[CONN CHRIS]

JOHNNY OWEN Welsh BW (1976-1980) "The Matchstick Man"

Hometown - Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, USA

25(10)-2-1

Johnny Owen looked like a man unlikely to succeed in the boxing ring. His frame was frail, almost skeletal in appearance; out of the ring, Johnny was said to be shy, unassuming and generous. In the ring however, Owen demonstrated great stamina, quickness and a smothering style.

As an amature, Owen boxed for the Welsh A.B.A. team as a flyweight which gave him his first international exposure fighting in Ireland and Sweden. He turned pro in 1976 at the age of 20.

Owen won the Welsh Bantamweight Title in only his sixth pro bout with a ten round decision over fellow county man George Sutton whom Johnny had also out pointed in his pro debut. 1978 saw Owen collect two more belts as he stopped Paddy Maguire in eleven rounds for the British Title and out pointed Paul Ferreri over 15 rounds for the Commonwealth Title. In between, Owen also defended his British crown against Wayne Evans.

1979 saw Johnny suffer his first defeat amidst controversy. He traveled to Almeria, Spain to challenge Juan Francisco Rodriguez for the European Bantam Belt. Rodriguez was cautioned repeatedly through the bout (three times for holding, once for butting) and was finally warned with a point deduction in the twelfth. After the final bell, it took the judges an unusually long time to add up their cards, finally scoring the bout 145-144, 146-146, 145-144 for the Hometown Champ Rodriguez. Back home in Wales, the decision was viewed as a farce. To add insult to injury, Spanish officials withheld a substantial portion of Owen's purse claiming that a Spanish fighter was owed the amount from a bout in Britain the previous year.

The following year, Owen avenged his bitter defeat by claiming the EBU title in a rematch with Rodriguez. This time there was no doubt about the decision as Owen won the twelve rounder 120-115, 119-117 and 119-115. Two months later, Owen defended his British and Commonwealth belts in a fifteen round decision over John Feeney setting him up for a shot at the WBC title.

On September 19, 1980 Johnny Owen met WBC Champion Lupe Pintor for the title in Los Angeles, California. Through nine rounds, Owens was ahead on points but the harder punching Pintor's blows began to find a home in the tenth and eleventh. Two minutes into the twelfth round, a Pintor right dropped Owens who received an eight count but appeared to be able to continue. Just seconds later, another right from Pintor sent Owen to the canvas and into a coma that he would not come out of. Johnny was operated on to remove blood clots and died in an L.A. hospital two months later.

Johnny owen is fondly remembered in Wales as a true champion. In 2002 a statue was erected in his honor in Merthyr with Lupe Pintor on hand for the unveiling.