Callum Paul Johnson (born 20 August 1985) is a British professional boxer who challenged 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.
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. He boxed on 120 occasions as an amateur winning 95.
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.
Professional career After the Commonwealth Games, Johnson turned professional, signing with promoter Frank Warren and being managed by former world champion Naseem Hamed.Boxing Scene | Callum Johnson Commonwealth champion inks with Warren
On 4 December 2010, he made his professional debut at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, stopping Phillip Townley in the second-round on the undercard of Ricky Burns' world title defence against Andreas Evenson.
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.
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.
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.
In his next bout, Johnson defeated Sean Monaghan, who was ranked No. 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.
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.
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.
Having not fought for more than a year, Johnson retired from professional boxing in November 2022 but reversed his decision and returned to the ring in December 2023 stepping up in weight divisions to compete at cruiserweight.
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.
Aged 40 and after another almost two-year break from the competitive boxing ring, Johnson suffered the second defeat of his career against Austine Nnamdi in a six-round bout at The Nest in Nottingham on 25 April 2026. He was knocked to the canvas in the final round, and although he managed to recover and finish the fight, he lost on points.
Honours Having previously been made an Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Boston, Johnson had a road named after him in his home town of Boston, Lincolnshire, in August 2020.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes25Loss23–2Austine NnamdiPTS625 Apr 202624Win23–1Viktar ChvarkouPTS614 Sep 202423Win22–1Viktar ChvarkouPTS415 Jun 202422Win21–1Darryl SharpKO1 (6)8 Dec 202321Win20–1Server Emurlaev109 Oct 202120Win19–1Emil MarkicTKO2 (10), 24 Apr 202119Win18–1Sean MonaghanTKO3 (10), 9 Mar 201918Loss17–1Artur BeterbievKO4 (12), 6 Oct 201817Win17–0Frank BuglioniTKO1 (12), 24 Mar 201816Win16–0Willbeforce ShihepoKO9 (12), 24 Sep 2016 15Win15–0Norbert SzekeresTKO1 (6), 18 Jun 2016 14Win14–0Richard HortonTKO1 (6), 7 May 2016 13Win13–0Tsvetozar IlievPTS426 Jun 201512Win12–0Jose Manuel IglesiasKO1 (6), 11 Apr 201511Win11–0Bartlomiej GrafkaTKO2 (8), 7 Mar 2015 10Win10–0Josef ObesloTKO1 (6), 7 Nov 20149Win9–0Luke AllonTKO3 (6), 4 Oct 20148Win8–0Nathan KingPTS427 Jun 2014 7Win7–0Egidijus KakstysTKO2 (4), 17 May 2014 6Win6–0John Anthony 7 (8), 31 May 2013 5Win5–0James TuckerTKO7 (8), 18 May 20124Win4–0Tommy Tolan1 (4), 10 Mar 20123Win3–0Lee DuncanPTS416 Jul 20112Win2–0Jody Meikle412 Mar 2011 1Win1–0Phillip Townley2 (4), 4 Dec 2010
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