TRAVEL is often a rite of passage. Young people come of age via the wonders of the world. Heartbroken souls find an antidote to their angst thousands of miles away. People talk of โfinding themselvesโ while exploring the exotic.
Before he became the longest-reigning cruiserweight champion of all time, Johnny Nelson did all this. In his 20s, he punched his ticket โ and a disparate series of opponents โ in an eight-fight tour that spanned 40 months and five continents.
He says it was the making of him. Travel challenged him, and changed him, and gave him answers โ such as why you should always wear two groin protectors, why getting robbed can save you from getting shotโฆ and why a security guard might masturbate a dog on the streets of Bangkok.
THE EXODUS
On an awful night in January 1990 a terrified Nelson had fled and flicked around the ring in a WBC cruiserweight challenge against Carlos De Leon. It is still regarded as one of the most soporific world title fights ever seen. Fans sent Nelson white feathers in the post; strangers laughed in his face.
Somehow, Nelson worked his way back into contention, but when he fought IBF titlist James Warring 28 months later in Virginia, much the same thing happened. Again, Nelson fought scared. Again, he spoiled and survived. And again, he had featured in an utterly stultifying contest.
โIโd become a leper on these shores,โ says Nelson of the post-Warring days. โ[Trainer] Brendan [Ingle] knew I had ability but I was low in confidence and heโd exhausted every avenue.
โBrendan pushed me to do it [fight overseas]. I had to either want it or walk away.โ
Nelson didnโt walk away. Instead, he got on a plane โ over and over again.
FRANCE
Date: August 14, 1992
Location: Ajaccio
Opponent: Norbert Ekassi
Result: l RSF 3
Three months on from the Warring embarrassment, Nelson alighted on Corsica. Ekassi had built momentum with an eight-win streak and Nelson brought name value but was verging on journeyman status.
โThat period in my life, Iโd fallen out of love with boxing,โ he says. โMy confidence was so low and Iโd completely lost interest. The fight came along; it was a payday, but I knew nothing about him.โ
Still, the match turned out to be uncommonly exciting, by Nelsonโs standards of the time. Both men hit the deck, with Ekassi down in round two before rallying to finish a rapidly tiring Nelson in the next session โ the only stoppage defeat in Nelsonโs 59-fight career.
โHe was rugged but nothing special,โ says Nelson of his French-Cameroonian opponent. โWhen I knocked him down, I saw him fall and it was like heโd been switched off. But I walked to the neutral corner and when I looked back, he was up and stood there like the Tasmanian Devil!
โI only had two or three good rounds in me. I couldnโt complain about the stoppage. In hindsight, Iโm glad. He could bang. Punchers like that can change a career.โ
SOUTH AFRICA
Date: October 24, 1992
Location: Mabopane
Opponent: Corrie Sanders
Result: l ud 10
Ekassi had not physically forced a career change on Nelson, but the 25-year-old was already preparing for life after boxing.
โI wanted a second career, as boxing wasnโt working out,โ he says. โI enrolled in uni [in his hometown of Sheffield], studying recreation management. But then the South African job came along and I never went back. What an idiot โ I chose boxing over university!โ
That โSouth African jobโ was a daunting assignment against future WBO heavyweight champion Corrie Sanders, and even though it ended in a one-sided defeat, Nelson was encouraged by going the distance with a noted puncher who outweighed him by 32lbs.
โThe driver who took me from the airport to the hotel, he said โyouโre smallโ and did the sign of the cross in front of me,โ he says. โI got to the weigh-in, same thing. People were laughing at me and doing the sign of the cross. Iโd still not seen Corrie. I didnโt know he was white, or a southpaw. I weighed in [at 13st 13.5lbs], then the door opened, this guy came out and I thought โS**t! Heโs massive!
โIt came to the fight and I thought โletโs just get on with itโ. Iโve always said a good cruiserweight can beat 95 per cent of heavyweights, but he had really fast hands and could really punch.
โI went the distance and thought to myself โyou did well there; he should have got rid of youโ.
โI just had to frustrate him. One time I spun him around and kissed him on the forehead. The blacks in the crowd were laughing.โ
While there was no racial complexion to his fight with Sanders, apartheid still existed in South Africa at the time, as Nelson saw for himself. โOur gymโs doctorโs sister lived there, so we went to see her. We drove to this gated community. She had two Alsatians and they came running out and pinned me against the wall. She said the servants went home at 4pm and the dogs were trained to attack black people after that time.
