George Johnson (boxer)

George Raft "Scrap Iron" Johnson (December 15, 1938 – April 9, 2016)[2][3] 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.[4] Whilst a journeyman fighter he was nonetheless notorious for being extremely durable. He could take vast amounts of punishment. George Foreman said he had the best chin of all his opponents.[5] He retired in 1975 with a record of 22-27-5. He was inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005.[6][7][8][9]

George Johnson
Statistics
Nickname(s)Scrap Iron
Weight(s)235 (1972)[1]
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
NationalityAmerican
Born(1938-12-15)December 15, 1938
Oklahoma City
DiedApril 9, 2016(2016-04-09) (aged 77)

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."[10][11]

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."[12][13]

Professional boxing record
22 Wins (11 knockouts, 11 decisions), 27 Losses (12 knockouts, 15 decisions), 5 Draws[14]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 31-0 Duane Bobick RTD 4 13/11/1975 Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
Draw 14-1 Scott LeDoux PTS 10 14/08/1975 Saint Paul Civic Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota SD for LeDoux overturned due to crowd response.
Loss 12-0 Leroy Jones PTS 10 18/03/1975 Honolulu, Hawaii
Loss 49-7-4 Jerry Quarry UD 10 25/02/1975 Hawaii International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii [15]
Loss 10-0 Johnny Boudreaux PTS 10 16/09/1974 Houston, Texas
Loss 29-2 Boone Kirkman UD 10 23/10/1973 Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, Washington 89-100, 92-100, 92-99.
Win 4-6-1 Joe Tiger Harris TKO 3 02/07/1973 Las Vegas, Nevada
Win -- John Robinson KO 2 16/05/1973 Las Vegas, Nevada
Win 5-17-1 Terry Sorrell KO 5 25/04/1973 Las Vegas, Nevada Sorrell knocked out at 1:41 of the fifth round.
Win 1-3 Dave Sherman TKO 2 11/04/1973 Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss 12-0 Ron Lyle KO 3 25/03/1972 Denver, Colorado Johnson knocked out at 0:31 of the third round.
Loss 26-9-6 Juergen Blin TKO 2 01/10/1971 Hamburg
Win 7-8 MacArthur Swindell PTS 10 30/06/1971 Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss 28-2 Joe Bugner PTS 10 03/11/1970 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London [16][17]
Loss 19-0 George Foreman TKO 7 16/05/1970 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California Referee stopped the bout at 1:41 of the seventh round.
Loss 34-4-4 Jerry Quarry UD 10 19/03/1970 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles 3-6, 4-5, 1-6.
Loss 47-3 Sonny Liston TKO 7 19/05/1969 Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada Referee stopped the bout at 2:55 of the seventh round.[12][18]
Win 13-5-1 Bob Felstein PTS 10 18/02/1969 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
Win 3-13-1 Alvin Tiger TKO 6 02/10/1968 Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win 5-6-1 Roy Wallace UD 10 22/08/1968 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles 10-0, 6-2, 8-1.
Win 8-5-1 Ray "Windmill" White UD 10 28/11/1967 Community Concourse, San Diego, California [19]
Win 9-4-1 Earl Averette UD 10 26/10/1967 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles 12-0, 10-0, 8-2.
Win 57-8-3 Santo Amonti TKO 10 02/08/1967 Los Angeles Sports Arena, Los Angeles Referee stopped the bout at 1:19 of the tenth round.
Loss 15-0 Joe Frazier UD 10 04/05/1967 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles 3-7, 2-7, 0-10.[20]
Win 25-3-4 Otha Brown TKO 7 15/12/1966 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles Referee stopped the bout at 0:59 of the seventh round.
Loss 49-8-3 Eddie Machen UD 10 29/09/1966 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
Win 6-6 Emil Umek UD 10 26/07/1966 Stockyards Coliseum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Loss 15-0-2 Jerry Quarry TKO 2 07/04/1966 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles Referee stopped the bout at 2:40 of the second round.
Draw 11-8-1 Chuck Leslie PTS 10 06/01/1966 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles 4-4, 5-4, 3-4.
Draw 5-5-1 Manuel "Pulgarcito" Ramos PTS 10 04/11/1965 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles 3-5, 5-5, 4-4.
Win 9-2-1 Jimmy Harryman TKO 10 21/10/1965 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles Referee stopped the bout at 1:18 of the tenth round.
Loss 12-1-2 Elmer Rush UD 10 27/09/1965 The Hacienda, Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss 7-2-1 Henry Clark PTS 10 23/09/1965 Kezar Pavilion, San Francisco, California 1-6.
Loss 32-7-1 Amos Lincoln KO 5 05/08/1965 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles Johnson knocked out at 2:27 of the fifth round.
Win 8-3-1 Roy "Cowboy" Rogers TKO 7 22/06/1965 Lubbock, Texas Referee stopped the bout at 2:30 of the seventh round.
Loss 7-1-1 Roy "Cowboy" Rogers UD 10 09/11/1964 Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Loss 19-2 Thad Spencer KO 4 04/08/1964 Castaways Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss 17-17-2 Sonny "Policeman" Moore PTS 10 25/05/1964 Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Win 17-16-2 Sonny "Policeman" Moore SD 10 14/04/1964 Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Draw 5-4-1 John L Davey PTS 10 07/04/1964 Stockyards Coliseum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Win 0-2 Roy Crear SD 10 17/03/1964 Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Win 0-8 Leo "Zorro" Bennett TKO 2 11/02/1964 Stockyards Coliseum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Draw 35-10-1 Buddy Turman PTS 10 05/11/1962 Tyler, Texas
Loss 14-14-1 Ernie Cab KO 6 25/04/1961 City Auditorium, Houston, Texas
Loss 11-0 Tod Herring KO 6 07/03/1961 Houston, Texas
Loss 34-10-1 Donnie Fleeman TKO 7 28/11/1960 Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas
Win 0-3 Leo "Zorro" Bennett KO 1 15/09/1960 Oklahoma City Municipal Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Bennett knocked out at 2:45 of the first round.
Loss 13-4-1 Floyd Joyner PTS 6 31/08/1960 Albuquerque Civic Auditorium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Win 0-1 Benny Lee Bowser PTS 6 02/08/1960 Port Arthur, Texas
Win -- Donny Blue PTS 6 13/06/1960 Wichita, Kansas
Loss 3-1 Wayne Heath PTS 6 12/04/1960 Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Loss 1-0 Wayne Heath PTS 4 24/11/1959 Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Win 2-7 Ted Hester PTS 4 10/11/1959 Lindsayland Auditorium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Loss 11-16-2 Johnny "J.C." Carroll TKO 2 09/06/1958 Tucson Sports Center, Tucson, Arizona

