Callum Johnson

Last updated

Callum Johnson
Born20 August 1985 (1985-08-20) (age 39)
Boston, Lincolnshire, England
NationalityBritish
Other namesThe One
Statistics
Weight(s) Light-heavyweight, Cruiserweight
Height5 ft 11+12 in (182 cm)
Reach73 in (185 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights24
Wins23
Wins by KO15
Losses1
Medal record
Men's Boxing
Representing Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2010 Delhi Light heavyweight
Commonwealth Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2010 Delhi Light heavyweight

Callum Paul Johnson (born 20 August 1985) is a British professional boxer who challenged once for the IBF light-heavyweight title in 2018. At regional level, he held the Commonwealth light-heavyweight title from 2016 to 2018 and the British light-heavyweight title in 2018. As an amateur, he won a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Contents

Amateur career

Johnson began boxing at a local club in his home town of Boston from an early age but moved to train at Terry Allen Unique ABC in Lincoln by the time he was 16. [1] He boxed on 120 occasions as an amateur winning 95. [2]

Qualifying through his grandparents, Johnson boxed for Scotland at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, defeating Northern Ireland's Thomas McCarthy in the 81kg light heavyweight final to win the gold medal. [3] [4]

Professional career

After the Commonwealth Games, Johnson turned professional, signing with promoter Frank Warren and being managed by former world champion Naseem Hamed. [5]

On 4 December 2010, he made his professional debut at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, stopping Phillip Townley in the second-round on on the undercard of Ricky Burns' world title defence against Andreas Evenson. [6] [7]

Johnson won his first professional title when he claimed the vacant Commonwealth light-heavyweight belt with a ninth-round knockout win over Willbeforce Shihepo at Manchester Arena on 24 September 2016. [8] [9]

He added the British light-heavyweight title to his collection thanks to a spectacular first-round stoppage of defending champion Frank Buglioni on 24 March 2018 at The O2 Arena in London. [10] [11]

On 6 October 2018, Johnson challenged Artur Beterbiev for his IBF world light heavyweight title at Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois. He managed to drop the champion in the second-round with a left hook but Beterbiev recovered quickly and knocked Johnson to the canvas in the fourth round with a big right hand, forcing the referee to stop the fight. [12] [13]

In his next bout, Johnson defeated Sean Monaghan, who was ranked #13 by the WBC at light heavyweight, with a third round technical knockout at Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, New York, on 9 March 2019. [14] [15]

On 24 April 2021, he claimed the WBO Global light-heavyweight title with a second-round stoppage of Emil Markic at York Hall in London. [16] [17]

Johnson retained his title via a majority decision win over Server Emurlaev at Arena Birmingham on 9 October 2021 with two of the ringside judges scoring the fight 99-92 and 96-94 in his favour while the third had it a 95-95 draw. [18] [19]

Having not fought for more than a year, Johnson retired from professional boxing in November 2022 [20] [21] but reversed his decision and returned to the ring in December 2023 stepping up in weight divisions to compete at cruiserweight. [22] [23]

His first comeback contest resulted in an opening round stoppage win over Darryl Sharp in Manchester on 8 December 2023, followed by a points victory against Viktar Chvarkou in Grantham, Lincolnshire, on 15 June 2024, Then Beat Chvarkou Again on 14 September 2024. [24]

Honours

Having previously been made a Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Boston, Johnson had a road named after him in his home town of Boston, Lincolnshire, in August 2020. [25] [26]

