Houston, and it’s boxing participants have a long history of being involved in boxing at it’s highest levels. This photo is a great example of that as Howard Mena, Manny Recio, Bob Jordan and Kenny Weldon stand with Three Time World Champion Reggie Johnson, as he readies for a bout.
Reggie would manage to obtain World Champion status on three occasions and at two different weight classes, (middleweight and light heavyweight), and fought the best fighters of his time. Many of Reggie’s loses were disputable and he proved to the world of boxing once again, that Houston develops some of the best boxing talent in the world. A few of the esteemed opponents Reggie faced in his career include: Ismael Negron, Sanderline Williams, Eddie Hall, James “Lights Out” Toney, “Irish” Steve Collins, Lamar Parks, John David Jackson, Jorge Castro, William Guthrie, Roy Jones Jr, Antonio Tarver, and the late Julio Cesar Gonzalez.
I’d like to thank the family of Kenny Weldon, Howard Mena, David Martinez Jr, Dwayne Muhammad, Ernest Tobias, Warren Williams, Ray Zaragoza, Thomas Smith, Jesse Valdez, Walt Hailey, Henry Harris Jr, Melvin Dennis, and a few others I know I’m forgetting, for their generosity in sharing pictures, stories, names, dates, and facts with Clutch City Boxing as we work hard to give recognition and appreciation to our Houston Boxing Legends. Thank you for reading, commenting, and enjoying this journey with us and stay tuned for upcoming stories, bios, and Houston boxing history. I was able to speak at length with Reggie Johnson at his recent Reggie Johnson Amateur Tournament and we are both excited to collaborate soon on an article about his first boxing trainer and long time Houston boxing Coach, Official, and Legend, Mr. James Carter of The Salvation Army Boxing Club.