Johnny Cuthbert | |
---|---|
Statistics | |
Rated at | Featherweight, lightweight |
Nationality | British |
Born |
Sheffield, England |
9 July 1904
Died | 29 August 1987 | (aged 83)
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 175 |
Wins | 124 |
Wins by KO | 37 |
Losses | 34 |
Draws | 17 |
Johnny Cuthbert (9 July 1904 – 29 August 1987) was a British boxer who was British featherweight champion between 1927 and 1928, and again from 1929 to 1931, winning the Lonsdale Belt outright, and British lightweight champion between 1932 and 1934.
Born in Sheffield in 1904, Johnny Cuthbert was taught boxing by Ben Stanton as a reward for attending the Reverend Harold Ewbank's Sunday School classes.
He made his professional boxing debut in February 1920. After facing inexperienced opposition during his first two years as a pro, he beat then Scottish Area bantamweight champion (and future British, Empire, and European flyweight champion) Elky Clark on points in January 1924. During a 15-fight unbeaten run between 1923 and 1924 he beat Harry Corbett and Billy Hindley, before travelling to the United States for a series of fights. After losing his first five US fights, including a defeat at the hands of Chick Suggs, he won his final fight before returning to England.
In March 1925 he lost to former British, Empire, and European bantamweight champion Bugler Harry Lake, but avenged this two months later, only three weeks after beating Johnny Curley over 15 rounds. In another successful run during 1925 he also beat Jack Kid Berg, but in August he lost to Corbett, starting a run of four straight defeats, including losses to European bantamweight champion Johnny Brown, Joe Fox, and Berg.
He was unbeaten again in 20 fights between March and December 1926, including wins over Lake, Curley, and Corbett (twice), finally earning him a shot at Curley's British featherweight title in January 1927; Cuthbert took a points decision to become British champion. He lost the title to Corbett in March 1928 in the last British title fight over 20 rounds. In November 1928 he drew with World bantamweight champion Al Brown in Paris.