Philly Classic: Franklin vs. Johnson I

Matthew Franklin vs. Marvin Johnson

Date: July 26, 1977

Site: The Spectrum, Philadelphia

At stake: NABF Light Heavyweight Title


Background:
Right around the same time that the fictional Rocky Balboa character was lighting up the movie screens with its depiction of a down-and-out prize fighter from Philadelphia turning his fortune around in the ring, a real life "Rocky" was doing similar things in real life.

Born Maxwell Antonio Loach in Philadelphia, after the death of his mother he was abandoned on the streets at age 5, before finding himself in the city's fostercare program. Because of a speech disorder, he couldn't pronounce his name. He was given the name "Matthew" because that was what it sounded like when he was trying to say "Maxwell" and the last name "Franklin" because he was found underneath the bypass to the Ben Franklin Parkway.

Franklin fell into life in street gangs, and at age 17, he found himself in prison. There, he started boxing, and after being released he found a boxing gym, and dedicated himself to the sport. He turned professional on Jan. 14, 1974, in the Philadelphia Spectrum with a second-round knockout of Billy Early. He won his first seven fights, before dropping a six-round decision in December to Wayne McGee. He then went 6-0-1 before losing a 10-round split decision to Marvin Camel in October 1976. By the time he signed to fight Marvin Johnson in the Spectrum in July 1977 for the vacant NABF light heavweight title, Franklin carried a 15-3-2 record.

As for his opponent, Johnson came from a poor background himself in Indianapolis, Indiana, and concluded a stellar amateur career with a bronze medal performance in the 1972 Munich Olympics. He later turned pro on May 22, 1973 with a second-round KO of Sylvester Wilder in Indianapolis. Johnson won his first 15 fights to set up his shot against Franklin, including three wins on Spectrum cards in Philly.

The Fight:
Franklin's body work won the first round, but for the most part the first eight rounds of the fight were dominated by Johnson, who seemingly couldn't miss with his powerful left upper-cut. The third round was non-stop action, with Johnson badly hurting Franklin early, before Franklin rallying to stagger Johnson later in the round. By the sixth and seventh rounds, it appeared that Franklin was slowing and that Johnson was in complete control.

That changed in the ninth as Johnson tired and was hurt late in the round by a big right-hand, and it seemed to alter the court of the fight. Late in the 11th, Franklin staggered Johnson with a combination and Johnson seemed out on his feet. The battering countinued in the 12th, and finally Franklin knocked down Johnson, and referee Ozzy Sadler counted Johnson out at 1:08, giving Franklin the come-from-behind victory and the regional title.

Reflections:
Watching the recording of the fight, the one thing that stood out to me more than anything else was the crowd. Philadelphia fans in 1977 were to their local fighters what Manchester, England fans are to Ricky Hatten 30 years later. As Franklin retook the momentum in the fight, the crowd seemed to carry him home.

In those days, now Hall of Fame promoter J. Russell Peltz hosted shows at the Spectrum every month. Often his shows featured middleweights like Bobby Watts, Willie Monroe, Bennie Briscoe, and a talented southpaw from Boston that none of the big names in the division wanted to fight named Marvin Hagler. But it was a good time for light heavyweight as well, as Franklin was from Philly, and across the bridge in New Jersey was the "Camden Buzzsaw" Dwight Braxton and a Brooklynite Eddie Gregory. Franklin was a great story and he made for great fights with his all-action style, complemented with great right-handed power and underrated boxing skills.

The Aftermath:

Franklin won six straight fights over the two years that followed his win over Johnson, including four NABF defenses, and five fights in the Spectrum. His 11th round TKO of veteran Yaqui Lopez in October 1978 earned him a shot at the WBC light heavyweight championship.

Johnson went 6-1 after the Franklin fight, the loss coming via a eight-round decision to Lotte Mwala in Yugoslavia. He rebounded with a 10-round decision over Jerry Celestine in New Orleans three months later, which earned him a shot at WBC light heavyweight champion Mate Parlov in Italy. Johnson stopped Parlov in 10 to earn his first world championship.

In Johnson's first defense, he again met Matthew Franklin, this time in Indianapolis, and another all-out slugfest incurred. Again, it was Franklin who emerged with the win, an eight-round TKO that was the pinnacle of a dream that began for the abandoned orphan from the streets of Philadelphia in prison.

Shortly after, Franklin changed his named legally to Matthew Saad Muhammad, and proceeded to successfully defend his world championship eight times, before losing it to Dwight Muhammad Qawi (formerly Braxton) in Atlantic City in December 1981 via a 10th-round TKO stoppage.

The loss not only ended Saad Muhammad's title reign, it sent his career into a downward spiral that he never would recover from. Over the following 11 years, Saad Muhammad went 8-13-1, ending his career with a three-round TKO loss to Jason Waller in March 1992.

Six years later, Saad Muhammad was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York, cementing his place as not only one of the greatest light heavyweights of a great light heavyweight era, but one of the great Philadelphia fighters of all time.

As for Marvin Johnson, two fights and 11 months after losing his title to Franklin, he won the WBA version of the light heavyweight championship with an 11th-round KO of Victor Galindez. Again, he didn't make a successful defense of his title, losing his belt to Eddie Mustafa Muhammad (formerly Gregory) four months later via an 11th-round TKO.

Four fights later, Johnson's run appeared over as he was knocked out by Michael Spinks. But from 1982-86, Johnson won 14 straight to earn another title shot, and for the third time he became a world champion, stopping Leslie Stewart on cuts in front of Johnson's hometown fans in Indianapolis. This time, he successfully defended the belt once, before losing it back to Stewart, May 23, 1987 on the island of Trinidad and Tobago. That would be his last fight, finishing a highly successful career with a 43-6 (35 KOs) record. He was the first three-time light heavyweight champion in the division's history.