Jowls Goes Stateside Again

December 1994
Despite his 1st round hammering in Vegas 8 months ago at the hands of Julio Malagarcia, and his recent loss to Al Botha, Johnny Jowls is off to New York next month to fight Bob Brewster. The ex-Olympic Heavyweight Champion is undefeated in twelve fights and newspaper reports over there are considering Jowls as a way to beef up the American's record further.

Of course, we'll be there to report every clinch, every punch, and every knockdown.

Milton Jowls Opening Fight

Cardiff, 8 December, 1994.
So Milton Jowls first opponent would be Dave Williams, a veteran from Cardiff. The fight was in Williams' home town, but Milton was happy to go there to get some experience against what was considered a trial-horse. A small crowd would witness the genesis of Milton's career as the Newcastle Ninja.

Round 1. A fairly quiet opening. Nothing but clinches and missed punches in the first minute. Williams was concentrating on leading with his left to Milton's head, but towards the end of the round Milton did get in a couple of telling attacks. Probably round 1 to Milton.
Round 2. Even quieter than the first. Milton was concentrating on defence, letting Williams come to him. He did get in a good attack early on, but then Williams resorted to jabs from a distance and the round petered out. Milton probably just shaded it.
Round 3. For the first two minutes this round was like a sparring session, but in the final third, Milton became more aggressive and won the round easily with a beautiful left uppercut to the jaw and then a right cross to the head.
Round 4. Milton started well with right and left hooks to Williams' body. Then Williams launched a right cross to the head, his signature punch, that floored Milton. Our novice made it back to his feet after a count of 8, but the referee decided enough was enough. Williams the winner!

So, our Newcastle Ninja hardly lived up to the nickname he'd earned as an amateur. Williams was supposed to be a patsy, but this defeat hardly suggests Milton has a future in the professional ranks.

Steenokkerzeel KO'd in Season Opener

Steenokkerzeel 2-14 Brussels

The much anticipated season opener to the BIBO League saw lots of knockdowns and none of the fights went the distance. Terry Downes (Middleweight) was already second best to Chris Pyatt when the Steenokkerzeel man was put down against the ropes and counted out in the 3rd by a left hook.
The next two bouts also ended in the 3rd with Keith Wallace (Bantamweight) being stopped by Joe Lynch with a bad cut over his left eye, then Rinty Monaghan (Flyweight) rose from a knockdown at the hands of Soon-Chun Kwon but the ref stopped the fight immediately. It was all the more disappointing since Monaghan had opened up a bad gash over Kwon's left eye the round earlier.
Bout four saw Eddie Davis (Light Heavyweight) knockdown Willie Edwards with a right hook after 14 seconds in the 1st! Edwards got up on six but the ref stepped in with Edwards clearly out on his feet. 0-8 Brussels at this stage, four bouts and only ten rounds all told.
Next up was the eagerly awaited Heavyweight clash between Ingemar Johansson and Jerry Quarry. After a very cagey opening round, Quarry knocked Johansson down with a left swing to the head. When Quarry was up on 7, Johansson caught him with another left to the side of the head. With Quarry clearly unable to defend himself, the ref stepped in to end it after only 58 seconds of the 2nd round. 0-10 Brussels!

Jim Driscoll, Brussels Featherweight

Baby Arizmendi (Featherweight) was up against Jim Driscoll. In what was a gruelling contest, Driscoll was probably already up 5 rounds to nil when he stopped Arizmendi. Both boxers had shed blood in the opening rounds, but in the 5th Driscoll twice hit Arizmendi hard with two beautiful right hooks but the Steenokkerzeel man omehow stayed on his feet. In the 6th, however, Driscoll did send Arizmendi to the canvas with another right hook. Arizmendi was up on eight, but then Driscoll knocked him down with yet another right hook. Arizmendi was up again after seven, but the ref had seen enough and ended it after 1:22 of the 6th. 0-10 Brussels!
Edwin Rosario (Lightweight) fancied his chances to break the home duck but after surviving an early left hook from Mo Hussein, he was suckered by another hook and put face down on the canvas. Rosario was counted out after 2:05 of the opening round.
The final bout saw 'Sugar' Ray Leonard (Welterweight) looking to salvage someting for Steenokkerzeel. His Brussels' opponent, Antoine Fernandez, was completely outclassed. After taking a lot of punishment throughout the first round, a left hook had Fernandez wobbling and the ref stepped in to stop it with only two seconds to the bell.

So, after eight short bouts which had seven knockdowns and only twenty rounds, Brussels went home with a 2-14 win. An all-action start for the BIBO League.

Johnny Jowls Record

Here is the record for Johnny Jowls from January 1989 to the end of 1994. In total it reads: 16-10[6]-0-6 with 2 no contests. hardly impressive, although he is the reigning Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion.

