Titles: Lighweight champion from 1957-1962 Record: 104-42-13 with 2 no contests Born: May 18, 1926 in New Orleans, Louisiana (USA) Years active: 1946-1970 Nickname: Old Bones Thirty years old and a professional for 10 years, Joe Brown finally won the lightweight crown from Bud Smith but would hold on to it for six years. Brown was a great student of angles and learned his trade in the Army. After 10 years of fighting virtually all comers Brown was finally given the shot at the world title. After 15 one sided rounds Brown walked away as the new champion. Brown would beat Smith again in the rematch even though he broke his hand in the second round of that contest. Joe Brown was a curious fighter. He was tall and lanky and didn't look like he could hit, yet he had surprising power. He had a good defense and was a accurate puncher. His weaknesses were few but they were serious ones. He had a tendency to go down and had trouble with brawling hard punching fighters that refused to give him room to operate. After 11 successful defenses against quality fighters like Ralph Dupas, kenny Lane and Dave Charnley age finally caught up to Brown. In 1962 Carlos Ortiz beat him for the crown and his career went into a steady decline and he only won 20 of his next 45 fights. Brown fought for 25 years in all, made 12 title defenses and faced many excellent fighters before retiring at the age of 44.
1943 Sep 3 Leonard Ceasar New Orleans W 4 1946 Jan 13 Leonard Caesar New Orleans L 5 Jan 20 Johnny Monroe New Orleans W 6 Mar 22 Leonard Caesar New Orleans D 6 Mar 29 Leonard Caesar New Orleans W 8 Apr 5 Frankie Adams New Orleans W 6 Jun 28 Herbert Jones New Orleans W 8 Jul 26 Buster Tyler New Orleans L 10 Oct 18 Bob Weaterley New Orleans W 8 1947 Mar 7 Buster Tyler New Orleans D 10 Mar 28 Melvin Bartholomew New Orleans L 10 Apr 18 James Carter New Orleans W 10 May 2 Sandy Saddler New Orleans KO by 3 Jul 4 Melvin Bartholomew New Orleans W 10 Jul 23 Freddie Latson Norwalk, W 6 Aug 6 Danny Webb Montreal W 10 Sep 24 Dan Robinson Jersey City, NJ W 8 Oct 6 Ernie Butler Newark, NJ KO 5 Oct 21 Arthur King Toronto W 8 Nov 10 Arthur King Toronto L 8 Dec 15 Joey Bagnato Toronto KO 1 1948 Feb 28 Bobby McQuillan New Orleans D 10 May 7 Bobby McQuillan New Orleans L 10 Jul 25 Luther Burgess New Orleans D 10 Oct 1 Freddie Dawson New Orleans L 10 Oct 26 Frank Cockrell San Antonio KO 5 Nov 18 Arthur Persley New Orleans W 10 Dec 3 Johnny Bratton New Orleans KO by 4 1949 Mar 22 Booker Ellis St. Paul, MN W 6 Mar 28 Luther Rawlings Chicago W 10 Apr 25 Joe Sgro Chicago W 8 May 10 Hugh Sublett South Bend, IN W 8 May 23 John LaBroi Chicago D 8 May 27 Leroy Willis New Orleans W 10 Jun 6 Willie Russell Cincinnati W 10 Dec 5 Ike Jenkins Phiadelphia W 6 1950 Jan 20 Milton Scott Chicago KO 2 Feb 6 Danny Womber Chicago W 8 Feb 22 Dave Marshh Chicago W 4 Jun 16 John L. Davis Hollywood, CA L 10 Sep 22 Jack Hassen Melbourne KO 8 Oct 30 Charley Williams Sydney KO 1 Nov 27 Howell Steen Sydney NC 10 Dec 14 Bernie Hall Broken Hill, KO 11 1951 Feb 20 Tommy Campbell Los Angeles L 10 Mar 10 Baby Ortiz Ocean Park, CA KO 2 Apr 13 Teddy Davis New Orleans W 10 Apr 27 Lester Felton New Orleans W 10 May 11 Clarence "Honey" Johnson New Orleans W 10 May 25 Virgil Akins New Orleans W 10 Jul 6 Virgil Akins New Orleans W 10 Aug 31 Tommy Campbell New Orleans KO 1 Sep 28 Stonewalker Jackson New Orleans KO 5 Dec 6 Virgil Akins St. Louis L 10 1952 Feb 4 Walter Haines Miami D 6 Feb 15 Walter Haines Miami D 10 Mar 14 Walter Haines New Orleans W 10 Mar 28 Calvin Smith New Orleans KO 7 Jun 10 Jerry Turner Tampa, FL KO 5 Jul 11 Melvin Bartholomew New Orleans W 10 Jul 18 Marshall Clayton New Orleans KO 9 Aug 22 Jimmy Taylor New Orleans W 10 Oct 10 George Araujo New York KO by 7 Dec 10 Don Bowman Cleveland KO 1 1953 Jan 7 Joey Greenwood Cleveland W 8 Apr 22 Orlando Zulueta Baltimore D 10 Jun 9 Luther Rawlings Miami Beach D 10 Dec 29 Cliff Dykes Miami Beach KO 9 1954 Feb 8 Charlie Smith Providence LDQ 6 Mar 24 Isaac Logart Miami Beach W 10 Jun 20 Federico