Lancaster
lost one of its sporting legends of the past when former professional boxer
Johnny Barton died recently in a Morecambe nursing home aged ninety. Johnny,
whose real name was Chippendale, started his boxing career during the Second
World War whilst he was serving in the Royal Navy, but it was after he was demobbed
in 1945 that it gained momentum.
Known as the ‘Fighting
Lumberjack’ Johnny’s two biggest assets were his ability to take a punch
without any adverse effect – he was never knocked out or stopped (except on cuts)
in his sixty two bouts, something he attributed to the thick muscular neck
which he developed – and also his incredible physical strength that helped him
become a fearsome puncher. Johnny had done heavy manual jobs all his working
life and it certainly paid dividends during his ring career.
These qualities helped
Johhny become one of the country’s foremost light-heavyweights of the immediate
post-war era. However, although it seems astonishing these days, during his
time in the ring Johnny never boxed for a title.
