Johnny Houlston

Johnny Houlston (1917–1962) was a Welsh welterweight and middleweight boxer. Houlston was Wales welterweight champion from 1938 until he relinquished the belt with the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Houlston decision to join the Merchant Navy in 1939 resulted in him engaging in no professional bouts until he left the service in 1946. On his return to professional boxing after the war, Houlston switched to middleweight and made one unsuccessful attempt at the Welsh title. His boxing career lasted from 1935 to 1949. He was predicted to be a World Middleweight Champion before the war.

Career history Houlston was born in Cardiff in 1917 and was one of eleven children. He grew up in Nora Street in the district of Splott. Houlston took to boxing as a youth, winning three British school titles. He turned professional in 1935, after he controversially lost the Welsh Amateur Boxing Association final on points to local rival, Albert Barnes. He fought at least another three times in 1935, winning all three on points.