โBut it was all about money. There were rich blacks, too. If you had money, you got on there. I saw one black guy in a limo and he locked his doors when he saw me walking near his car.โ
AUSTRALIA
Date: April 30, 1993
Location: Melbourne
Opponent: Dave Russell
Result: w rtd 11 (won WBF cruiserweight title)
Even walking around in apartheid-era South Africa was not as fraught as taking on a local hero in front of a violently partisan crowd in Australia. โAs I walked to the ring, the fans were shouting every abusive name you can imagine, kicking me, throwing stuff. John [Ingle, Brendanโs son and Nelsonโs cornerman that night] said โif you win, theyโll really kick offโ, but I thought โIโm not going to lose!โ
โI knew if it went the distance they [the judges] wouldnโt give me anything, and if the ref stopped the fight theyโd be mad, so I wanted to make him quit. Thatโs exactly what happened. Round 11, he didnโt come outโฆ and thatโs when the fun really started.
โFans were throwing water over me, one hit me with a belt. There was a mob outside the venue. The cops said โyouโre gonna have to wait a bitโ, but two to three hours later they were still there. So John and me ran into a police car. The fans actually chased after the police car, with its sirens on and everything! We got back to the hotel and the police advised us not to leave it.
โOther people had told me Australia was great, but I wasnโt a fan, but probably because of where I was. The people were stuck in time, like it was the โ70s.โ
Still, Nelson survived, and had the WBF cruiserweight title to take home. โThe WBF was a big deal over there,โ he says. โIt was like the WBO in its early days here.
โHaving that title, I didnโt believe it made me world champion, but it was a good chance to make some dough. I was grateful for that.โ
BELGIUM
Date: October 1, 1993
Location: Waregem
Opponent: Franco Wanyama
Result: l dq 10 (lost WBF cruiserweight title)
Nelsonโs reign lasted little over five months, and ended on a sour note. โI couldnโt tell you much about Belgium; it was just in and out,โ he says, โbut it was still an experience because it showed me the problems in our sport; the kind of skulduggery than can turn you off boxing.โ
The record shows a disqualification defeat for Nelson, but he insists he was merely giving back what heโd got. โYou take it once or twice, thatโs OK,โ he says, โbut when they keep doing it, they know exactly what theyโre doing. He hit me low, he rubbed my eye, he was blatant. So, I started doing it back. Then I got DQโd.โ
Ugandaโs Wanyama landed low blows, rabbit punches and headbutts, and Nelson was guilty of repeatedly holding. He was warned several times and had a point deducted, but even so was ahead on all three cards when he was slung out for a shoulder barge.
โChris Eubank once told me to always wear two groin protectors,โ says Nelson. โAfter that fight, I always did.โ
NEW ZEALAND
Date: November 19, 1993
Location: Auckland
Opponent: Jimmy Thunder
Result: w ud 12 (won WBF heavyweight title)
Nelson would become champion again just seven weeks later, though heโd have to travel back up to heavyweight and to the other side of the world to do so. But this latest Antipodean adventure was an altogether more pleasant experience.
โI felt really comfortable in New Zealand,โ says Nelson. โAfter the fight I was asked to go and train their national [amateur boxing] squad. My wife and I were talking about it but eventually she decided she couldnโt do it. Sheโd struggled moving from Huddersfield to Sheffield!โ
That positive impression was aided by lifting another WBF belt after beating a well-regarded and famously powerful heavyweight who outweighed Nelson by almost 23lbs. โJimmy was a big, big star,โ he says. โHe was like [Frank] Bruno was over here; his face up on billboards.
โBefore the fight, we didnโt use the gym they provided because we knew theyโd be watching us. A security guard at the hotel said he had a ring in his garage and could get some guys to spar me. Four massive guys turned up, muscle on muscle; they all looked like The Rock.
โWhen it came to the fight and Jimmy got in the ring, John [Ingle] said โf**king hell, heโs big! Whatever you do, just run, donโt let him hit you! โBut it was so easy. I couldnโt miss him. I mugged him so bad they didnโt even try to rob me. After that, he had to leave the country because people were taking the p**s that much.โ
Sound familiar?
THAILAND
Date: November 5, 1994
Location: Chiang Rai
Opponent: Nikolay Kulpin
Result: w ud 12 (retained WBF heavyweight title)
Why on earth was a bloke from Sheffield fighting a Kazakh in Thailand? โ[International matchmaker] Ernie Fossey was a friend of Brendanโs and he had contacts all over the world. He arranged it,โ says Nelson. โI donโt know why they [the Thai promoters] wanted me, but they treated me like a king.
