Marvin Johnson (boxer) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marvin Johnson
Statistics
Real name	Marvin Johnson
Nickname(s)	Pops
Rated at	Light heavyweight
Height	5 ft 10+1/2 in
Reach	72+1/2 in
Nationality	American
Born	(1954-04-12) April 12, 1954 (age 71) Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	49
Wins	43
Wins by KO	35
Losses	6
Medal record Representing  United States Olympic Games Bronze 1972 Munich Middleweight

Marvin Johnson (born April 12, 1954) is an American former boxer. He was a world champion three times in the light-heavyweight division. As a young boxer, Johnson competed in the 1972 Olympics in Munich. There, he won a bronze medal. After the Olympics, he became a professional boxer. Johnson was added to the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008. His nickname was "Pops".

Amateur Boxing Career

Marvin Johnson had a very successful amateur boxing career. He won several important championships before turning professional.

Winning Championships

• In 1971, he won the National Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Championship. This event took place in Fort Worth, Texas.
• He also won the 1971 National AAU Light Heavyweight Championship. This was in New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • In the finals, he beat Hernando Molyneaux by knockout in the first round.
• Later in 1971, he won the North American Light Heavyweight Championship. He defeated William Titley from Canada.
• In 1972, he won The National Golden Gloves Middleweight Championship. This competition was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  • He beat Joey Hadley by decision in the semifinals.
  • In the finals, he knocked out Don Rucker in the second round.

1972 Olympic Games

Marvin Johnson represented the United States at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. He earned a bronze medal in the 165-pound weight class. He lost in the semifinal to Vyacheslav Lemeshev from the Soviet Union. Lemeshev later won the gold medal.

Olympic Results in 1972

Here are Marvin Johnson's results from the 1972 Munich Olympics:

• Round of 16: He defeated Ewald Jarmer (West Germany) by a unanimous decision (all five judges agreed).
• Quarterfinal: He defeated Alejandro Montoya (Cuba) by a unanimous decision.
• Semifinal: He lost to Vyacheslav Lemeshev (Soviet Union) by TKO (Technical Knockout) in the second round. He still received a bronze medal.

Professional Boxing Career

As a professional boxer, Marvin Johnson started strong. He won his first 15 fights. One of these wins was a knockout against Tom "The Bomb" Bethea. This fight was shown on national television.

First Challenges

Johnson faced his first professional loss against Matthew Franklin (later known as Matthew Saad Muhammad). This was a tough fight for the NABF light heavyweight title. After this, Johnson showed how strong he was. He won several more fights. Then he lost a decision to Lottie Mwale.

Becoming a World Champion

After beating Jerry Celestine, Johnson got a chance to fight for a world title. In December 1978, he won the WBC light heavyweight title. He knocked out Mate Parlov in Italy.

For his first title defense, Johnson chose to fight Matthew Franklin again. This was the boxer who had beaten him before. The fight in Indianapolis was very intense. Many boxing experts call it one of the greatest title fights ever. Johnson started strong, but Franklin fought back. Franklin won in the eighth round.

Winning Another Title

Later that same year, Johnson won another world title. This time, it was the WBA light heavyweight belt. He fought Victor Galindez from Argentina in New Orleans. After a close fight, Johnson knocked Galindez down in the eleventh round. Galindez's team stopped the fight, and Johnson became champion again.

For his next defense, Johnson fought Eddie Gregory (later known as Eddie Mustafa Muhammad). Johnson fought bravely, but Eddie Mustafa Muhammad won in the eleventh round.

Facing Michael Spinks

In early 1981, Johnson fought Michael Spinks. Spinks was a rising star. Johnson started well, but Spinks won by knockout in the fourth round.

Third World Title

Johnson did not give up. He won 16 fights in a row. In February 1986, he fought Leslie Stewart for the WBA light heavyweight title. This title was empty because Spinks had moved to a heavier weight class. Johnson won the fight in the seventh round. This made him the first boxer to win the light heavyweight title three times.

He defended his title against Jean-Marie Emebe in Indianapolis. Johnson won by TKO in the 13th round. This was the first time he entered and left the ring as a champion.

Final Fight and Retirement

Johnson had a rematch with Leslie Stewart in May 1987. This time, Stewart won. Johnson was knocked down several times. After eight rounds, Johnson decided to stop the fight. He retired from boxing after this match.

Honors and Recognition

In 1984, The Ring magazine named Marvin Johnson their Comeback of the Year fighter. This was for his amazing return to form after tough losses.

