19/05/1969 United States Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada Referee stopped the bout at 2:55 of the seventh round.[10][16]
Win 13-5-1 Canada Bob Felstein PTS 10 18/02/1969 United States Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
Win 3-13-1 United States Alvin Tiger TKO 6 02/10/1968 United States Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win 5-6-1 United States Roy Wallace UD 10 22/08/1968 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California 10-0, 6-2, 8-1.
Win 8-5-1 United States Ray "Windmill" White UD 10 28/11/1967 United States Community Concourse, San Diego, California [17]
Win 9-4-1 United States Earl Averette UD 10 26/10/1967 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California 12-0, 10-0, 8-2.
Win 57-8-3 Italy Santo Amonti TKO 10 02/08/1967 United States Los Angeles Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California Referee stopped the bout at 1:19 of the tenth round.
Loss 15-0 United States Joe Frazier UD 10 04/05/1967 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California 3-7, 2-7, 0-10.[18]
Win 25-3-4 United States Otha Brown TKO 7 15/12/1966 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Referee stopped the bout at 0:59 of the seventh round.
Loss 49-8-3 United States Eddie Machen UD 10 29/09/1966 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win 6-6 Germany Emil Umek UD 10 26/07/1966 United States Stockyards Coliseum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Loss 15-0-2 United States Jerry Quarry TKO 2 07/04/1966 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Referee stopped the bout at 2:40 of the second round.
Draw 11-8-1 United States Chuck Leslie PTS 10 06/01/1966 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California 4-4, 5-4, 3-4.
Draw 5-5-1 Mexico Manuel "Pulgarcito" Ramos PTS 10 04/11/1965 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California 3-5, 5-5, 4-4.
Win 9-2-1 United States Jimmy Harryman TKO 10 21/10/1965 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Referee stopped the bout at 1:18 of the tenth round.
Loss 12-1-2 United States Elmer Rush UD 10 27/09/1965 United States The Hacienda, Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss 7-2-1 United States Henry Clark PTS 10 23/09/1965 United States Kezar Pavilion, San Francisco, California 1-6.
Loss 32-7-1 United States Amos Lincoln KO 5 05/08/1965 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Johnson knocked out at 2:27 of the fifth round.
Win 8-3-1 United States Roy "Cowboy" Rogers TKO 7 22/06/1965 United States Lubbock, Texas Referee stopped the bout at 2:30 of the seventh round.
Loss 7-1-1 United States Roy "Cowboy" Rogers UD 10 09/11/1964 United States Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Loss 19-2 United States Thad Spencer KO 4 04/08/1964 United States Castaways Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss 17-17-2 United States Sonny "Policeman" Moore PTS 10 25/05/1964 United States Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Win 17-16-2 United States Sonny "Policeman" Moore SD 10 14/04/1964 United States Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Draw 5-4-1 United States John L Davey PTS 10 07/04/1964 United States Stockyards Coliseum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Win 0-2 United States Roy Crear SD 10 17/03/1964 United States Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Win 0-8 United States Leo "Zorro" Bennett TKO 2 11/02/1964 United States Stockyards Coliseum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Draw 35-10-1 United States Buddy Turman PTS 10 05/11/1962 United States Tyler, Texas
Loss 14-14-1 United States Ernie Cab KO 6 25/04/1961 United States City Auditorium, Houston, Texas
Loss 11-0 United States Tod Herring KO 6 07/03/1961 United States Houston, Texas
Loss 34-10-1 United States Donnie Fleeman TKO 7 28/11/1960 United States Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas
Win 0-3 United States Leo "Zorro" Bennett KO 1 15/09/1960 United States Oklahoma City Municipal Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Bennett knocked out at 2:45 of the first round.
Loss 13-4-1 United States Floyd Joyner PTS 6 31/08/1960 United States Albuquerque Civic Auditorium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Win 0-1 United States Benny Lee Bowser PTS 6 02/08/1960 United States Port Arthur, Texas
Win -- Donny Blue PTS 6 13/06/1960 United States Wichita, Kansas
Loss 3-1 United States Wayne Heath PTS 6 12/04/1960 United States Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Loss 1-0 United States Wayne Heath PTS 4 24/11/1959 United States Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Win 2-7 United States Ted Hester PTS 4 10/11/1959 United States Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Loss 11-16-2 United States Johnny "J.C." Carroll TKO 2 09/06/1958 United States Tucson Sports Center, Tucson, Arizona

References

  1. ↑ Ryan, Joe. Heavyweight Boxing in The 1970s: The Great Fighters and Rivalries, p. 133 (2013)
  2. ↑ (20 March 1970). Quarry Ease Winner Over Vet Johnson, Reading Eagle
  3. ↑ Hudson, David L. & Mike Fitzgerald. Boxing's Most Wanted (2004)
  4. ↑ California Boxing Hall of Fame Inductees, Californiaboxinghalloffame.com (via archive.com 26 June 2008 version of list)
  5. ↑ Ortiz, Johnny (5 March 2005). Golden Era Boxers Enter California Hall of Fame, Boxing Scene
  6. ↑ Stewart, Larry (3 March 2005). Imhoff Says Hundley's Line Isn't So 'Hot', Los Angeles Times (confirms hall of fame induction)
  7. ↑ (8 April 1966). Boxer Fills Old 'Tradition', The Spokesman-Review
  8. ↑ Barrett, Eldon (23 October 1973). 'Scrap Iron' faces Kirkman, Ellensburg Daily Record (UPI story)
  9. ↑ (15 March 1970). There's A Ring to Scrap Iron's Name, Independent Press-Telegram
  10. 1 2 (20 May 1969). 'Scrap' Postpones Wedding After Fight with Liston, Owosso Argus-Press (Associated Press story0
  11. ↑ Stewart, Larry (6 March 2004). He Liked Running With Tough Crowds, Los Angeles Times
  12. ↑ Professional boxing record for George Johnson from BoxRec
  13. ↑ (27 February 1975). Quarry Takes Unanimous Decision Over Scrap Iron, Observer–Reporter (Associated Press story)
  14. ↑ "Bugner passes stiff test.". The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). ACT: National Library of Australia. 5 November 1970. p. 32. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  15. ↑ 1970 Joe Bugner and George "Scrap Iron" Johnson ,boxers, Argentaimages.com, Retrieved 23 January 2014 (photo of Bugner and Johnson)
  16. ↑ (20 May 1969). Liston Starts Early, Dumps 'Scrap Iron', Milwaukee Journal
  17. ↑ Crowe, Jerry (15 May 2011). Ray "Windmill" White left his mark on boxing -- from behind, Los Angeles Times
  18. ↑ (5 May 1967). Frazier Wins But No Kayo, The Miami News (Associated Press story)
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