โIโd never seen Kulpin but the Thais told me โHe big guy! He kill you! You dead!โ He looked the part โ he was a big unit, but he was too slow; easy pickings.โ
Nelson retained his WBF belt with a unanimous decision, but the fight was just one highlight of a trip that left him โgobsmackedโ.
โThe venue was a football stadium and it was packed out โ 33,000 people,โ he says. โEverybody came out. I was carried in [on a palanquin, or โroyal sedanโ, traditionally used in aristocratic ceremonies]. People were throwing flowers over me. There was a helicopter filming me on my way to the stadium. If I hadnโt been there myself, I wouldnโt have believed it.โ
Even more unbelievable was what preceded this.
โWe had a few days in Bangkok first,โ says Nelson. โThey took us to a restaurant and handed me a menu. It was full of pictures of women next to the food. I thought they were waitresses but no, I was supposed to choose one of them! I said no and the guy said, โOK, you want ladyboy?โ I said, โNo, Iโm good!โ He couldnโt understand why I wasnโt interested in that part of the hospitality.
โThere were sex shows in the bars. It was a proper eye-opener. Youโd be in the street and see all these hookers, and theyโre all guys! Iโm open-minded, but f**k meโฆ the stuff I saw. I was totally gobsmacked. There was a security guard outside a shop masturbating a dog! I said, โlook what heโs doing!โ and the guide just said โthatโs how you get loyalty out of your petโ.โ
BRAZIL
Date: August 22 & December 3, 1995
Location: Sao Paolo
Opponent: Adilson Rodrigues
Result: l sd 12, l ud 12 (lost and then failed to regain WBF heavyweight title)
โI was really looking forward to that one; Iโd always wanted to go to Brazil,โ Nelson says. But he claims he was robbed โ twice โ in the ring, and then risked having his fight purse stolen by the police.
โAgain, Maguila [Rodriguesโ nickname] was another big unit but nothing special. He was walking on to shots, tripping over his own feet. He didnโt win a round but they gave it to him.โ
Nelson lost a split decision, with one judge scoring 11 rounds even, which perhaps says it all. โIt was that bad, even they [the Brazilians] wanted us to box again,โ says Nelson, and thatโs exactly what they did three-and-a-half months later.
โI took the rematch because I thought they wouldnโt do it [rob me] again, but lo and behold, exactly the same thing happened. I was so p**sed off.โ
But Nelsonโs nightmare was far from over. โWe were driving back to the hotel, six of us crammed into a Fiat Uno, so the cops pulled us over. Iโd had enough by now and said I wasnโt getting out. Everyone else got out but I said โNo, stuff โem.โ Then John [Ingle] started shouting โJohnny, get out!โ. I looked and saw the police pointing their guns at me through the window.
โOK, so I got out, hands up, got spreadeagled on the car, but now Iโm really sweating because Iโve got my whole fight purse [about ยฃ30k] tucked in my waist. I was paid cash. I knew if they find the money, theyโre taking it.
โThe driver started talking to them in their language and I kept hearing โMaguila, Maguilaโ. Then they found out Iโd boxed him and the driver told them Iโd lost. They all started laughing at me, and they let me go.
โWeโd got away with that one, but the driver was still excited, kept talking to me and turning around looking at me while he drove, then wham! Straight into the back of a carโฆโ
A CHANGED MAN
Eight fights, including five losses, and playing pass-the-parcel with a minor title as he flitted between Brazilian bull rings, Mediterranean islands and apartheid-era Africa, dealing with dodgy cops and dodgier judges, and either getting rounded on by dogs or watching them get pleasured, itโs an understatement when Nelson says he โlearned a hell of a lotโ during that chapter.
It was an unorthodox education, for sure, but one that paid off. Nelson may have forfeited university for the privilege of getting punched by Corrie Sanders, but three years later he โgraduatedโ all the same โ resurfacing in Britain as a changed man, and as a boxer who would never lose again, winning British, European and WBO titles before retiring in 2005, having made 13 defences of his world belt.
โLooking back, it was the making of me,โ says Nelson, now 54 and a Sky Sports pundit. โYou couldnโt buy those experiences. Those were the best days of my life โ even though I hated them at the time.โ