On September 19th, 1980, in the Olympic Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles, Johnny Owen, a young Welsh boxer who held the British, European and Commonwealth bantamweight titles challenged for the World Championship. He suffered a crushing defeat and died two months later in hospital without regaining consciousness.
Johnny Owen
Outside the ring this young man was a painfully shy individual, journalists would despair of getting a line out of him. He had a job as a machine setter in a components factory and, early in his career, he would take two weeks off to train for his next bout. He had never had a date with a girl and was devoted to training and boxing.
It was in the ring that he could express himself and the plan was to be out of boxing at age 27. He had boxed since the age of 10 and on arrival in L.A he had fought as amateur and pro for 14 years. This young man, at that time, was the latest in a year’s long tradition of South Wales, particularly Merthyr, fighting men. His name was Johnny Owen, and he was as brave as a bull!
The championship: Johnny Owen and his last fight
The champion he fought that night was Lupe Pintor, a Mexican, who had relieved the great Carlos Zarate of his crown, so Lupe was no slouch. At the end of round eight Johnny was ahead on points but Pintor’s Upper body strength was starting to take its toll; ringsiders sensed the end was near but had no idea how awful it was to be. The fight was ended by a Pintor right hand Johnny was unconscious before he hit the floor, and the back of his head thudded against the ring mat.
Dick Owen, Johnny’s’ dad, was in the corner as trainer that night and went to the hospital with his son, his mam was back home in Merthyr, she never attended her sons’ fights, waiting on a phone call from The Western Mail sports desk in Cardiff. When the call came it was from a family friend who had travelled to L.A in support. Mrs Edith Owens constant nightmare had been realised.
Johhny Owen a post-industrial hero
Johnny Owen was a post-industrial hero. Between the two World wars we had the era of the hungry fighter, here in the North East the population will also remember coal, steel manufacturing and ship building. Those of a certain age will also remember lock outs, striking for a living wage and job losses.
Many people from Durham arrived in Merthyr when the town was booming, they came to work in the mines and the Dowlais iron works. It was in this environment that boxing took root and thrived. Jimmy Wilde, Jim Driscoll, Freddie Welsh, Tommy Farr all learned their trade in the fairground boxing booths, this production line continued into our more, so called, affluent era, Howard Winstone, Lenny Williams, Brian Curvis, Colin Jones and the Merthyr matchstick man Johnny Owen.
Lupe Pintor’s’ journey to pro boxing wasn’t so dissimilar. He was born 1955 to an abusive and violent father. He ran away from home and would have learned to use his fists at an early age, it is fair to say that without boxing Lupe would have ended up on Mexico Cities mean streets.
Boxing risks
I do know that, Worldwide, there are serious injuries and not infrequent fatalities most years, but nobody forces anyone to put gloves on, they accept the challenge and accept the risks knowingly. I have a deep respect for the abolishment of boxing fraternity, but I would ask them, back in the day of the Jim Clarks and Jackie Stewart’s, why was there no outrage at the many deaths in motor sport. Men climbed into petrol bombs that could, and did, incinerate them. They, too, were fully aware of the risks. I am not being critical, or trying not to be, it’s a thought, a question that will remain unanswered I feel.
Johnny was hospitalised, in coma, for 2 months and then came the day when the medical team came to Dick Owen and said Johnny was clinically dead. Edith had now arrived in L.A and had spent her time at her sons’ bedside. They discussed the options and decided on allowing the doctors to turn the machinery off. Johnny was flown back to the U.K and he was buried in his home town Merthyr.
Dick and Edith were bereft parents but they along with their family encouraged Lupe Pintor to continue boxing this he did and went on to become a two-time champion by winning the super bantamweight belt, but insiders said he was never again the destructive fighter he had once been.
Compassion or Forgiveness
Twenty years later Dick travelled to Mexico City to meet with the now long retired Pintor and his wife. Lupe was invited to Merthyr to unveil a statue of Johnny that was erected in the town centre. The money for the statue was raised through public generosity. After the ceremony Lupe and his wife were invited to the Owen family home.
Now, this was Edith’s patch, this was not a boxing ring or gym this was called hospitality. After a roast dinner everyone went into the front room, you know where your Mam kept the posh crockery, and the BBC were allowed in for a few minutes to get a couple of shots for the evening news. This was when I saw a little white-haired lady, aged before her time, clutching the hand of Lupe Pintor.
When it was time to leave, on the doorstep, Mrs Edith Owen hugged, embraced and kissed on the cheek the man who was critically involved in her boys’ death. Compassion, Forgiveness or what. I wept.
(In the U.K 2023/24 there are over 1000 boxing clubs. Boxing remains hugely popular. Since the loss of heavy industry in both South Wales and the North East of England there has been an increase in licences issued by the British Boxing Board of Control. That in itself tells a story. There are 27,000 boxers registered today of which a few dozen are active professionally. I offer no opinion pro or anti)
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