British boxer (1902–1974)
Leonard Benker Johnson (22 October 1902 – 28 September 1974), known simply as Len among his admirers, and dubbed "Len Johnson" by the press, was a British boxer who competed from 1920 to 1933. He held the British Empire middleweight title, the first non-white boxer to hold a major title during the British colour bar era, "de facto" reigning from 20 February 1926 to 12 July 1926. He also held the Northern Area championships at middleweight and light-heavyweight, respectively. A strategic and intelligent boxer, Johnson was considered to be one of the best middleweights of his era. He was known for his exceptional boxing skill, using an educated left-hand, as well a slippery defence that made him difficult to hit, while leaving his features largely unmarked throughout his thirteen-year career. Additionally, Johnson possessed a very long reach and rather good height.
Johnson was regarded as one of the greatest middleweight boxers of his generation in the years between the world wars. As an amateur, Johnson learnt the fundamentals of boxing in the boxing booths of Bill Moore and Bert Hughes. After turning professional later in 1920, he defeated current and former champions, including former world welterweight champion Ted "Kid" Lewis in 1925. Due to then Home Secretary Winston Churchill's decision in 1911 to support a colour bar, he was banned from competing at both the Royal Albert Hall and National Sporting Club. Additionally, the British Boxing Board of Control would not sanction a championship bout with Johnson for the Lonsdale Belt, due to their Rule 24, which stated that title contestants "[...] must have two white parents", though despite this he defeated Harry Collins in Australia for the middleweight championship of the British Empire in 1926. Johnson became famous in Britain for his impressive victories, defeating European and British middleweight champion Roland Todd in 1927. In the same year, he also defeated future middleweight champion Len Harvey, and rounded up the decade thrashing European middleweight champion Leone Jaccovacci in 1928 and European light-heavyweight champion Michele Bonaglia in 1929.
Johnson was a major boxing figure of the mid-20th century Britain, and though he never held any titles, he was important activist in the labour movement in Manchester in the 1940s and 1950s. Following the Second World War, Johnson joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) and was a key member until his death. He was a co-founder of the New International Club in Manchester, which provided a vehicle for black political and social self-organisation in the city and campaigning against racism at home and abroad, including organising a concert and a rally featuring his hero Paul Robeson in support of the Trenton Six, which were both attended by 10,000 people. He was instrumental in influencing the dissolving the British colour bar in 1947, wherein Dick Turpin became Britain's first Black boxing champion in 1948; the decolonisation of Africa taking place in the 1950s to 1970s, with Ghana becoming the first sub-Saharan African country to gain its independence from European powers, led by Kwame Nkrumah, a delegate alongside Johnson at the 5th Pan-African Congress; and the implementation of the Race Relations Act 1965, making racial discrimination in public places unlawful.
Early life.
Leonard Benker Johnson was born on 22 October 1902 in Clayton, Manchester, England, in the suburbs of Cottonopolis; he was the first child of Margaret (née Maher) and William Benker Johnson. He was born to an English mother of Irish descent and a Sierra Leone Creole father, making him mixed-race; and had two brothers, Albert and William, who were professional boxers, and one sister, Doris. His mother, Margaret, a pinafore machinist, was born in north Manchester; she was of Irish descent, with both her parents from Ireland. Johnson's maternal grandfather, William, was from Roscrea, County Tipperary. Johnson described his mother as "Irish and proud of it", and spoke of her vicious treatment, such as her being facially disfigured after a brutal racist street attack in which she was targeted for being the wife of a black man. Johnson's father, William, served with the British Army during the First World War, and worked for Elder Dempster Lines; he was a merchant seaman, boxer, and mechanical engineer from Sierra Leone, who had settled in Manchester after marrying Margaret. Though William was a middleweight, he claimed the heavyweight championship of the North of England in 1903, by beating Jack Lamb, who weighed 196 lbs, in two-rounds at Stalybridge, Manchester.
His earliest home was at 12 Barnabus Street in Clayton, with his family lodging with Sal Connell, and his wife. He stated that the Connell's were like parents to his mother and surrogate grandparents to him. The family left Manchester for Leeds, where his father established a travelling boxing booth. He attended Jack Lane School and the Cockburn schools in Leeds. However, the outbreak of World War I soon brought the family back to Manchester, which would eventually lead to a young Johnson leaving school to begin to work as a foundryman at Crossley. Johnson grew up in a multi-cultural childhood with fellow immigrants of Jewish, Irish, Italian, and Yemeni background. Despite the ethnic and racial diversity that could be found in Manchester during the early 1900s, the family experienced much hostility and violence, with Johnson recalling being called ‘nigger lips’ and ‘Sambo’ at secondary school.
Amateur career.
In 1904, his father, William, took him his first boxing booth, albeit at the age of two, where he was announced by his father as "Len Johnson the Youngest Boxer in the World". In 1921, at the age of 19, Johnson was involved in a scuffle with co-worker at Crossley before being separated by their respective fathers. Recognising some talent, his father, William, decided to enter him in some bouts at a hall on the heavily working-class Ashton Old Road. Johnson and his brothers were taken to Alhambra Amateur Boxing Club in Openshaw, Manchester, which was run by former fighter Jack Smith, who Johnson had impressed. Johnson was fascinated by the sparring at Alhambra, in which he remarked "They didn't cover their faces when an opponent hit them in the eye, they snorted and went in to retaliate." It was during this period he met Bill Moore, who got him into his boxing booth and made Johnson work, where he eventually fought Moore's toughest fighter: Sam Minto. Johnson later spoke of his victory over Minto whilst remarking, "That's the first stage in a boxer finding: his confidence. So I have a great debt owing to [Moore]."
