Willie Pastrano vs. Alonzo Johnson (1st meeting)

Willie Pastrano 187 lbs lost to Alonzo Johnson 183 lbs by UD in round 10 of 10

Date: 1959-07-24
Location: Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Referee: 44-47

See also: Willie Pastrano vs. Alonzo Johnson (2nd meeting)

Pastrano Beaten By Johnson

Louisville, Ky, July 25 (AP) — Willie Pastrano, his right hand dunked in a bucket of ice water, wants another crack at Alonzo Johnson.

Johnson, a former Braddock, Pa., barber, unleashed a punishing body attack Friday night to earn a unanimous 10-round decision over the nimble Pastrano.

Pastrano said he jammed his right thumb in the first round but it did not hamper him from using his right hand. He said he "felt a little rusty" after a layoff since February.

Johnson and Manager Mike Bazzone said they followed a pre-fight plan calculated to slow down the fleet Willie.

"We figured we had to go for the body," Bazzone said. "It worked."

A punishing body attack in the seventh round staggered Pastrano, but he did not go down.

The triumph was Johnson's 13th straight and brought his record to 18-1. Pastrano, now 48-8-5, weighed 187 pounds, Johnson 183½.

The bout was televised nationally.

Notes

Johnson was a substitute for Alex Miteff, who was hospitalized for two days with a kidney infection. Following his win against Pastrano, Johnson fought Miteff at Madison Square Garden on August 14 and lost by a 10-round unanimous decision.
Johnson was ranked seventh at heavyweight by the National Boxing Association. Pastrano was unranked by the NBA, but he was The Ring's eighth-ranked heavyweight contender.
United Press International scored the fight 47-44 for Johnson, and the Associated Press had it 48-42 for Johnson.
There was a crowd of 1,183 at Freedom Hall.
When Pastrano was training in Louisville shortly before the fight, Muhammad Ali, then a 17-year-old amateur named Cassius Clay, asked Angelo Dundee, Pastrano's trainer, if he could spar with Pastrano. Dundee turned him down — he did not believe in matching amateurs against pros — but the kid persisted. "Come on, come on. Let me work with him," he pleaded. Dundee finally yielded and let him spar with Pastrano. "In and out, side-side, in and out," Dundee recalled years later. "Stick-stick-stick. Move-move-move. He was so quick, so agile, Willie couldn't do nothing with him." Dundee called it off after one round, saying, "Willie, baby, you ain't gonna spar no more. You're too fine, baby." Pastrano wasn't buying. "Bullshit!" he said. "The kid kicked the hell out of me."