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On May 1st of last year, Ireland’s Johnny Turner was inducted into the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame. This writer has known Turner since he first stepped into his boxing gym more than 50 years ago, and he was one of his partners in amateur sparring. In the afternoon of the event, I had the honor of presenting the award to him.

Most people reading this probably don’t know who Turner is or what he’s accomplished in his career. That in and of itself illustrates the brutal all-or-nothing mentality that is engulfing not only our sport, but life in general. Unless a fighter is a world champion or a longtime top contender experiencing memorable encounters, their legacy isn’t as strong as it deserves.

The January 1979 World Boxing Council ratings listed Brooklyn Welterweight as a top ten contender. The champion at the time was Wilfred Benitez. The top four nominees, in order, were Roberto Durán, Ray Leonard, Carlos Palomino and Thomas Hearns. All future Hall of Famers. A line of killers passing the welterweights trying to reach the top of the mountain. Although Turner was never completely successful, he was still one of New York City’s most popular fighters during the 1970s and ’80s, with a respectable 42-6-2 (32) or better record. I finished my career.

At one point it appeared Turner would put Leonard in the box, but for some reason it didn’t happen. No. In the end, Turner won the big fight with Benitez, but the timing wasn’t right, he says.

Turner started his career in the Sweeney Center Police Athletic League in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. Boxing facilities were for amateurs only. When Turner arrived in his 1971, the undisputed king of the gym was the soon-to-pro-turn Vito Antuofermo. Turner, then 15, was just a kid with ambitions, but it soon became apparent just how talented he was.

Turner’s amateur career mirrored that of Herol Graham as a professional, who failed to get over the hump entirely and win the titles planned for him. Between 1971 and his 1974, Turner participated in the prestigious New York Golden Gloves Tournament, where he was eliminated three times in the semifinals and was a finalist once. In the 1973 Dominic lightweight final against Monaco in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden, the frustration was evident that he couldn’t pull it all together. do so again. Still, he failed to lose the chase in his first two rounds, losing both. A ferocious rally by Turner in the third round brought the Garden crowd to its feet. Monaco fought back, making him one of the greatest rounds in tournament history. At the end they both gave a standing ovation. Attendees still talk about it to this day.

Turner’s amateur career was extensive. He has represented the United States and traveled to Ireland, Venezuela, Canada and Puerto Rico. In one of his matches in the United States, which was televised on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, Howard Cosell, who was doing commentary, got into an altercation with Turner’s amateur coach, Joe LaGuardia. “I was boxing a southpaw,” recalls Turner. “During the commercial breaks between rounds, Cosell kept pushing me to throw my right hand. He was also teaching Joe how to tell me. I didn’t mind, Joe cared.Finally he told Cosell to shut up.It’s funny now but it was hot then.”

Turner turned professional in 1975 and boxed ten times that year. His only drawback was his six-round draw against Randy Milton at Albany. Turner got this revenge four years later when he dropped Milton twice and stopped him in the third round. It was an impressive result given that Milton had held out in the eighth round against Leonard less than a year earlier.

Turner kept busy, but moved cautiously by manager Vern DePaul, boxing against opponents with modest records in small club venues until it was time to step up. It happened in Milwaukee on the 25th. Johnny, now 16-1, faced the tough Tony Petronelli in a nationally televised match. Marvin Hagler’s stablemate Petronelli unsuccessfully challenged Wilfred Benitez for the £140 title in his final outing and was stopped in three rounds. He was the best and most seasoned opponent Turner had boxed to that point. Tough and spirited, he was in the 10th rounder and Turner found himself in his short end of the split.

Undaunted by his initial setback, Turner returned to the ring a little over a month later, winning the next four, before being shaken by Larry Stanton’s 10-round majority decision at Madison Square Garden on October 27, 1977. rice field. Turner’s ninth-round knockdown proved to be the difference.

As an amateur and professional, Turner boxed a total of 25 times inside the Madison Square Garden building and never had a bad fight.

Turner quickly returned to action, scoring his next two wins, on May 15, 1978, against Wilfred’s brother, Frankie Benitez. Benitez’s stoppage in the eighth round had special significance in Turner’s career. “I was at my best that night,” Turner said. “He hurt me in the seventh round, but I came back to knock him out in the eighth round. There was talk of matching me with my brother Wilfred, who was supposed to be there.

Dick Young, an influential sportswriter for the New York Daily News at the time, quipped, “Turner might give him.” [Benitez] Some sourness.

