BACK in 2020, in my streak of the top 50 UK matches, I ranked the 1950 match between Johnny Williams and Jack Gardner heavyweights at 28th. I wrote that “The match” sensationalized and the die-hard Leicester fans who have watched every notable heavyweight in England in the previous 20 years have never seen anything like it”. Williams lost decisively after 12 rounds and was hospitalized after collapsing in the ring at the end of the round.
These two boys had fought three times, and their traumatic encounter in 1950 was their first meeting. When they met again in March 1952, it was Gardner’s British title. Jack won the title shortly after his victory over Williams, when he stopped Bruce Woodcock for 11 innings in November 1950. He then won and lost the European title while Williams slowly built up. his career again. When the two met again, another great duel ensued, and this time Johnny came out on top, winning both the verdict and the title after a very tight 15 innings. Their third contest took place in June 1955 at the Nottingham Ice Rink in an elimination for the British title, now held by Don Cockell, and this time Gardner, weighing more than 25 pounds, overtook his men. me and beat him in the fifth round.
Both men are now largely forgotten although their exploits during this difficult period are recorded in the annals of the sport in England. Bruce Woodcock and Don Cockell are better remembered today, perhaps because they both battled top American heavyweights and broke world rankings. Even so, Jack and Johnny deserve their place, especially for the many exciting matches they participate in.
Johnny Williams, as his name might suggest, is a Welshman. He was born in Barmouth in 1926 and his family later moved to Rugby, where his father received a farm. He started boxing by hanging out at his local gym, fighting people. Like many others at the time, he made a few extra pounds on boxing booths and when he turned pro in 1945 he had absolutely no amateur experience, but he soon make your mark.
His first competitions took place at the Rail and Road Transport Club in Leicester, and they were not reported in the BN at that time. Johnny started out as a middleweight, but Ted Broadribb discovered his potential as a leggy heavyweight, and he brought him into his cage. Broadribb is Freddie Mills’ manager, and he knows a boxer when he sees one. Johnny remained undefeated throughout his first 22 fights and by August 1949 he was ranked as the number one contender for the British heavyweight belt, with Jack Gardner behind him in second place.
Gardner came to the game a little later, turning pro in 1948 when he won a newcomer heavyweight competition at the Harringay Arena. Before that, he won Army, Union, and ABA heavyweight titles as an amateur. He was also England’s heavyweight representative at the 1948 Olympic Games, held in London, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals at the hands of Hans Muller from Switzerland. Jack is one of three fighting brothers from Market Harborough, and he has moved to the top of the heavyweight list, winning his first 13 fights in the long distance, and losing just two of these first 21, both Both are under the hands of Vern Escoe, a decent boxer. Canadian.
Jack and Johnny dominated the British arena from 1950 to 1953 and although none of them ever made it through the world showdown, they deserve to be remembered more than they do now. The two went on to become farmers after their ring careers ended, Jack died young at the age of 52 in 1978 and Johnny lived to be 80 before his death in 2007.
