Johnny Brown

Philip Hickman (18 July 1902 – 1 July 1976), who fought under the name Johnny Brown, was an English Jewish bantamweight boxer of the 1920s, though he fought some as a feather and lightweight. Born in Spitalfields, London he won the National Sporting Club (NSC) (subsequently known as the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC)) British bantamweight title, British Empire bantamweight title, and European Boxing Union (EBU) bantamweight title. His professional fighting weight varied from , i.e. flyweight to , i.e. featherweight., though the majority of his important fights were fought as a bantam. Early life and career Brown was born on 18 July 1902, in St. Georges, East London, England. He was the older brother of the boxer, Young Johnny Brown , an English featherweight contender who fought in both American and England. In 1921, Brown traveled to the United States, and fought eighteen bouts that by 1922, were against the world's top bantamweights. During the mid-1920s, Brown was consistently rated among the top ten bantamweights in the world. In an important early contest, Brown lost to Kid Davis on 26 May 1921 in the last round of a bantamweight belt competition at the Ring on Blackfriars Road in Southwork, England. Brown had had victories in contests leading to this final bout, in the previous month, and his performance in the competition marked him as a top young English bantamweight competitor, of enough skill to draw crowds in America. Early career boxing in New England and Canada, 1921-3 Brown lost to New York's Frankie Jerome in a ten round points decision at Dykman Oval in Manhattan, on 27 September 1921. Jerome would fight many of the best boxers of his era, and the boxing reporters took note that Brown was a quality competitor yet to make his mark.