Johnny Wilson (boxer)

Johnny Wilson was born Giovanni Francesco Panica on March 23, 1893 in Harlem, New York City.[1] He was a professional boxer who fought from 1911 until 1926. The highlight of Wilson's career came when he captured the world middleweight championship by defeating Mike O'Dowd by decision over 12 rounds on May 6, 1920.[2] Wilson held the crown until he was outpointed over 15 rounds by the all-time great Harry Greb.

Johnny Wilson
Statistics
Real nameGiovanni Francesco Panica
Weight(s)Middleweight
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Reach72 in (183 cm)
NationalityAmerican
Born(1893-03-23)March 23, 1893
New York, New York
DiedDecember 8, 1985(1985-12-08) (aged 92)
Boston, Massachusetts
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights101
Wins63
Wins by KO29
Losses29
Draws8
No contests1

After retiring from the ring, Wilson was involved in the ownership/management of several successful nightclubs in New York and Boston. Wilson died on December 8, 1985.

Cameo

In 1970 Wilson had a short appearing in Michelangelo Antonioni's Zabriskie Point movie (at 00:42' in Italian edition), when he was 77.

Notable bouts
Result Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes[3]
Loss Maxie Rosenbloom UD 10 1926-10-04 Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Loss Maxie Rosenbloom PTS 12 1926-08-27 Coney Island Stadium, Brooklyn, New York
Loss Harry Greb PTS 10 1925-04-17 Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts
Loss Tiger Flowers TKO 3 (10) 1924-12-09 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Loss Tommy Loughran PTS 10 1924-02-12 Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts
Loss Harry Greb UD 15 1924-01-18 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York For lineal middleweight title
Loss Harry Greb UD 15 1923-08-31 Polo Grounds, New York, New York Lost lineal middleweight title
Win Mike O'Dowd SD 15 1921-03-17 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York Retained lineal middleweight title
Win Mike O'Dowd PTS 12 1920-05-06 Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts Won lineal middleweight title
Win Billy Murray TKO 2 (12) 1920-03-08 Casino Hall, Lynn, Massachusetts
Win Leo Houck PTS 12 1918-04-15 Douglas A.C., Chelsea, Massachusetts
Loss Leo Houck PTS 12 1918-03-11 Douglas A.C., Chelsea, Massachusetts

See also
  • List of middleweight boxing champions

References
  1. Marcus, Norman. "Johnny Wilson: Middleweight Champ 1920-1923". boxing.com. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  2. "The Lineal Middleweight Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  3. Johnny Wilson's Professional Boxing Record Archived 2012-06-06 at the Wayback Machine. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2014-05-18.
Achievements
Preceded by
Mike O'Dowd		 World Middleweight Champion
May 6, 1920 – August 31, 1923		 Succeeded by
Harry Greb



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