Have Harry Wills and John Lester Johnson ever fought each other?

Yes. Harry Wills and John Lester Johnson have met 3 times and Harry Wills leads the series 3-0.

Who has the better record, Wills or Johnson?

Harry Wills is 89-10-7 and John Lester Johnson is 39-29-6. Harry Wills has the higher win percentage.

Who has more knockouts, Wills or Johnson?

Harry Wills has 56 knockout wins and John Lester Johnson has 23. Harry Wills has more.

Do Wills and Johnson have any common opponents?

Harry Wills and John Lester Johnson share 3 common opponents: Kid Norfolk, Sam Langford and Joe Jeanette. Harry Wills fared better against 2 of them.

How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Wills and Johnson?

This comparison is drawn from 110 bouts tracked for Harry Wills and 12 bouts tracked for John Lester Johnson. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Harry Wills vs John Lester Johnson — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

🇺🇸HEAVYWEIGHT

Harry Wills (89-10-7) and John Lester Johnson (39-29-6) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met 3 times. They share 3 common opponents.

Wills

Wins56 KO · 63%

Losses

Draws110 tracked bouts

Johnson

Wins23 KO · 59%

Losses

Draws12 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Wills leads 3–0

Harry Wills and John Lester Johnson have met 3 times; Wills leads 3–0.
Met	1915Mar 12	1916Apr 7	1919Jun 10	Series
Harry WillsFighter A	WWon	WWon	WWon	3–0W–L
John Lester JohnsonFighter B	LLost	LLost	LLost	0–3W–L
Result	PTSWills vs Johnson	NWSWills vs Johnson	NWSWills vs Johnson	3Meetings

The Numbers

Wills 6 · Johnson 1 of 7 measurable rows

WillsEdge = longer wingJohnson

Record: 89-10-7 (edge)39-29-6
Win %0–100%: 87.3% (edge)
56.8%
Wins by knockoutmax 56: 56 (edge)
23
KO rate0–100%: 62.92% (edge)
58.97%
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^†0–100%: 63% (edge)
0%
Times stopped^†max 5: 5
2 (edge)
Title reignslevelmax 0: 0
0
Bouts per year^‡max 5: 5 (edge)
1.4
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 110: 110
12

† Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · ‡ Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

Heightnot held: Harry Wills: No height on file; John Lester Johnson: 6′0″
Reachnot held: Harry Wills: 84″; John Lester Johnson: No reach on file
Agenot comparable: Harry Wills: Died aged 69; John Lester Johnson: Died aged 74
Stance: Harry Wills: Orthodox; John Lester Johnson: Not recorded

Harry Wills left, John Lester Johnson right, as everywhere on this page. Age is stated, not scored — neither age nor stance carries an edge.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only

Harry Wills90 wins · from 110 tracked bouts

57 by KO/TKO 63%14 on the cards 16%19 by another method or unrecorded 21%

John Lester Johnson1 win · from 12 tracked bouts

1 by another method or unrecorded 100%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Harry Wills 110, John Lester Johnson 12 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

3 shared

3 shared · Wills better on 2 · Johnson better on 13 shared · Harry Wills better on 2 · John Lester Johnson better on 1

WillsHarry Wills

Opponent

JohnsonJohn Lester Johnson

Harry Wills
Win, KO 2
1922Mar 1922
NorfolkKid NorfolkUnited States 115–28–8 · Light HeavyweightWills betterHarry Wills better — 1–0 to 1–4
John Lester Johnson
1–4 against
Loss, NWS
1922Jun 1922
Loss, NWS
1921Feb 1921
Loss, KO 1
1920Jun 1920
Win, DQ 3
1920Jun 1920
Loss, PTS
1919Oct 1919
Harry Wills
13–2–2 against
Win, PTS
1922Jan 1922
Win, PTS
1920Apr 1920
Win, PTS
1919Nov 1919
Win, NWS
1919Sep 1919
Win, NWS
1919Jul 1919
Win, TKO 8
1918May 1918
Win, KO 6
1918Apr 1918
Draw, NWS
1917Nov 1917
Win, NWS
1917Sep 1917
Win, NWS
1917May 1917
Win, NWS
1916Apr 1916
Win, NWS
1916Mar 1916
Loss, KO 19
1916Feb 1916
Win, PTS
1916Jan 1916
Win, NWS
1915Dec 1915
Loss, KO 14
1914Nov 1914
Draw, NWS
1914May 1914
LangfordSam LangfordCanada 210–43–53Johnson betterJohn Lester Johnson better — 0–1 to 13–2–2
John Lester Johnson
Loss, KO 1
1913Sep 1913
Harry Wills
1–0–2 against
Win, NWS
1919Oct 1919
Draw, NWS
1914Jun 1914
Draw, PTS
1913Jul 1913
JeanetteJoe JeanetteUnited States 120–24–21 · HeavyweightWills betterHarry Wills better — 1–0–2 to 0–2
John Lester Johnson
0–2 against
Loss, NWS
1915Jan 1915
Loss, NWS
1913Jul 1913

Both sides are set at the same size on purpose. Kill The Body does not score a second-round knockout above a split decision — the edge counts losses first and wins as the tiebreak, and the rest is yours to argue. Shared opponents are matched on fighter identity, not on name, so two different fighters with the same name never merge into one row.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Harry Wills has won four straight since losing to Andres Castano. Wills last boxed on Oct 19, 1932.LWWWW

Castano Sep 1929Castano Dec 1929Rose Feb 1931Jakasa Aug 1932Glover Oct 19325 tracked bouts per year

John Lester Johnson has lost three straight, after one straight win. Johnson last boxed on Jun 2, 1922.LWLLL

Norfolk Oct 1919Norfolk Jun 1920Norfolk Jun 1920Norfolk Feb 1921Norfolk Jun 19221.4 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them

Have Harry Wills and John Lester Johnson ever fought each other?: Yes. Harry Wills and John Lester Johnson have met 3 times and Harry Wills leads the series 3-0.
Who has the better record, Wills or Johnson?: Harry Wills is 89-10-7 and John Lester Johnson is 39-29-6. Harry Wills has the higher win percentage.
Who has more knockouts, Wills or Johnson?: Harry Wills has 56 knockout wins and John Lester Johnson has 23. Harry Wills has more.
Do Wills and Johnson have any common opponents?: Harry Wills and John Lester Johnson share 3 common opponents: Kid Norfolk, Sam Langford and Joe Jeanette. Harry Wills fared better against 2 of them.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Wills and Johnson?: This comparison is drawn from 110 bouts tracked for Harry Wills and 12 bouts tracked for John Lester Johnson. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Compare someone else

6 suggested matchups

Compare Wills with…

Compare Johnson with…

Someone else?

Release either fighter to put someone new in that slot — the other one stays put.

Harry Wills vs John Lester Johnson — record, stats and common opponents compared

Harry Wills

John Lester Johnson