Johnny Saxton tiptoed on the edge of greatness

Boxing scribe and author and one-time editor of The Ring magazine Bert Randolph Sugar said that world welterweight champion Johnny Saxton “sort of tiptoed on the edge of greatness”.

Sugar a noted boxing historian also went on to say that Saxton was one of the golden age of the sports' good fighters,”

Saxton, a two-time world welterweight champion, beat ring legends such as Kid Gavilan and Carmen Basilio, but it was hard to say how good he was because of allegations that the Mafia were involved in some of his fights.

The ex-champ died at the age of 78 on 4 October 2008 at the Good Samaritan’s Hospice Unit after spending most of his last ten years as a resident of the Crystal Palms facility in Lake Worth, Florida.

He was moved to the “assisted living complex” by former New York State Athletic Commission inspector Richard Joselit after Saxton had been found living in squalor in a New York City apartment with no electricity. There was no food in the apartment and Saxton was diagnosed as suffering from pugilistica dementia.

His story began in Newark, New Jersey, where he was born on July 4, 1930. He grew up in an orphanage and received limited education.

Financial reasons probably drove him to boxing and he joined the professional ranks in May 1949. He remained unbeaten in 40 fights before losing, on a split decision, to Gil Turner on 15 June 1953.

In the same year, he stopped Charley Williams and outpointed future world middleweight champion Joey Giardello. He then knocked out Herman McCray in the third round before losing to Del Flanagan, also on a split decision.

In October 1954, Saxton outscored Gavilan in a dull fight in Philadelphia to win the world welterweight title. However, in April 1955 he lost the crown to Tony DeMarco who stopped him in the 14th round.

Saxton came back to defeat Ralph “Tiger” Jones and outpoint Basilio in March 1956 to regain the welterweight title.

Basilio was unhappy about the decision but Saxton had boxed brilliantly. In a return bout, Saxton lost the title when he was stopped in the ninth round. And in their third fight, he was stopped in the second.

After losing three of his next four fights Saxton retired in December 1958 with a record of 55-9-2; 21.

Despite his alleged connections with the Mob, Saxton was undoubtedly a very good fighter. He was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame on 12 November 1998.

With all the organisations operating today there are 68 “world” champions recognised by the major boxing organisations. When Johnny Saxton was welterweight champion, there were only eight world champions in eight weight divisions.

He could walk down the street and people would say, “There goes Johnny Saxton, the world champion.”

After his fighting days, Saxton worked as a security guard and also trained fighters. But in the end, he dropped from “the edge of greatness” into poverty and loneliness.

The circumstances in which he died indicated that he, like so many other outstanding boxers, needed a good business manager when he was at his best, and a better support system after he had retired.