Johnny Wilson (boxer)

For other uses, see Johnny Wilson (disambiguation).

Johnny Wilson
File:Johnny Wilson portrait BNF.jpg
Statistics
Real name	Giovanni Francesco Panica
Rated at	Middleweight
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Reach	72 in (183 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1893-03-23)March 23, 1893 New York, New York
Died	Boston, Massachusetts
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	101
Wins	63
Wins by KO	29
Losses	29
Draws	8
No contests	1

Johnny Wilson was born Giovanni Panica on March 23, 1893 in Harlem, New York City. He was a professional boxer who fought from 1911 until 1926. The highlight of Wilson's career came when he captured the world middleweight championship by defeating Mike O'Dowd by decision over 12 rounds on May 6, 1920. Wilson held the crown until he was outpointed over 15 rounds by the all-time great Harry Greb.

After retiring from the ring, Wilson was involved in the ownership/management of several successful nightclubs in New York and Boston. Wilson died on December 8, 1985.

Cameo

In 1970 Wilson had a short appearing in Michelangelo Antonioni's Zabriskie Point movie (at 00:42' in Italian edition), when he was 77.

Notable bouts

Result	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	Maxie Rosenbloom	UD	10	1926-10-04	Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Loss	Maxie Rosenbloom	PTS	12	1926-08-27	Coney Island Stadium, Brooklyn, New York
Loss	Harry Greb	PTS	10	1925-04-17	Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts
Loss	Tiger Flowers	TKO	3 (10)	1924-12-09	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Loss	Tommy Loughran	PTS	10	1924-02-12	Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts
Loss	Harry Greb	UD	15	1924-01-18	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	For World Middleweight Title.
Loss	Harry Greb	UD	15	1923-08-31	Polo Grounds, New York, New York	Lost World Middleweight Title.
Win	Mike O'Dowd	SD	15	1921-03-17	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Retained World Middleweight Title.
Win	Mike O'Dowd	PTS	12	1920-05-06	Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts	Won World Middleweight Title.
Win	Billy Murray	TKO	2 (12)	1920-03-08	Casino Hall, Lynn, Massachusetts
Win	Leo Houck	PTS	12	1918-04-15	Douglas A.C., Chelsea, Massachusetts
Loss	Leo Houck	PTS	12	1918-03-11	Douglas A.C., Chelsea, Massachusetts

External links

• Cyber Boxing Zone
• Harry Greb site
• Professional boxing record for Johnny Wilson from BoxRec

Achievements
Preceded by Mike O'Dowd	World Middleweight Champion May 6, 1920 – August 31, 1923	Succeeded by Harry Greb