Johnny Saxton (July 4, 1930 – October 4, 2008) was an American professional boxer in the welterweight (147lb) division. He was born in Newark, New Jersey, learned to box in a Brooklyn orphanage and won 31 of his 33 amateur career fights. In his professional career, he was a two-time Undisputed World Welterweight Champion.

Professional career Saxton turned professional in 1949 and ran up forty wins without a defeat before losing to Gil Turner in 1953. His win over Joey Giardello and Johnny Bratton helped propel him to fight with Kid Gavilán (or Gavilan) in 1954 for the world welterweight championship. He beat Gavilan via a fifteen-round decision to take the title. He lost the title the following year via technical knockout against Tony DeMarco. In 1956 he won the title again with an upset win over Carmen Basilio, but lost the title in a rematch with Basilio later in the year. He retired in 1958.

Saxton, brother of Richard Eugene Kyle, who boxed for the U.S. Army, was managed by Frank "Blinky" Palermo, a member of the Philadelphia crime family. Palermo was imprisoned in 1961 for conspiracy and extortion for the covert ownership of prizefighters. Saxton's career was often marred by rumors of shady dealings. His two biggest wins, against Gavilan and Basilio, were both controversial and unpopular with many in the boxing world.

After boxing

Saxton worked as a security guard and a boxing coach after he retired. A hit-and-run accident left him with damage to one leg, and by the early 1990s he was living in a New York City apartment that had no electricity. A friend helped Saxton move to a retirement home in Florida. He was diagnosed with pugilistic dementia. Saxton passed away on October 4, 2008. He was 78.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes66Loss Willie GreeneTKO3 (10)Dec 15, 1958 65Loss55–8–2 Denny MoyerUD10Oct 21, 1958 64Win55–7–2 Barry AllisonSD10Oct 7, 1958 63Loss54–7–2 Joe MiceliTKO3 (10)Sep 6, 1957 62Loss54–6–2 Carmen BasilioTKO2 (15)Feb 22, 1957 61Loss54–5–2 Carmen BasilioTKO9 (15)Sep 12, 1956 60Win54–4–2 Don WilliamsMD10Aug 23, 1956 59Win53–4–2 Barry AllisonUD10Aug 7, 1956 58Win52–4–2 Gil TurnerTKO10 (10)May 16, 1956 57Win51–4–2 Carmen BasilioUD15Mar 14, 1956 56Win50–4–2 Ralph JonesUD10Nov 9, 1955 55Win49–4–2 Jackie O'BrienUD10Oct 25, 1955 54Win48–4–2 Joe ShawUD10Sep 15, 1955 53Win47–4–2 Jimmy FullerTKO6 (10)Jun 10, 1955 52Loss46–4–2 Tony DeMarcoTKO14 (15)Apr 1, 1955 51Loss46–3–2 Ronnie DelaneyUD10Feb 11, 1955 50Win46–2–2 Ramon FuentesUD10Dec 2, 1954 49Win45–2–2 Kid GavilánUD15Oct 20, 1954 48Draw44–2–2 Johnny LombardoPTS10Aug 4, 1954 47Win44–2–1 Johnny BrattonUD10Feb 24, 1954 46Win43–2–1 Mickey LaurentTKO7 (10)Feb 1, 1954 45Loss42–2–1 Del FlanaganSD10Dec 30, 1953 44Win42–1–1 Herman McCrayKO3 (10)Dec 3, 1953 43Win41–1–1 Joey GiardelloUD10Sep 29, 1953 42Win40–1–1 Charley WilliamsTKO2 (10)Sep 15, 1953 41Loss39–1–1 Gil TurnerSD10Jun 15, 1953 40Win39–0–1 Joe MiceliUD10May 27, 1953 39Win38–0–1 Charley WilliamsUD10Mar 31, 1953 38Draw37–0–1 Wallace Bud SmithSD10Mar 10, 1953 37Win37–0 Charley WilliamsUD10Feb 24, 1953 36Win36–0 Freddie DawsonUD10Feb 10, 1953 35Win35–0 Danny WomberUD10Dec 29, 1952 34Win34–0 Raul PerezKO1 (10)Dec 12, 1952 33Win33–0 Mario TrigoRTD3 (10)Oct 28, 1952 32Win32–0 Ralph JonesSD10Oct 3, 1952 31Win31–0 Virgil AkinsUD10Jul 30, 1952 30Win30–0 Bobby LeeUD10Jul 17, 1952 29Win29–0 Luther RawlingsUD10Jun 4, 1952 28Win28–0 Bobby LeeKO7 (10)Apr 30, 1952 27Win27–0 Charlie ThompsonPTS10Apr 17, 1952 26Win26–0 Lester FeltonDQ6 (10)Mar 14, 1952 25Win25–0 Livio MinelliTKO7 (10)Jan 25, 1952 24Win24–0 Charley SalasUD10Nov 19, 1951 23Win23–0 Marshall ClaytonTKO7 (10)Nov 5, 1951 22Win22–0 Honeychile JohnsonMD10Oct 4, 1951 21Win21–0 Tommy CiarloTKO5 (10)Aug 20, 1951 20Win20–0 Joey CarkidoRTD5 (10)Aug 8, 1951 19Win19–0 Gaby FerlandTKO7 (10)Jul 30, 1951 18Win18–0 Lloyd TateTKO3 (10)Jul 2, 1951 17Win17–0 Tony PelloneUD10Sep 22, 1950 16Win16–0 Sonny BunnSD10Aug 28, 1950 15Win15–0 Mike KoballaPTS8Jun 26, 1950 14Win14–0 Losiel IsadorePTS6Jun 5, 1950 13Win13–0 Bert LinamTKO1 (10)May 17, 1950 12Win12–0 Joe MiceliSD10Apr 21, 1950 11Win11–0 John BowmanKO3 (8)Mar 22, 1950 10Win10–0 Aldo MinelliUD8Mar 15, 1950 9Win9–0 Charley SalasUD8Feb 10, 1950 8Win8–0 Mario MorenoKO2 (8)Jan 13, 1950 7Win7–0 Adrien MourguiartKO4 (8)Dec 21, 1949 6Win6–0 Bucky SlocumPTS4Dec 5, 1949 5Win5–0 Horace BaileyPTS6Oct 24, 1949 4Win4–0 George HunterKO2 (6)Sep 6, 1949 3Win3–0 Dave AndrewsUD8Aug 17, 1949 2Win2–0 George DixonTKO1 (6)Jul 20, 1949 1Win1–0 Jimmy SwannKO3 (6)May 9, 1949

Titles in boxing Major world titles NYSAC welterweight champion (147 lbs) (2×) NBA (WBA) welterweight champion (147 lbs) (2×)

The Ring magazine titles The Ring welterweight champion (147 lbs) (2×)

Undisputed titles Undisputed welterweight champion (2×)

See also List of welterweight boxing champions

References

External links

boxrec.com boxrec.com boxrec.com https://web.archive.org/web/20121009110002/http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=9703&cat=boxer https://web.archive.org/web/20090303141303/http://www.boxinginsider.com/history/strange-days/