References
  1. Ryan, Joe. Heavyweight Boxing in The 1970s: The Great Fighters and Rivalries, p. 133 (2013)
  2. "BoxRec: George Johnson". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2017-09-01. 1938-12-15
  3. "The Secretariat of trial horses". Boxing.com. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  4. Hudson, David L. & Mike Fitzgerald. Boxing's Most Wanted (2004)
  5. "Best I Faced: George Foreman". The Ring. 2014-07-04. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  6. California Boxing Hall of Fame Inductees, Californiaboxinghalloffame.com (via archive.com 26 June 2008 version of list)
  7. Ortiz, Johnny (5 March 2005). Golden Era Boxers Enter California Hall of Fame, Boxing Scene
  8. Stewart, Larry (3 March 2005). Imhoff Says Hundley's Line Isn't So 'Hot', Los Angeles Times (confirms hall of fame induction)
  9. (8 April 1966). Boxer Fills Old 'Tradition', The Spokesman-Review
  10. Barrett, Eldon (23 October 1973). 'Scrap Iron' faces Kirkman, Ellensburg Daily Record (UPI story)
  11. (15 March 1970). There's A Ring to Scrap Iron's Name, Independent Press-Telegram
  12. (20 May 1969). 'Scrap' Postpones Wedding After Fight with Liston, Owosso Argus-Press (Associated Press story)
  13. Stewart, Larry (6 March 2004). He Liked Running With Tough Crowds, Los Angeles Times
  14. Boxing record for George Johnson from BoxRec
  15. (27 February 1975). Quarry Takes Unanimous Decision Over Scrap Iron, Observer–Reporter (Associated Press story)
  16. "Bugner passes stiff test". The Canberra Times. 5 November 1970. p. 32. Retrieved 28 January 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. 1970 Joe Bugner and George "Scrap Iron" Johnson ,boxers, Argentaimages.com, Retrieved 23 January 2014 (photo of Bugner and Johnson)
  18. (20 May 1969). Liston Starts Early, Dumps 'Scrap Iron', Milwaukee Journal
  19. Crowe, Jerry (15 May 2011). Ray "Windmill" White left his mark on boxing -- from behind, Los Angeles Times
  20. (5 May 1967). Frazier Wins But No Kayo, The Miami News (Associated Press story)
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