Johnny Saxton was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 in the welterweight

Welterweight

Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...

 (147lb

Pound (mass)

The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...

) division. He was born in Newark, New Jersey

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

, learned to box in a Brooklyn orphanage and had an amateur career winning 31 of 33 fights, twice becoming World Welterweight Champion.

Professional career

Saxton turned professional in 1949 and ran up forty wins without a defeat before losing to Gil Turner

Gil Turner

Gil Turner was an American folk singer-songwriter, magazine editor, Shakespearean actor, political activist, and for a time, a lay Baptist preacher...

 in 1953. His win over Joey Giardello

Joey Giardello

Carmine Orlando Tilelli was an American boxer who was the middleweight champion of the world from 1963 to 1965, and was better known by his professional pseudonym of Joey Giardello.-Early life:...

 and Johnny Bratton

Johnny Bratton

Johnny Bratton, also known as Honey Boy Bratton, , was a professional boxer in the welterweight division...

 helped propel him to fight with Kid Gavilan

Kid Gavilan

Gerardo González , better known in the boxing world as Kid Gavilan, was a former world welterweight champion from Cuba...

 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

Tony DeMarco

Tony DeMarco is a boxer and world welterweight champion. He was born in Boston and grew up in that city's North End community. Tony DeMarco's actual birth name is Leonardo Liotta. Tony’s father Vincent and mother Giacomina came from Sicily.To box in the league, the minimum age was 18...

. In 1956 he won the title again with an upset win over Carmen Basilio

Carmen Basilio

Carmine Basilio better known in the boxing world as Carmen Basilio, is an American former professional boxer who was a two weight world boxing champion...

, but lost the title in a rematch with Basilio later in the year. He retired in 1958.

Saxton was managed by Frank "Blinky" Palermo

Frank Palermo

Frank "Blinky" Palermo was an organized crime figure who surreptitiously owned prize-fighters and fixed fights best known for fixing the Jake LaMotta-Billy Fox fight in 1947. An associate of the Philadelphia crime family, Palermo also ran the City of Brotherly Love's biggest numbers racket...

, a member of the Philadelphia crime family

Philadelphia crime family

The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Scarfo crime family, Bruno crime family, Philadelphia Mafia, or Philly Mob, is an Italian American criminal organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the most active American Mafia families outside of the Five Families of New York...

. 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.

His career Record: Won 55 (KOs 21) Lost 9 Draw 2

After boxing

Saxton, brother of Richard Eugene Kyle, 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.

External links

• http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=9703&cat=boxer
• http://www.boxinginsider.com/history/strange-days/