A few weeks after his third and forth amateur losses, he was persuaded by friends to enter a competition at a boxing booth at Gorton Fair, run by Bert Hughes. Hughes was impressed and offered Johnson a job which lasted six months, during which time Johnson greatly improved his boxing skills and stamina. Johnson had little knowledge of how to box, though he trained as best he could; with his mother, Margaret, provided an old clothes line which he skipped with, and fashioning him a pair of boxing shorts.
Professional career.
Early years.
On 17 April 1920, Johnson made his professional boxing debut at age 17, under the tutelage of Fred Hall. He suffered his first loss to Young Marshall at the Alhambra Theatre in Openshaw, Manchester, and subsequently a fourth-round knockout by Marshall in his second fight at the Free Trade Hall, a result which led to Johnson's eventual move to the booths of Bert Hughes. His third fight took place at the Alhambra Theatre on 1 January 1921. His opponent was fellow local teenager Jerry Hogan, whom Johnson knocked out in the third-round, to which Johnson remarked "[Hogan] shoved his chin on to my hand and down he went for the count. I really had no idea how I knocked him out!" Although Johnson had started his professional career in 1920, he had fought in boxing booths before turning professional. Johnson used the boxing booths for practice and in particular the booths of Bill Moore, with whom Johnson had nine fights for and won seven of them in Manchester, including that of hotly tipped Eddie Pearson on 31 January 1922, winning by a second-round stoppage. These early fights were not without trials, as Johnson had lost seven additional fights by way of points-decision, including his first fight abroad which was a points defeat by Frithjof Hansen in Copenhagen, Denmark.
After the Hansen loss, Johnson returned to England and knocked Horace Jackson in the fourth-round at Drill Hall, Middlesbrough on 18 December, though he later suffered a close points-decision loss to Charlie Smith. From 9 February 1923, he remained undefeated with several encounters with Lonz Webster, Billy Pritchard, and Ned Dixon, until he suffered a loss to Kid Moose on 30 June. On 6 July 1923, at the Scottish Boxing Stadium, Johnson faced ex-Seaman, Jimmy Cox, in which from the first bell the pace was keen, with the decision eventually going to Johnson, who was the cleverer man, though lost another points-decision to Kid Moose shortly after. Johnson then had seven more fights in the space of three months, defeating Percy Calladine, Bobby Lees, the Irish welterweight champion Pat McAllister, Ernie McCabe, Johnny Bee, Lonz Webster, and Tom Plant all before rematching Johnny Bee. On 17 December 1923, with Albert Rogers barred by medical decree from meeting Johnson, Johnny Bee was called upon to oppose him at the Ring at catchweight, which resulted Johnson losing to Bee via points-decision.
On 7 January 1924, after defeating Bill Bates, Albert Brown, and Harry Lem, he avenged one of his previous losses as he defeated Kid Moose, at the Olympia, Middlesbrough. Several days later, on 12 January, Johnson took on Herman van 't Hof, though suffering his first knockout loss in four years when van 't Hof floored twice with rights to the jaw in the eighth-round; the bell saved Johnson as he went down for a third time, which resulted in one of his seconds pulling him out. On 14 January, Johnson returned to form in his points victory over former Midlands welterweight champion Jim Slater, and almost knocked him out later in the thirteenth-round.
He then suffered three narrow decision losses: firstly to Billy Pritchard on 29 January, and again on 7 February, where he lost controversially on points to Canadian Kid Moose at the Liverpool Stadium at catchweight, despite nearly every punch he delivered finding Moose. His third loss of that time was a points loss to Billy Farmer, which reportedly led to Johnson furiously entering Farmer's changing-room, after the bout, to say: "You beat me? Wat will my father say?". He then had six more fights in the space of one month, defeating Jimmy McDonald (1-3-0), Charlie Woodman (1-12-0), Lonz Webster (4-8-1), Joe Bloomfield (26-6-4), Bert Brown (0-1-1), and former BUI Irish welterweight champion Pat McAllister (68-57-32) by 30 March. On 24 April 1924, Johnson boxed fifteen rounds at Premierland against future Flanders middleweight champion Ernest Tyncke, and was awarded a points-decision by referee Charles Barnett. He returned to the ring, on 11 May, to face Ted Coveney at the National Sporting Club, Leeds, which resulted in Johnson securing another points-decision.
On 12 June, Johnson deputised Billy Mattick at short notice to face former European welterweight champion Billy Mack (30-8-4) at Liverpool Stadium, where he suffered a decision loss when referee Tom Gamble awarded the fight to Mack. Mack was at a disadvantage in height and reach, and in the opening rounds he had to spring at his man to get home a head punch. Johnson boxed in a cool and clever style, using his straight left to the face in disconcerting fashion. About the middle round, Johnson was holding the lead, but thenceforward the honours went in Mack's favour.
After his points loss to Mack, Johnson returned to defeat Jack Phoenix at Croke Park, Dublin on 21 June.
On 26 June 1924, Johnson met Herman van 't Hof for the second time over fifteen rounds at 160 pounds at Premierland, Whitechapel, wherein he lost controversially via a points decision awarded by referee Moss Deyong. Johnson suffered as the result of a poor verdict, as he outpointed Hof for ten of the fifteen rounds. On 14 July, Johnson returned to the ring to face Johnny Brown of Hamilton (25-2-1) at catchweight at the Scottish Stadium, Govan. The contest was scheduled for fifteen rounds, and eventually they came together for a rally