Plummer Colon, Panama KO 9 Jul 25 Wilfredo Brownn Colon, Panama KO 4 Aug 31 Nat Jackson New Orleans KO 4 Sep 28 Carl Coates New Orleans L 10 Dec 29 Antonio Armenteros Miami L 6 1955 Jan 18 Antonio Armenteros New Orleans KO 7 Jan 30 Tito Despaigne Colon, Panama KO 4 Mar 6 Bobby Rosado Colon, Panama W 10 Mar 20 Antonio Armenteros Colon, Panama W 10 Jun 16 Junius West Colon, Panama KO 3 Aug 1 Arthur Persley New Orleans L 12 Oct 31 Jimmy Hackney New Orleans W 10 Nov 8 Ray Rojas Houston KO 7 Dec 13 Ray Portilla Houston KO 5 1956 Feb 6 Arthur Persley New Orleans KO 9 May 2 Wallace "Bud" Smith Houston W 10 Jun 5 Eddie Brant Beaumont, TX KO 3 Aug 24 Wallace "Bud" Smith New Orleans W 15 (Wins World Lightweight Title) 1957 Feb 13 Wallace "Bud" Smith Miami KO 11 (Retains World Lightweight Title) Mar 12 Armond Savoie Houston W 10 Jun 19 Orlando Zulueta Denver KO 15 (Retains World Lightweight Title) Jul 30 Gilberto Holguin San Antonio W 10 Aug 21 Joey Lopes Chicago D 10 Nov 12 Kid Centella Houston W 10 Dec 4 Joey Lopes Chicago KO 11 (Retains World Lightweight Title) 1958 Jan 24 Ernie Williams Washington DC KO 5 Feb 26 Orlando Echevarria Havana KO 1 May 7 Ralph Dupas Houston KO 8 (Retains World Lightweight Title) Jul 23 Kenny Lane Houston W 15 (Retains World Lightweight Title) Nov 5 Johnny Busso Miami Beach L 10 1959 Feb 11 Johnny Busso Houston W 15 (Retains World Lightweight Title) Jun 3 Paolo Rosi Washington DC KO 9 (Retains World Lightweight Title) Aug 27 Santiago Ramirez Baton Rouge, LA KO 8 Sep 9 Gale Kerwin Columbus, OH KO 4 Sep 26 Joey Parks Albuquerque D 10 Dec 2 Dave Charnley Houston KO 6 (Retains World Lightweight Title) Dec 14 Joey Parks New Orleans W 10 1960 Mar 21 Ray Portila San Antonio KO by 6 Aug 25 Harlow Irwin Minneapolis KO 5 Oct 4 Battling Torres Houston KO 4 Oct 28 Cisco Andrade Los Angeles W 15 (Retains World Lightweight Title) Dec 7 Giordano Campari Milan, Italy L 10 1961 Mar 7 Joey Parks Houston W 10 Apr 18 Dave Charnley London W 15 (Retains World Lightweight Title) Oct 28 Bert Somodio Quezon City, Phil. W 15 (Retains World Lightweight Title) 1962 Apr 21 Carlos Ortiz Las Vegas L 15 (Loses World Lightweight Title) Aug 24 Luis Molina San Jose, CA L 10 1963 Jan 22 Tony Noriega Houston KO 6 Feb 25 Dave Charnley Manchester, Englannd KO by 6 Apr 20 Manuel Alvarez Monterrey, Mexico KO 8 May 21 Joey Lopes Sacramento, CA KO 8 Jun 22 Alfredo Urbina Monterrey, Mexico L 10 Aug 10 Nicolino Loche Buenos Aires L 10 Sep 14 Pedro Galasso Rio de Janeiro KO 5 Nov 11 Carlos Hernandez Maracaibo, Venezuela KO by 3 1964 Apr 2 Manuel Gonzalez Odessa, L 10 Apr 28 Paul Armstead Sacramento, CA L 10 May 5 Tony Perez San Jose, CA W 10 May 25 Paul Armstead San Francisco L 10 Jun 21 Esteban Santamaria Colon, Panama W 10 Aug 25 Ricardo Medrano Austin, TX LDQ 10 Sep 14 Hector "Chino" Diaz Omaha, NE KO 8 Oct 3 Percy Hayles Kingston, NY L 10 Nov 21 Levi Madi Johannesburg W 10 Dec 19 Jonas Maoto Johannesburg KO 6 1965 Feb 9 Levi Madi Cape Town, South Africa W 10 Feb 27 Joe Ngidi Asheshov, South Africa L 10 Mar 9 Vic Andreeti London, South Africa KO by 5 May 18 Joey Olguin Sacramento, CA L 10 Jun 29 Porfirio Zamora Corpus Christi, TX W 10 Aug 27 Antonio Mochila Herrera Cali, Colombia L 10 Oct 2 Mario Rossito Barranquilla, Colombia L 10 Nov 13 Frankie Narvaez San Juan L 10 1966 Mar 11 Bruno Arcari Rome L 10 Apr 15 Jarmo Bergloef Helsinki, Finland D 10 May 14 Josiah Nakedi Bloemfontein, S. Africa KO 9 Jun 4 Enoch Nhlapo Johannesburg W 10 Jun 25 Joe Ngidi Durban, South Africa L 10 Jul 30 Joe Ngidi Johannesburg L 10 Aug 30 Rodwell LeKay Marques, France W 10 1967 Jun 16 Porfirin Zamora Baton Rouge, LA KO 8 Jun 26 Joe Barrientes New Orleans W 10 Aug 1 Percy Pugh New Orleans L 10 Sep 11 Benito Juarez New Orleans W 10 Dec 23 Nat Jackson Pensacola, FL KO 5 1968 Apr 23 Vic Graffio Beaumont, TX KO 8 Jun 9 Chango Carmona Mexico City KO by 4 Sep 11 Ricardo Medrano Beaumont, TX L 10 Nov 6 Jose Garcia Beaumont, TX KO by 9 1969 Aug 12 Steve Freeman Beaumont, TX D 10 1970 Apr 24 Ramon Flores Tucson, AZ W 10