George Raft "Scrap Iron" Johnson (December 15, 1938 – April 9, 2016)[2] was an American heavyweight boxer whose career spanned the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Johnson fought many of the top fighters of his era, including George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston, Jerry Quarry, Duane Bobick, Joe Bugner and Eddie Machen.[3] Whilst a journeyman fighter he was nonetheless notorious for being extremely durable. He could take vast amounts of punishment. George Foreman said he had the best chin of all his opponents.[4] He retired in 1975 with a record of 22-27-5. He was inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005.[5][6][7][8]
George Johnson | |
---|---|
Statistics | |
Nickname(s) | Scrap Iron |
Weight(s) | 235 (1972)[1] |
Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
Nationality | American |
Born | (1938-12-15)December 15, 1938 Oklahoma City |
Died | April 9, 2016(2016-04-09) (aged 77) |
Johnson was nicknamed "Scrap" by girls in his neighborhood in Oklahoma City when he was about seven years old, because he used a wheelbarrow to salvage machinery parts to earn money. By high school, his American football teammates tacked on the "iron."[9][10]
In 1969, after putting together a string of wins, Johnson was defeated by Sonny Liston in Las Vegas after seven rounds. Johnson had been scheduled to get married at midnight after the fight, but pushed off the wedding to the next day to recover. Johnson later claimed "Liston hit me so hard, I married the wrong woman."[11][12]
22 Wins (11 knockouts, 11 decisions), 27 Losses (12 knockouts, 15 decisions), 5 Draws[13] | |||||||
Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
Loss | 31-0 | ![]() |
RTD | 4 | 13/11/1975 | ![]() |
|
Draw | 14-1 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | 14/08/1975 | ![]() |
SD for LeDoux overturned due to crowd response. |
Loss | 12-0 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | 18/03/1975 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 49-7-4 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 25/02/1975 | ![]() |
[14] |
Loss | 10-0 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | 16/09/1974 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 29-2 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 23/10/1973 | ![]() |
|
Win | 4-6-1 | ![]() |
TKO | 3 | 02/07/1973 | ![]() |
|
Win | -- | ![]() |
KO | 2 | 16/05/1973 | ![]() |
|
Win | 5-17-1 | ![]() |
KO | 5 | 25/04/1973 | ![]() |
Sorrell knocked out at 1:41 of the fifth round. |
Win | 1-3 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 | 11/04/1973 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 12-0 | ![]() |
KO | 3 | 25/03/1972 | ![]() |
Johnson knocked out at 0:31 of the third round. |
Loss | 26-9-6 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 | 01/10/1971 | ![]() |
|
Win | 7-8 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | 30/06/1971 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 28-2 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | 03/11/1970 | ![]() |
[15][16] |
Loss | 19-0 | ![]() |
TKO | 7 | 16/05/1970 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 1:41 of the seventh round. |
Loss | 34-4-4 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 19/03/1970 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 47-3 | ![]() |
TKO | 7 | 19/05/1969 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 2:55 of the seventh round.[11][17] |
Win | 13-5-1 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | 18/02/1969 | ![]() |
|
Win | 3-13-1 | ![]() |
TKO | 6 | 02/10/1968 | ![]() |
|
Win | 5-6-1 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 22/08/1968 | ![]() |
|
Win | 8-5-1 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 28/11/1967 | ![]() |
[18] |
Win | 9-4-1 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 26/10/1967 | ![]() |
|
Win | 57-8-3 | ![]() |
TKO | 10 | 02/08/1967 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 1:19 of the tenth round. |
Loss | 15-0 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 04/05/1967 | ![]() |
[19] |
Win | 25-3-4 | ![]() |
TKO | 7 | 15/12/1966 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 0:59 of the seventh round. |
Loss | 49-8-3 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 29/09/1966 | ![]() |
|
Win | 6-6 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 26/07/1966 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 15-0-2 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 | 07/04/1966 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 2:40 of the second round. |
Draw | 11-8-1 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | 06/01/1966 | ![]() |
|
Draw | 5-5-1 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | 04/11/1965 | ![]() |
|
Win | 9-2-1 | ![]() |
TKO | 10 | 21/10/1965 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 1:18 of the tenth round. |
Loss | 12-1-2 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 27/09/1965 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 7-2-1 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | 23/09/1965 | ![]() |
1-6. |
Loss | 32-7-1 | ![]() |
KO | 5 | 05/08/1965 | ![]() |
Johnson knocked out at 2:27 of the fifth round. |
Win | 8-3-1 | ![]() |
TKO | 7 | 22/06/1965 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 2:30 of the seventh round. |
Loss | 7-1-1 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 09/11/1964 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 19-2 | ![]() |
KO | 4 | 04/08/1964 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 17-17-2 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | 25/05/1964 | ![]() |
|
Win | 17-16-2 | ![]() |
SD | 10 | 14/04/1964 | ![]() |
|
Draw | 5-4-1 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | 07/04/1964 | ![]() |
|
Win | 0-2 | ![]() |
SD | 10 | 17/03/1964 | ![]() |
|
Win | 0-8 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 | 11/02/1964 | ![]() |
|
Draw | 35-10-1 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | 05/11/1962 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 14-14-1 | ![]() |
KO | 6 | 25/04/1961 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 11-0 | ![]() |
KO | 6 | 07/03/1961 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 34-10-1 | ![]() |
TKO | 7 | 28/11/1960 | ![]() |
|
Win | 0-3 | ![]() |
KO | 1 | 15/09/1960 | ![]() |
Bennett knocked out at 2:45 of the first round. |
Loss | 13-4-1 | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | 31/08/1960 | ![]() |
|
Win | 0-1 | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | 02/08/1960 | ![]() |
|
Win | -- | Donny Blue | PTS | 6 | 13/06/1960 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 3-1 | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | 12/04/1960 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 1-0 | ![]() |
PTS | 4 | 24/11/1959 | ![]() |
|
Win | 2-7 | ![]() |
PTS | 4 | 10/11/1959 | ![]() |
|
Loss | 11-16-2 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 | 09/06/1958 | ![]() |