Professional boxing record

23 fights22 wins1 loss
By knockout151
By decision60
By disqualification10
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
23Win22–1 Flag of Belarus.svg Viktar ChvarkouPTS415 Jun 2024 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Meres Leisure Centre, Grantham, England
22Win21–1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Darryl SharpKO1 (6)8 Dec 2023 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg The Fuse, Partington, Manchester, England
21Win20–1 Flag of Russia.svg Server EmurlaevMD109 Oct 2021 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Arena Birmingham, Birmingham, EnglandRetained WBO Global light-heavyweight title
20Win19–1 Flag of Croatia.svg Emil MarkicTKO2 (10), 2:3724 Apr 2021 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg York Hall, London, EnglandWon vacant WBO Global light-heavyweight title
19Win18–1 Flag of the United States.svg Sean Monaghan TKO3 (10), 0:239 Mar 2019 Flag of the United States.svg Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, New York, US
18Loss17–1 Flag of Russia.svg Artur Beterbiev KO4 (12), 2:366 Oct 2018 Flag of the United States.svg Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USFor IBF light-heavyweight title
17Win17–0 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Frank Buglioni TKO1 (12), 1:3124 Mar 2018 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg The O2 Arena, London, EnglandRetained Commonwealth light-heavyweight title;
Won British light-heavyweight title
16Win16–0 Flag of Namibia.svg Willbeforce Shihepo KO9 (12), 2:0724 Sep 2016 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Manchester Arena, Manchester, EnglandWon vacant Commonwealth light-heavyweight title
15Win15–0 Flag of Hungary.svg Norbert SzekeresTKO1 (6), 2:3218 Jun 2016 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg EventCity, Manchester, England
14Win14–0 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Richard HortonTKO1 (6), 1:187 May 2016 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
13Win13–0 Flag of Bulgaria.svg Tsvetozar IlievPTS426 Jun 2015 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
12Win12–0 Flag of Spain.svg Jose Manuel IglesiasKO1 (6), 1:1711 Apr 2015 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg First Direct Arena, Leeds, England
11Win11–0 Flag of Poland.svg Bartlomiej GrafkaTKO2 (8), 1:597 Mar 2015 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Meres Leisure Centre, Grantham, England
10Win10–0 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Josef ObesloTKO1 (6), 3:007 Nov 2014 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg North Kesteven Centre, Lincoln, England
9Win9–0 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Luke AllonTKO3 (6), 1:394 Oct 2014 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg First Direct Arena, Leeds, England
8Win8–0 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nathan KingPTS427 Jun 2014 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
7Win7–0 Flag of Lithuania.svg Egidijus KakstysTKO2 (4), 2:1017 May 2014 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg North Kesteven Centre, Lincoln, England
6Win6–0 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John AnthonyDQ7 (8), 2:1631 May 2013 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Town Hall, Walsall, EnglandAnthony disqualified for persistent holding
5Win5–0 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James TuckerTKO7 (8), 1:1818 May 2012 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester, England
4Win4–0 Flag of Ireland.svg Tommy TolanKO1 (4), 1:3010 Mar 2012 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
3Win3–0 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lee DuncanPTS416 Jul 2011 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
2Win2–0 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jody MeiklePTS412 Mar 2011 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
1Win1–0 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Phillip TownleyTKO2 (4), 1:344 Dec 2010 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland

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References

  1. "This is Lincolnshire | Callum keeps his feet on the ground despite turning professional". Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  2. This is Lincolnshire | Hamed back protege Johnson to rule boxing world
  3. "Callum Johnson strikes gold, Josh Taylor takes silver". Boxing Scotland. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  4. "Commonwealth Games: Emotional Callum Johnson wins boxing gold for Scotland". Daily Record. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  5. Boxing Scene | Callum Johnson Commonwealth champion inks with Warren
  6. "Naseem Hamed praises 'chilling' Callum Johnson debut". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  7. "Naseem Hamed tribute to 'brilliant' Callum Johnson after impressive pro debut win". The Scotsman. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  8. "Callum Johnson wins Commonwealth title with ninth-round KO of Willbeforce Shihepo". Sky Sports. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  9. "Callum Johnson Stops Shihepo, Wins Commonwealth Belt". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  10. "Callum Johnson Demolishes Frank Buglioni in One Round". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  11. "Whyte vs Browne: Callum Johnson stuns Frank Buglioni with first-round stoppage". Sky Sports. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  12. "Artur Beterbiev survives knockdown, scores fourth-round KO of Callum Johnson to retain title". The Ring. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  13. "Johnson vs Beterbiev: Callum Johnson beaten by Artur Beterbiev after exciting firefight". Sky Sports. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  14. "Johnson vs Monaghan - News, Tape, Ringwalk, TV, Streaming & Tickets". Box.Live. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  15. "Callum Johnson Drops Monaghan Twice, Batters Him For TKO". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  16. "Callum Johnson makes impressive return to boxing after rejoining Frank Warren stable". Lincolnshire Live. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  17. "Photos: Callum Johnson Rocked, Rallies To Blast Out Emil Markic". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  18. "Callum Johnson survives Emurlaev". Fight News. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  19. "Callum Johnson defeats Server Emurlaev - in pictures". Lincolnshire World. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  20. "Callum Johnson Decides To End His Career, Will Focus on Mental Health Struggles". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  21. "Boston boxing hero Callum Johnson 'quits' sport, citing self-discipline and mental health challenges – Mayor of Boston pays tribute to his achievements and courage". Lincolnshire World. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  22. "Callum Johnson Coming Out of Retirement For Cruiserweight Run". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  23. "Callum Johnson comes out of retirement to target world cruiserweight elite: 'One last roll of the dice!'". Sky Sports. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  24. "Callum Johnson quietly re-emerging as cruiserweight contender". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  25. "Boxer Callum Johnson has street named after him on estate where he grew up". Lincolnshire Live. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  26. "Boston boxing hero Callum proud to have street named after him on estate he grew up on". Lincolnshire World. Retrieved 24 July 2024.