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I have been rooting around and do not believe that this pug has been rated yet - my appologies if that isn't the case.
JOHNNY SUMMERS WW (not to be confused with the British BW of the forties)
Hometown - Canning Town, England, UK
Born - Middlesbrough, England, UK
95(37)-27-27; 12 NC
Summers had a 21 year career in the ring that saw him tour the world and battle for numerous belts. Although born in England, he began his pro career in Australia in 1900, by 1902 he had returned to England with a pro record of 5-1-2. He stayed in England for the next five years and enjoyed a fair amount of success. During this period he had two winning streaks of twelve or more bouts against unimpressive competition. He faced Jim Driscoll twice, losing both bouts on early disqualifications. In 1906, Summers won the British Featherweight Crown with a 20 round decision over Spike Robson. He would go on to defend the title successfully against Arthur Hayes, and Boss Edwards before losing the belt to Robson on a disqualification. Prior to winning the belt, Summers fought to a six round draw with George Dixon.
Late in 1907, Summers traveled to America and fought on the East Coast for four months. This trip saw him lose to Matty Baldwin, defeat Kid Decker and battle in a no decision affair with Bill Hurley. He returned to England with a 4-1-0; 10 NC record in America.
His stay in England only lasted 18 months but he won the British Lightweight Title only to lose it on his first defense against Freddie Welsh with Welsh's EBU title up for grabs as well. Following two victories over Jimmy Britt and the loss to Welsh, Summers returned to where he began.
In Australia, he fought Rudy Unholz twice comming away with a win and a draw. Summers picked up the Australian Lightweight Title with a 19th round KO over Hughie Mehegan and drew in a rematch. After a win over Arthur Douglas and a loss to Harry Lewis, it was back to London with a brief stop in Paris. Back in London, he picked up the British Welterweight Belt and defended it twice before heading back to Australia.
In 1914, Summers won the Empire Welter weight title in a 20 round bout with Sid Burns. After defending once, he lost the belt to Tom McCormick and his career took a final downturn thereafter.
Although he fought for British or Commonwealth titles on three more occasions, Summers was never a champion again after the loss to McCormick in 1914. The balance of his career saw him fight down under, in England and finally back in the US. He had one more win over Mehegan, drew with Harry Stone and dropped two fights each to Johnny Basham and Lou Bogash. His final fight was a ten round no decision with Mickey Walker in Newark, New Jersey. Over a 161 bout career, Summers was stopped on only four occasions, two comming in the waning years of his career.
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