Rest In Peace Harold Johnson

Harold Johnson, foe to such light heavyweight royalty as Ezzard Charles has passed away, aged 86.

Arguably most notable for his 5(?) contests with Archie Moore, Johnson was a powerfully built and avoided by many. I shall leave it to more well versed posters to flesh out his meager tribute.

Good age for a boxer...........Hope he kept what little of his money he received knowing the Promoter's of the age.......

RIP to Johnson, anyone good enough to win the light heavyweight in the 50's can't have been a bad fighter. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Johnson is in his loss to Jersey Joe Walcott he severely damaged vertebrae in his lower back. Doctors had serious doubts about whether he would ever be able to fight again, to not only fight again, but to reach world level is quite an achievement.

Hell of a fighter and one of the last survivors of possibly the greatest boxing era of them all. Was beating folk like Bivins and Lytell as early as 1949 and had his last fight as late as 71. Imagine having fought professionally in four different decades. Beat Ezzard Charles in the 50s, as well as a number of other top heavyweights of the decade, and only Archie Moore stopped him from gaining acceptance as a consensus top 5 or 6 light-heavyweight from any era. As it is, must be on the fringes of a top 10; a link to a fantastic time and one of the ornaments of that time. RIP indeed.

Made of stern stuff back then..............Hard times moulded you.....

RIP

Harold was dedication to the sport. Amazing physique and a good technician.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE8xqtIkXsk