Johnny King (8 January 1912 – 6 March 1963) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 1926 to 1947. Predominantly a

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...

, he was a two-time British bantamweight champion and a one-time British Empire (Commonwealth) bantamweight champion. His professional fighting weight varied from ,

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of b ...

, to ,

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...

Professional career

King made his professional debut on 25 April 1926, when he beat Jim Costello. On 10 August 1931 he beat Pat Boy Gorman for the vacant BBBofC Northern Area bantamweight title. On 21 December 1931 he fought Dick Corbett for the BBBofC British Empire bantamweight title, and the vacant BBBofC British bantamweight title, at Kings Hall, Manchester. King lost the bout but would meet Corbett again on 10 October 1932, this time beating him and winning both titles. He became a popular fighter and crowd-puller, producing a twenty-one match undefeated run, losing his twenty second to

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Domenico Bernasconi. On 12 June 1933 he successfully defended the British Empire bantamweight title against Canadian bantamweight champion Bobby Leitham, beating him on points. On 3 July 1933 King fought

Panama Al Brown Alfonso Teofilo Brown (July 5, 1902 – April 11, 1951), better known as Panama Al Brown, was a Panamanian professional boxer. He made history by becoming boxing's first Latin American world champion, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...

in a losing effort for the IBU World bantamweight title. King almost knocked Brown out in the seventh round, but Brown managed to hold on for a points decision. Years later Brown would comment on the power of the punch the Manchester man displayed. On 12 February 1934 King met Dick Corbett for the third time, losing both his British and British Empire titles on points. On 27 May 1935 King won his second British bantamweight title after defeating Len Hampston on points. He would hold the British title for the next twelve years, though would only defend it twice, largely due to the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. On 6 May 1936 King fought

Nel Tarleton Nelson "Nel" Tarleton (14 February 1906Odd, Gilbert E. (ed.) (1946) ''Boxing News Annual 1946'', War Facts Press, p. 53 – 12 January 1956) was an English featherweight boxer from Liverpool, England. He was British featherweight champio ...

for the BBBofC British featherweight title, losing on points. His first defence of the British bantamweight title was against

Jackie Brown ''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel '' Rum Punch.'' It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who is caught smuggling money. Samuel L. Jac ...

, in front of a 20,000 strong crowd at Kings Hall, Manchester on 31 May 1937. King knocked Brown out in the thirteenth round. His second defence was against Len Hampston at Headingley Rugby Ground,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

on 22 June 1938. Hampston was disqualified in the third round. King continued to fight during and after the war but struggled to find any form. On 10 February 1947 he lost the British title to

Jackie Paterson Jackie Paterson (5 September 1920 – 19 November 1966) was a Scottish boxer who was world flyweight boxing champion. He was also British champion at flyweight and bantamweight. Early life Born in Springside, Ayrshire, Paterson emigrated with ...

, after being knocked out in the seventh round. Having lost his last five bouts, King retired shortly after.

Second World War

During the Second World War King fought in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. He was aboard the King George V-class battleship HMS ''Prince of Wales'' when she was sunk by a Japanese air attack off

Kuantan Kuantan ( Jawi: ) is a city and the state capital of Pahang, Malaysia. It is located near the mouth of the Kuantan River. Kuantan is the 18th largest city in Malaysia based on 2010 population, and the largest city in the East Coast of Peni ...

, in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

.Middlebrook p. 48

Notable bouts

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, , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , align=left,

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=left, Len Hampston , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , align=left,

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=left, Bobby Leitham , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=left, Dick Corbett , , , , align=left, , align=left, .

References

Bibliography

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External links

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Image - Johnny King

Image - Johnny King
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Johnny 1912 births 1963 deaths Bantamweight boxers English male boxers Featherweight boxers Flyweight boxers Lightweight boxers Boxers from Manchester Royal Navy personnel of World War II Shipwreck survivors