He was known for his exceptional boxing skill, using an educated left-hand, as well a slippery defence that made him difficult to hit,[3][4] while leaving his features largely unmarked throughout his thirteen-year career.

[24] He was a co-founder of the New International Club in Manchester, which provided a vehicle for black political and social self-organisation in the city and campaigning against racism at home and abroad,[25] including organising a concert and a rally featuring his hero Paul Robeson[24] in support of the Trenton Six, which were both attended by 10,000 people.

[26] He was instrumental in influencing the dissolving the British colour bar in 1947, wherein Dick Turpin became Britain's first Black boxing champion in 1948; the decolonisation of Africa taking place in the 1950s to 1970s, with Ghana becoming the first sub-Saharan African country to gain its independence from European powers, led by Kwame Nkrumah, a delegate alongside Johnson at the 5th Pan-African Congress; and the implementation of the Race Relations Act 1965, making racial discrimination in public places unlawful.

[29] He was born to an English mother of Irish descent and a Sierra Leone Creole father, making him mixed-race;[30] and had two brothers, Albert and William, who were professional boxers, and one sister, Doris.

[32] Johnson described his mother as "Irish and proud of it",[31] and spoke of her vicious treatment, such as her being facially disfigured after a brutal racist street attack in which she was targeted for being the wife of a black man.

[32] Johnson's father, William, served with the British Army during the First World War,[33] and worked for Elder Dempster Lines;[34] he was a merchant seaman, boxer, and mechanical engineer from Sierra Leone, who had settled in Manchester after marrying Margaret.

[39] However, the outbreak of World War I soon brought the family back to Manchester, which would eventually lead to a young Johnson leaving school to begin to work as a foundryman at Crossley.

[20] Despite the ethnic and racial diversity that could be found in Manchester during the early 1900s, the family experienced much hostility and violence,[32] with Johnson recalling being called ‘nigger lips’ and ‘Sambo’ at secondary school.

[83] He then had six more fights in the space of one month, defeating Jimmy McDonald (1-3-0),[84] Charlie Woodman (1-12-0),[85] Lonz Webster (4-8-1),[86] Joe Bloomfield (26-6-4),[87] Bert Brown (0-1-1),[88] and former BUI Irish welterweight champion Pat McAllister (68-57-32) by 30 March.

[95] On 26 June 1924, Johnson met Herman van 't Hof for the second time over fifteen rounds at 160 pounds at Premierland, Whitechapel,[96] wherein he lost controversially via a points decision awarded by referee Moss Deyong.

[100] On 19 August, he followed the draw with a questionable points-decision loss against European welterweight champion Piet Hobin in Rubenspaleis, Belgium, and a lost decision to Frank Fowler at the Festival Concert Rooms on 29 September.

[107][108] After the disqualification loss, in January 1925, Johnson recovered with a fifth-round knockout of Ernie Millson, who was deputised over Marine Bill Trinder,[109][110] and a points-decision over former Australian middleweight champion Charlie Ring in the following month.

[125] He then had four more fights in the space of two months, defeating via second-round knockout, Albert Rogers (21-3-0),[126] followed by Ernest Tyncke (33-14-5),[127] and avenging his loss to the light-heavyweight champion of Holland, Herman van 't Hof (42-6-2).

[153][155] A year prior, on 23 February 1924, The Sportsman reported that Johnson and former middleweight world champion Ted "Kid" Lewis were originally scheduled to meet at the Belle Vue Gardens in Manchester on 3 March.

[192] On 9 February, the National Sporting Club were described as being aghast at the suggestion and pointed out that although Johnson had beaten the current middleweight Lonsdale belt-holder, he cannot become English champion on account of his colour, as only full-blooded whites can hold the boxing titles in conservative England.

[208] On 24 March 1926, in protest against the National Sporting Club and other authorities in Britain, McIntosh confirmed to have had belts manufactured for the British Empire Championship battles decided in any state of the Commonwealth.

[221] On 27 March 1926, former Australia middleweight champion, Alf Stewart outpointed Ted Monson at West Melbourne Stadium in an eliminator to secure the position to face Johnson in his first British Empire title defence.

[257][258] He fought and outpointed George West on 10 September,[259] however, as the decision was not universally approved, the pair were brought back in November, to a crowd of 6,000 in Manchester, to which Johnson won by a wider margin.

[368] Johnson went the full fifteen rounds at Fenton Street Drill Hall, Leeds, defeating Crossley via a points decision whilst winning the inaugural Northern Area light-heavyweight title.

[374] After defeating Moret, Johnson vacated the Northern Area light-heavyweight title, which was later contested by Harry Crossley and Frank Fowler on 29 June at National Sporting Club in Leeds.

The boys meet again on Monday next, and if Etienne's party think that the Belgian can confirm what the referee thought: I have £100 ready to place on the table to say he can't [...]"[446] The rematch was set for two-weeks later on 21 April, for £50 a-side.

[462][463] It was remarked that members of the British Boxing Board of Control consulted with prominent individuals at the Home Office, and the natural inference being that the authorities are no longer antagonistic to black and white title fights.

[542] On 3 July, it was announced that the scheduled fight with Del Fontaine, the light-heavyweight champion of Canada, at Loftus Road was cancelled by doctors in attendance, who pronounced Johnson unfit, as he was suffering from a cataract in his left eye.

[578][579][580] He sold his booth when World War II began and worked in the Civil Defence Rescue Squad in Manchester, where he entered air raid damaged buildings to retrieve the injured or dead.

[594] On 15 October 1945, and an additional five days, Johnson was one of the eighty-seven to ninety delegates who attended the 5th Pan-African Congress in Manchester, that represented fifty organizations, with a total of 200 audience members present.

[608] Johnson had hoped to get 10,000 signatures, whilst noting that time was short: "This week Governor of Mississippi, Fielding L. Wright, will announce the final decision on the fate of these children, and unless sanity prevails they will meet their death on January 17.

[609] They were thus able to continue to hold conferences, publicise international campaigns, and defend workers of colour in marine, mining, and transport sectors, all while arguing that these activates were part of wider struggles against imperialism.

[620][621] In 1954, health problems resulted in him spending several months convalescing at a Black Sea resort in the Soviet Union for a pneumonectomy,[566][23] and later returned to England to resume his political activities in the Communist Party, though lived for years in relative anonymity and growing poverty.

"[624] On 20 October 2020, the topics of a permanent memorial and Johnson's difficulties with the National Sporting Club and the British Boxing Board of Control were mentioned by Welsh Labour Party politicians Gerald Jones and Nick Smith, respectively, at the Palace of Westminster.

[646][647] In 1987, a musical based on the life and work of the Johnson, Struggle for Freedom, was the final part of the performance by young people from Rochdale schools, which was produced by Frontline Culture and Education and directed by British playwright Dan Baron Cohen.