Reggie Dwayne Johnson (born August 28, 1966) is an American former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1984 to 2008. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBA

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

title from 1992 to 1993, and the IBF

light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

title from 1998 to 1999.

Professional career

Johnson made his professional debut in 1984. He won the WBA Inter-Continental

title in 1989, and the USBA middleweight title in 1990, before losing a disputed split decision in 1991 against

James Toney James Nathaniel Toney (born August 24, 1968) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2017. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF and lineal middleweight titles from 1991 to 1 ...

for the IBF and lineal middleweight titles, a fight in which he notably knocked Toney down in the second round. In 1992 he won his first world championship by winning the vacant WBA middleweight title in a close decision over

Steve Collins Stephen Collins (born 21 July 1964) is an Irish former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 1997. Known as the Celtic Warrior, Collins is the most successful male Irish boxer in recent professional boxing history, having held the WBO mi ...

. After three successful defenses, including a decision over the undefeated Lamar Parks, Johnson lost the belt to fellow southpaw John David Jackson. He twice failed in attempts to regain the WBA title, both by hotly disputed decisions to Jorge Castro in Argentina. He later moved up to

, winning the IBF title in 1998 against the undefeated William Guthrie with a rare one-punch knockout in the fifth round, a fight in which Guthrie left the ring on a stretcher. Johnson defended the title twice before losing by a wide decision to

Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...

in a unification bout for the WBA and WBC titles in 1999. In 2001, Johnson returned to boxing and won the NABF and USBA light heavyweight titles, which he then lost in 2002 following a close decision to

Antonio Tarver Antonio Deon Tarver (born November 21, 1968) is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator. In boxing he competed from 1997 to 2015, and held multiple light heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Unified), WBC, IB ...

in an IBF world title eliminator. At age 35, Johnson then retired. He returned in 2005 for one fight, then in 2008 Johnson scored a split decision win over former light heavyweight world champion

Julio César González Julio César González Ibarra (July 30, 1976 – March 10, 2012) was a Mexican professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2011, and held the WBO and lineal light heavyweight titles from 2003 to 2004. Amateur career Gonzalez was a member ...

.Courtemanche, Andre (February 14, 2008)
"Reggie Johnson Interview on Gonzalez Bout"
BoxingScene. Retrieved January 1, 2017.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Reggie 1966 births Living people Boxers from Houston World Boxing Association champions International Boxing Federation champions American male boxers World middleweight boxing champions World light-heavyweight boxing champions Southpaw boxers Middleweight boxers Light-heavyweight boxers