Callum Johnson


Callum Paul Johnson is a British professional boxer who challenged for the IBF light-heavyweight title in 2018. At regional level, he held the Commonwealth light-heavyweight title from 2016 to 2018 and the British light-heavyweight title in 2018. As an amateur, he won a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Amateur career

Johnson began boxing at a local club in his home town of Boston from an early age but moved to train at Terry Allen Unique ABC in Lincoln by the time he was 16. He boxed on 120 occasions as an amateur winning 95.
Qualifying through his grandparents, Johnson boxed for Scotland at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, defeating Northern Ireland's Thomas McCarthy in the 81kg light heavyweight final to win the gold medal.

Professional career

After the Commonwealth Games, Johnson turned professional, signing with promoter Frank Warren and being managed by former world champion Naseem Hamed.
On 4 December 2010, he made his professional debut at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, stopping Phillip Townley in the second-round on the undercard of Ricky Burns' world title defence against Andreas Evenson.
Johnson won his first professional title when he claimed the vacant Commonwealth light-heavyweight belt with a ninth-round knockout win over Willbeforce Shihepo at Manchester Arena on 24 September 2016.
He added the British light-heavyweight title to his collection thanks to a spectacular first-round stoppage of defending champion Frank Buglioni on 24 March 2018 at The O2 Arena in London.
On 6 October 2018, Johnson challenged Artur Beterbiev for his IBF world light heavyweight title at Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois. He managed to drop the champion in the second-round with a left hook but Beterbiev recovered quickly and knocked Johnson to the canvas in the fourth round with a big right hand, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
In his next bout, Johnson defeated Sean Monaghan, who was ranked #13 by the WBC at light heavyweight, with a third-round technical knockout at Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, New York, on 9 March 2019.
On 24 April 2021, he claimed the WBO Global light-heavyweight title with a second-round stoppage of Emil Markic at York Hall in London.
Johnson retained his title via a majority decision win over Server Emurlaev at Arena Birmingham on 9 October 2021 with two of the ringside judges scoring the fight 99–92 and 96–94 in his favour while the third had it a 95–95 draw.
Having not fought for more than a year, Johnson retired from professional boxing in November 2022 but reversed his decision and returned to the ring in December 2023 stepping up in weight divisions to compete at cruiserweight.
His first comeback contest resulted in an opening round stoppage win over Darryl Sharp in Manchester on 8 December 2023, followed by a points victory against Viktar Chvarkou in Grantham, Lincolnshire, on 15 June 2024.

Honours

Having previously been made a Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Boston, Johnson had a road named after him in his home town of Boston, Lincolnshire, in August 2020.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
24Win23–1Viktar ChvarkouPTS614 Sep 2024Meres Leisure Centre, Grantham, England
23Win22–1Viktar ChvarkouPTS415 Jun 2024Meres Leisure Centre, Grantham, England
22Win21–1Darryl SharpKO1 8 Dec 2023The Fuse, Partington, Manchester, England
21Win20–1Server Emurlaev109 Oct 2021Arena Birmingham, Birmingham, EnglandRetained WBO Global light-heavyweight title
20Win19–1Emil MarkicTKO2, 2:3724 Apr 2021York Hall, London, EnglandWon vacant WBO Global light-heavyweight title
19Win18–1Sean MonaghanTKO3, 0:239 Mar 2019Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, New York, US
18Loss17–1Artur BeterbievKO4, 2:366 Oct 2018Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, USFor IBF light-heavyweight title
17Win17–0Frank BuglioniTKO1, 1:3124 Mar 2018The O2 Arena, London, EnglandRetained Commonwealth light-heavyweight title;
Won British light-heavyweight title
16Win16–0Willbeforce ShihepoKO9, 2:0724 Sep 2016Manchester Arena, Manchester, EnglandWon vacant Commonwealth light-heavyweight title
15Win15–0Norbert SzekeresTKO1, 2:3218 Jun 2016EventCity, Manchester, England
14Win14–0Richard HortonTKO1, 1:187 May 2016Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
13Win13–0Tsvetozar IlievPTS426 Jun 2015Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
12Win12–0Jose Manuel IglesiasKO1, 1:1711 Apr 2015First Direct Arena, Leeds, England
11Win11–0Bartlomiej GrafkaTKO2, 1:597 Mar 2015Meres Leisure Centre, Grantham, England
10Win10–0Josef ObesloTKO1, 3:007 Nov 2014North Kesteven Centre, Lincoln, England
9Win9–0Luke AllonTKO3, 1:394 Oct 2014First Direct Arena, Leeds, England
8Win8–0Nathan KingPTS427 Jun 2014Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
7Win7–0Egidijus KakstysTKO2, 2:1017 May 2014North Kesteven Centre, Lincoln, England
6Win6–0John Anthony7, 2:1631 May 2013Town Hall, Walsall, EnglandAnthony disqualified for persistent holding
5Win5–0James TuckerTKO7, 1:1818 May 2012Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester, England
4Win4–0Tommy Tolan1, 1:3010 Mar 2012Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
3Win3–0Lee DuncanPTS416 Jul 2011Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
2Win2–0Jody Meikle412 Mar 2011Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
1Win1–0Phillip Townley2, 1:344 Dec 2010Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland