Harold Johnson vs. Johnny Persol

Harold Johnson 176 lbs lost to Johnny Persol 175 lbs by UD in round 10 of 10

• Date: 1966-01-07
• Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA
• Referee: Petey Della 4-5
• Judge: Joe Eppy 4-5
• Judge: Frank Forbes 3-6

"Johnny Persol won an upset, but unanimous decision over former light heavyweight champion Harold Johnson in a lively 10 rounder at the Garden Friday night. Johnson, slow and ring rusty, was making his first start in 20 months. He missed often and was tagged by lead right hands to the head in the first half of the fight. This showed he was off form. But he rallied strongly in the second half and almost pulled out a victory. There were no knockdowns but it was an exciting fight all the way with Johnson going to the unusual extreme - for him - of trading often with his younger and faster rival from New York." Associated Press

• Unofficial AP scorecard - 6-4 Persol
• Unofficial Boxing Illustrated scorecard - 6-4 Persol
• MSG Director of boxing Harry Markson announced he wished to rematch the two on January 28th, but the rematch failed to materialize.

Post fight comments

• "I'd love to fight the guy again. I think the decision was very unfair. I figured I won. The least they could have called it was a draw." -Harold Johnson

• "I want a shot at Jose Torres." -Johnny Persol

• "We'll talk about it (the rematch) but they'll have to offer us good money." -Gil Clancy, Persol's manager/trainer