Turner believes that brother Frankie’s interruption, Young’s remarks, and one other factor prevented Wilfred from making it through the match that was tentatively scheduled to take place at MSG.

“Everyone in Benitez came to Gramercy Gym to see my spar,” Turner says. “Benitez’s manager, Jim Jacobs, saw how good I looked and decided it was too dangerous a fight for them.

A Wilfred Benitez match was waiting, but Turner’s win over Frankie changed his life forever. I was impressed with what I saw. “After stopping Benitez, why don’t Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci come to my dressing room and audition? Raging Bull‘ says Turner. “Of course I said yes. They asked me to go to the Gramercy Gym to spar with De Niro that Monday.

What happened in that sparring session went off script when Turner dropped the actor with a body punch. “I almost got fired on the spot,” he laughs. “Peter Savage, the film’s writer and producer, said I was a smart guy. I apologized afterwards and did my best to make De Niro look good.

“I have to give De Niro a lot of credit. He never complained after I dropped him. He bounced back and was ready to try again. He’s a competitor, he’s pretty athletic, and he could have been a better fighter if he had actually done it.”

I stayed in Hollywood for 9 weeks. Turner was cast as Laurent d’Auteuil and LaMotta stopped with just 13 seconds remaining on the points lead. Turner was tasked with recreating the thrilling finish. That is, he was under a barrage of blows before landing on his back through the ropes below. The scene was staged, but it was hard physical labor with a lot of repetition and some risk.

During the filming of one of the scenes, a Dali that was supposed to cushion Turner’s fall broke and he landed hard on his back. was doing. In his later years, Turner had recurring problems that he attributed to his falls.

Turner enjoyed his time spent in LaMotta’s company. “We stayed in the same hotel. We were making a movie about Jake, and he was in a good mood,” Turner says. “He came downstairs and asked who was paying for dinner. But it was a decent payday in 1979. We bought LaMotta’s dinner and he told us a story.

“There were offers to stay in Hollywood and pursue an acting career, but they weren’t for me. I was at my peak as a fighter, and there was talk of matching me with Leonard.

The story intensified when Turner stopped his next eight opponents, but was then inexplicably stopped in two rounds by journeyman Santiago Valdez. In Valdez’s next bout, he was chilled by Hearns in the first round.

Turner quickly rebounded and won three in a row over the next three months before finally getting his coveted big match against Wilfred Benitez.

“The year before last was in my prime. I lived and breathed boxing. There were no outside distractions. I really thought I could beat him.

On March 16, 1980 in Miami, Turner was unprepared. He faced Benitez in a nationally televised afternoon contest on the CBS Sports Spectacular program in the United States. It was Benitez’s first fight, less than four months after he lost the welterweight world title to Leonard. “I was mentally defeated before I even stepped into the ring,” Turner says. “Angelo Dundee, who was commentating the match, saw what they were going to do and told them to back off. My problem was that I wasn’t gaining weight and if I watch the fight again I can hear Dundee saying it’s like middleweight vs welterweight.”

Turner hurt the former champion with a right hand early in the fight, but for the most part Benitez dominated and was comfortably ahead on points when Turner was pulled out for a cut at 2-57 in the ninth inning. I was there.

Turner recovered somewhat from the Benitez setback in his next three wins. Particularly satisfying was his sixth round stoppage of Alfonso Haymon on September 10, 1980 at Scranton. The year before, Haymon had run a distance of 10 rounds with Hearns. “After the game, he told reporters that I hit him as hard as Hearns,” Turner says.

Haymon’s victory was the final hooray. Turner went 5-2-1 to the end. In 1984, at the age of 30, he decided to retire.

Like many before him, Turner lost first without the sport to which he had devoted his life. Boxing was the only full-time job he ever knew.

Turner took an exam to become a sanitation worker in New York City, but failed due to a bad back from a fall during filming. Raging BullHis back bothered him at times, but Turner felt he could handle the rigors of the job.

Turner called Dr. Edwin Campbell, chief physician of the New York State Athletic Commission. As luck would have it, the same day he had a fight show at MSG. Campbell told Young about it. Young then wrote an article in the newspaper criticizing the hygiene department. A few days later, Turner took and passed the re-examination and immediately embarked on his 30-year career with them.

“I don’t know where I would be without that job,” Turner says gratefully. “It provided me with a pension and health insurance.”

Turner, 69, lives in Staten Island with his lovely wife, Lausan. He has two daughters and three grandchildren in the couple and has many memories from Johnny’s time in the ring.