27-Jan-89 - Merryton Lord - Basildon - Lost Pts
21-Apr-89 - Pierre Gourdon - Newcastle - Won TKO 5
21-Jul-89 - Wayne Williams - Newcastle - Won KO 2
17-Oct-89 - Joe Craig - Wolverh'ton - Lost KO 1
19-Jan-90 - Carl Drefus - Newcastle - Won TKO 6
13-Jul-90 - Joey Cadoza - Newcastle - Lost Pts
2-Oct-90 - Wayne Williams - Leicester - Won Pts
25-Jan-91 - Merryton Lord - Newcastle - Won Pts
12-Apr-91 - Joe Craig - Manchester - Lost Pts
25-Oct-91 - Joey Cadoza - Newcastle - NC
3-Apr-92 - Theo Cabouchi - Newcastle - Won Pts
31-Jul-92 - Collie Thomas - Newcastle - Won Pts
17-Oct-92 - Joe Argilla - Manchester - Won TKO 8
16-Apr-93 - Leroy Gardner - Newcastle - NC
9-Jul-93 - Bob Young - Newcastle - Won KO 4
22-Jan-94 - Tony De Lago - Manchester - Won KO 4
2-Apr-94 - Julio Malagarcia - Las Vegas - Lost TKO 1
27-Oct-94 - Al Botha - Amiens - Lost Pts

Milton Jowls Turns Pro

November 16, 1994. Newcastle, England

With his older brother Johnny's career looking in trouble, Bangla decided now was the time to launch the smaller of the Jowls brothers onto the scene. Pale and positively thin, Milton Jowls looks anything but a professional boxer. However, he has an excellent punch and a short but unbeaten amateur career to prove otherwise, and he's determined to make the grade. Now 20, and weighing a little over 48 kilos, Milton would fight in the flyweight division. His first fight would be against Dave Williams in December.

Johnny Jowls vs Al Botha

October 27, 1994. Amiens, France

After the debacle in Las Vegas, Jowls's next bout was in the industrial town of Amiens in northern France. Al Botha, a Norwegian now boxing in France was his opponent. Botha had a good, impressive record with 37 wins and only 2 losses from 40 fights. However, he was a relative lightweight at just over 86 kilos. Botha did have good boxing ability and he'd be a difficult opponent for Jowls.

Round 1. A lot of nervous sparring and clinching, but Jowls did land a wonderful right cross when he'd broken away from Botha's spoiling. The Frenchman retaliated at the end of the round with a left swing that found it's way past JJ's guard, but the round was already Jowls's.

Round 2. Jowls connected with another left cross right at the beginning of the 2nd round but after that it was all Botha. Although he never really hurt jowls, Botha's workrate with his left probably won him this round.

Round 3. Again Jowls landed the first decent punch but then Botha threw a good left hook into the body and then a right uppercut also inside. Most of JJ's attacks were off the mark although he did land a straight left late on. Botha's round.

Round 4. Jowls was forcing the pace and got in a right cross but Botha connected with a left cross of his own. After that it was all Jowls going forward but Botha always managed to defend evade him. Fairly even round.

Round 5. Botha's turn to go onto the attack. Jowls threw a right hook but Botha withstood that and got in a right swing to Jowls's head. the Frenchman worked on the inside with a right hook and as jowls recoiled he followed with a left cross right on the chin. Jowls tried to turn things around but Botha countered with a left jab to JJ's body, and then a right swing followed straight on. This was becoming a big round for Botha but somehow Jowls did some crafty work inside, first getting through with a jab, then a right hook and a quick right and left combo into the chest of Botha. Botha countered near the end with a right and left of his own right in Jowls's face. Round to Botha. With three to go I had Botha a couple of rounds ahead. jowls had it all still to do.

Round 6. Another round to Botha. The first minute was all Jowls though but in the middle stages Botha went onto the attack first with a left hook, then a left cross and then another, both to JJ's head. A right jab also got through JJ's defences but then Jowls picked up his defence and kept out of trouble for the remainder of the round.

Round 7. All the hard work of Botha had taken its toll on jowls. The big Geordie did connect a couple of beautiful right swings up top, but Botha then wore him down still further and probably just shaded the round.

Round 8. Jowls now needed a knockout but he was a spent force. After a couple of minutes of trading punches Botha put him down with a right hook right on the money. jowls took an 8 count and then took more punishment as botha picked him off easily. Resounding last round by the Norwegian.

Decision time and the ref gave it 97-73 Botha. Judge 1 also 79-73 Botha. Judge 2 87-74 Botha. A comprehensive victory for the Norwegian. Jowls would have to go home and lick his wounds once again.

Recovery For Johnny Jowls

May - September 1994. Newcastle, England

Following his 1st round defeat by Malagarcia, jowls returned to the north-east to lick his wounds. He spent the next 4-5 months resting and then in training. Gym work failed to enhance his skills though.

Bangla then announced in October JJ would again travel abroad, this time to fight Al Botha in France.