Johnny Coulon
| Johnny Coulon | |
|---|---|
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| Statistics | |
| Real name | Johnny Coulon |
| Nickname(s) | The Cherry Picker From Logan Square Chicago Spider |
| Rated at | Bantamweight |
| Height | 5 ft 0 in (1.52 m) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Born | February 12, 1889 Toronto, Canada |
| Died | October 29, 1973 (aged 84) Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 91 |
| Wins | 67 |
| Wins by KO | 31 |
| Losses | 11 |
| Draws | 12 |
| No contests | 1 |
John Frederic Coulon (February 12, 1889 – October 29, 1973) was the World Bantamweight Champion from March 6, 1910, when he wrested the crown from England's Jim Kendrick, until June 3, 1914, when he was defeated by Kid Williams in Vernon, California.
As there was some dispute over the sanctioning of the World Bantamweight Title by different boxing associations, other sources, particularly many American newspapers of the day, and the World Boxing Association, which became the National Boxing Association, recognized his first taking the bantamweight world championship on February 26, 1911, when he defeated Frankie Conley in twenty rounds in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Born in Toronto to American parents Emile Eugene Coulon (1857–1911) and Sarah Loretta Waltzinger (1857–1923), Coulon grew up in turn-of-the-century Chicago, where, as a prelim fighter, he became known as "The Cherry Picker from Logan Square." In the summer of 1906, at the age of seventeen, he received a life saving medal from the U.S. government, and was matched to fight Danny Goodman in Davenport, winning the eight round match. According to the Chicago Tribune, it may have been his professional debut, but was certainly one of his first. He began fighting as an amateur in Chicago two years earlier, once appearing in Kid Howard's Gymnasium, weighing barely one hundred pounds for some bouts. According to his Boxrec record, he won roughly fifteen fights as an amateur, frequently by knockout.
Coulon turned pro at 16 and was a champion at 21. His career, managed by his father, Emile E. "Pop" Coulon, stretched from 1905 to 1920. Counting newspaper decisions, the hall-of-famer, according to Boxrec, is listed as losing only eleven times in 91 fights, but he claimed to have fought over 300 total bouts.
Coulon won 26 of his early bouts before losing a 10-round decision to Kid Murphy. In a rematch with Murphy in 1908, Coulon reversed the decision and earned recognition as the American bantamweight champion, though the title was billed as the Paperweight World Title, and not recognized as the World Bantamweight Title by all sanctioning bodies.
After an important win against Jim Kendrick in 19 rounds on February 18, 1910 in New Orleans, Louisiana, he later defeated him again in a nineteen round battle in the same city where he won by technical knockout. The fights were billed as the "Paperweight World Championships" at a weight of 8 stones, 3 pounds or 115 pounds in American weight measure. Not all sanctioning bodies recognized this fight as bestowing the World Bantamweight Championship. Coulon defended the title against Earl Denning, Frankie Conley, Frankie Burns, and Kid Williams. Three of his opponents were Hall-of-Famers: Kid Williams, Pete Herman, and Charley Goldman, who is best known for training Rocky Marciano. He also faced Harry Forbes, a gifted bantamweight from Chicago, and brother of boxer Clarence.
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