Professional Boxing Record Summary

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
49	Loss	43–6	Leslie Stewart	RTD	8 (12)	1987-05-23	National Stadium, Port-of-Spain	Lost WBA Light heavyweight title
48	Win	43–5	Jean Marie Emebe	TKO	13 (15)	1986-09-20	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis	Retained WBA Light heavyweight title
47	Win	42–5	Leslie Stewart	TKO	7 (15)	1986-02-09	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis	Won vacant WBA Light heavyweight title
46	Win	41–5	Frank Lux	KO	4 (10)	1985-12-04	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis
45	Win	40–5	Raleigh Searcy	TKO	4 (10)	1985-10-11	Hulman Center, Terre Haute
44	Win	39–5	Eddie Davis	TKO	5 (12)	1985-04-21	Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City	Won USBA Light heavyweight title
43	Win	38–5	Charles Henderson	TKO	2 (10)	1985-01-17	Holiday Star Theater, Merrillville
42	Win	37–5	Eddie Collins	KO	2 (10)	1984-12-13	Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City
41	Win	36–5	Charles Williams	UD	10 (10)	1984-11-08	Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
40	Win	35–5	Johnny Davis	UD	10 (10)	1984-08-30	Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City
39	Win	34–5	Jerome Clouden	RTD	5 (10)	1984-06-14	Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City
38	Win	33–5	Eddie Gonzales	KO	4 (10)	1984-03-26	Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City
37	Win	32–5	Elvis Parks	TKO	4 (10)	1984-01-18	Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
36	Win	31–5	Mike Brothers	TKO	10 (10)	1983-11-21	Americana Congress Hotel, Chicago
35	Win	30–5	Andros Ernie Barr	TKO	8 (10)	1983-02-25	Nassau
34	Win	29–5	Alvino Manson	KO	1 (12)	1982-10-14	Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
33	Win	28–5	Darnell Hayes	TKO	2 (10)	1982-04-06	Civic Center, Danville
32	Loss	27–5	Michael Spinks	KO	4 (10)	1981-03-28	Resorts International, Atlantic City
31	Win	27–4	Rick Nash	TKO	3 (8)	1981-01-28	Atkinson Hotel, Indianapolis
30	Win	26–4	Eddie Straight	TKO	1 (10)	1981-01-15	Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
29	Win	25–4	Dave Lee Royster	KO	4 (10)	1980-09-09	Resorts International, Atlantic City
28	Loss	24–4	Eddie Mustafa Muhammad	TKO	11 (15)	1980-03-31	Stokely Athletic Center, Knoxville	Lost WBA Light heavyweight title
27	Win	24–3	Víctor Galíndez	KO	11 (15)	1979-11-30	Superdome, New Orleans	Won WBA Light heavyweight title
26	Win	23–3	Carlos Marks	UD	10 (10)	1979-09-20	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis
25	Loss	22–3	Matthew Saad Muhammad	TKO	8 (15)	1979-04-22	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis	Lost WBC Light heavyweight title
24	Win	22–2	Mate Parlov	TKO	10 (15)	1978-12-02	Palazzo Dello Sport, Marsala	Won WBC Light heavyweight title
23	Win	21–2	Jerry Celestine	UD	10 (10)	1978-09-15	Superdome, New Orleans
22	Loss	20–2	Lottie Mwale	PTS	8 (8)	1978-06-17	Red Star Stadium, Belgrade
21	Win	20–1	John Baldwin	UD	10 (10)	1978-05-24	Spectrum, Philadelphia
20	Win	19–1	Eddie Davis	TKO	7 (10)	1978-04-03	Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
19	Win	18–1	Roberto Reynosa	KO	1 (10)	1978-01-25	Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
18	Win	17–1	Billy Douglas	TKO	5 (10)	1977-11-01	Spectrum, Philadelphia
17	Win	16–1	Johnny Fields	KO	1 (10)	1977-09-28	Masonic Auditorium, Cleveland
16	Loss	15–1	Matthew Saad Muhammad	TKO	12 (12)	1977-07-26	Spectrum, Philadelphia	For NABF Light heavyweight title
15	Win	15–0	Tom Bethea	TKO	4 (10)	1977-04-22	Convention Exposition Center, Indianapolis
14	Win	14–0	Johnny Townsend	UD	10 (10)	1977-02-21	Spectrum, Philadelphia
13	Win	13–0	Vandell Woods	UD	10 (10)	1976-11-30	Spectrum, Philadelphia
12	Win	12–0	Wayne McGee	TKO	1 (10)	1976-09-14	Spectrum, Philadelphia
11	Win	11–0	Harold Carter	KO	2 (10)	1976-04-15	Indiana Roof Ballroom, Indianapolis
10	Win	10–0	Ray Anderson	TKO	6 (10)	1976-04-03	Fairgrounds Coliseum, Indianapolis
9	Win	9–0	Eddie Owens	KO	3 (10)	1975-11-13	Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
8	Win	8–0	Paul Cardoza	TKO	5 (10)	1975-04-17	Convention Exposition Center, Indianapolis
7	Win	7–0	Gary Summerhays	UD	10 (10)	1975-01-29	Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
6	Win	6–0	Jim Adams	TKO	1 (8)	1974-12-11	Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
5	Win	5–0	Johnny Words	TKO	6 (8)	1974-11-12	Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis
4	Win	4–0	Ted Paxton	KO	2 (10)	1974-07-17	High Chaparal, Chicago
3	Win	3–0	Chuck Warfield	TKO	5 (8)	1973-10-30	Coliseum, Fort Wayne
2	Win	2–0	Al Byrd	TKO	1 (8)	1973-09-17	Coliseum, Fort Wayne
1	Win	1–0	Sylvester Wilder	KO	2 (6)	1973-05-22	Tyndall Armory, Indianapolis	Professional debut

Life After Boxing

After his boxing career, Marvin Johnson worked for the Marion County Sheriff's Office in Indianapolis, Indiana. He served for over 30 years in different roles. He was a civilian employee, a correctional officer, and a deputy sheriff.

More to Explore

• List of world light-heavyweight boxing champions