Johnny Hill
| Johnny Hill | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Rated at | Flyweight |
| Height | 5 ft 3.5 in (161 cm) |
| Nationality | British |
| Born |
14 December 1905 Leith, Scotland |
| Died | 27 September 1929 (aged 23) Strathmiglo, Fife, Scotland |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 23 |
| Wins | 18 |
| Wins by KO | 9 |
| Losses | 1 |
| Draws | 3 |
| No contests | 1 |
Johnny Hill (14 December 1905 – 27 September 1929) was a Scottish boxer who was British flyweight champion from May 1927, European champion from March 1928, and World champion from August 1928, until his death at the age of 23. He was the first Scottish boxer to win a world title.
Born on Brunswick Road in Leith in 1905, Johnny Hill was trained by his father and Tancy Lee at the Leith Victoria Club. As an amateur he won the Scottish flyweight and bantamweight titles, and in 1926 he won the ABA flyweight title and was awarded the 'Best Boxer of the Championship' trophy.
He made his professional début in September 1926, stopping Bill Huntley in the fifth round at Premierland. He quickly built up a large following, which included the Prince of Wales. Unbeaten in his first 13 fights which included wins over Nicolas Petit-Biquet and Jim Hanna, he faced Alf Barber at the National Sporting Club in May 1927 for the British flyweight title vacated by Elky Clark; Hill stopped Barber in the fourteenth round to become British champion.
He beat Emile Pladner on points in a December 1927, despite being knocked down three times, and four months later faced Pladner again, this time with the European title at stake; The result was the same and Hill added the European title to his British title.
In August 1928 he fought Newsboy Brown in front of a crowd of 50,000 at Clapton Stadium for the vacant World flyweight title (recognized by Great Britain and California State), taking a points decision to become the first Scottish boxer to hold a world title. He was presented with a silver cigarette case by the people of his adopted home of Strathmiglo in September in recognition of his achievement. He was also recognized as World champion by the New York State Athletic Commission on 10 December. Hill and Brown were due to meet again for the World title in October that year, but the fight was cancelled.
In February 1929 he faced Pladner again in a non-title fight, this time in Paris; Pladner knocked Hill out in the sixth round to inflict the only defeat of Hill's 23-fight career.
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