Have John Lester Johnson and Sam Langford ever fought each other?

Yes. John Lester Johnson and Sam Langford met once on September 9, 1913, and Sam Langford won by KO in round 1.

Who has the better record, Johnson or Langford?

John Lester Johnson is 39-29-6 and Sam Langford is 210-43-53. Sam Langford has the higher win percentage.

Who has more knockouts, Johnson or Langford?

John Lester Johnson has 23 knockout wins and Sam Langford has 126. Sam Langford has more.

Do Johnson and Langford have any common opponents?

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

Who is bigger, Johnson or Langford?

John Lester Johnson is the taller fighter at 182 cm, 13 cm above the other.

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

This comparison is drawn from 12 bouts tracked for John Lester Johnson and 312 bouts tracked for Sam Langford. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

John Lester Johnson vs Sam Langford — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

🇺🇸UNITED STATES

John Lester Johnson (39-29-6) and Sam Langford (210-43-53) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met once. They share 3 common opponents.

Johnson

Wins23 KO · 59%

Losses

Draws12 tracked bouts

Langford

210

Wins126 KO · 60%

Losses

Draws312 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Langford leads 1–0

John Lester Johnson and Sam Langford have met 1 time; Langford leads 1–0.
Met	1913Sep 9	Series
John Lester JohnsonFighter A	LLost	0–1W–L
Sam LangfordFighter B	WWon	1–0W–L
Result	KOR1Langford vs Johnson	1Meeting

Langford vs Johnson · Sep 9, 1913

The Numbers

Johnson 1 · Langford 6 of 7 measurable rows

JohnsonEdge = longer wingLangford

Record: 39-29-6210-43-53 (edge)
Win %0–100%: 56.8%
77.3% (edge)
Wins by knockoutmax 126: 23
126 (edge)
KO rate0–100%: 58.97%
60% (edge)
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^†0–100%: 0%
60% (edge)
Times stopped^†max 9: 2 (edge)
9
Title reignslevelmax 0: 0
0
Bouts per year^‡max 12.8: 1.4
12.8 (edge)
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 312: 12
312

† 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

Height+5″: John Lester Johnson: 6′0″ (edge); Sam Langford: 5′7″
Reachnot held: John Lester Johnson: No reach on file; Sam Langford: 74″
Agenot comparable: John Lester Johnson: Died aged 74; Sam Langford: Died aged 72
Stance: John Lester Johnson: Not recorded; Sam Langford: Orthodox

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

How They Win

Tracked bouts only

John Lester Johnson1 win · from 12 tracked bouts

1 by another method or unrecorded 100%

Sam Langford211 wins · from 312 tracked bouts

126 by KO/TKO 60%49 on the cards 23%36 by another method or unrecorded 17%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — John Lester Johnson 12, Sam Langford 312 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

3 shared

3 shared · Johnson better on 2 · Langford better on 13 shared · John Lester Johnson better on 2 · Sam Langford better on 1

JohnsonJohn Lester Johnson

Opponent

LangfordSam Langford

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
NorfolkKid NorfolkUnited States 115–28–8 · Light HeavyweightLangford betterSam Langford better — 1–0 to 1–4
Sam Langford
Win, KO 2
1917Dec 1917
John Lester Johnson
0–3 against
Loss, NWS
1919Jun 1919
Loss, NWS
1916Apr 1916
Loss, PTS
1915Mar 1915
WillsHarry WillsUnited States 89–10–7 · HeavyweightJohnson betterJohn Lester Johnson better — 0–3 to 2–13–2
Sam Langford
2–13–2 against
Loss, PTS
1922Jan 1922
Loss, PTS
1920Apr 1920
Loss, PTS
1919Nov 1919
Loss, NWS
1919Sep 1919
Loss, NWS
1919Jul 1919
Loss, TKO 8
1918May 1918
Loss, KO 6
1918Apr 1918
Draw, NWS
1917Nov 1917
Loss, NWS
1917Sep 1917
Loss, NWS
1917May 1917
Loss, NWS
1916Apr 1916
Loss, NWS
1916Mar 1916
Win, KO 19
1916Feb 1916
Loss, PTS
1916Jan 1916
Loss, NWS
1915Dec 1915
Win, KO 14
1914Nov 1914
Draw, NWS
1914May 1914
John Lester Johnson
0–2 against
Loss, NWS
1915Jan 1915
Loss, NWS
1913Jul 1913
JeanetteJoe JeanetteUnited States 120–24–21 · HeavyweightJohnson betterJohn Lester Johnson better — 0–2 to 8–3–3
Sam Langford
8–3–3 against
Win, NWS
1917Sep 1917
Win, KO 7
1916May 1916
Loss, PTS
1915Apr 1915
Draw, NWS
1914Oct 1914
Win, PTS
1913Dec 1913
Loss, NWS
1913Oct 1913
Win, NWS
1911Sep 1911
Win, PTS
1911Jan 1911
Win, PTS
1910Sep 1910
Win, NWS
1908Sep 1908
Draw, PTS
1908Mar 1908
Draw, PTS
1907Jan 1907
Win, PTS
1906Apr 1906
Loss, TKO 8
1905Dec 1905

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

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

Sam Langford had won one in a row before losing by stoppage to Brad Simmons. Langford last boxed on Aug 2, 1926.DWLWL

Sullivan Mar 1925Gonzales Apr 1925Gahee Sep 1925Johnson Jul 1926Simmons Aug 192612.8 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them

Have John Lester Johnson and Sam Langford ever fought each other?: Yes. John Lester Johnson and Sam Langford met once on September 9, 1913, and Sam Langford won by KO in round 1.
Who has the better record, Johnson or Langford?: John Lester Johnson is 39-29-6 and Sam Langford is 210-43-53. Sam Langford has the higher win percentage.
Who has more knockouts, Johnson or Langford?: John Lester Johnson has 23 knockout wins and Sam Langford has 126. Sam Langford has more.
Do Johnson and Langford have any common opponents?: John Lester Johnson and Sam Langford share 3 common opponents: Kid Norfolk, Harry Wills and Joe Jeanette. John Lester Johnson fared better against 2 of them.
Who is bigger, Johnson or Langford?: John Lester Johnson is the taller fighter at 182 cm, 13 cm above the other.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Johnson and Langford?: This comparison is drawn from 12 bouts tracked for John Lester Johnson and 312 bouts tracked for Sam Langford. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

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John Lester Johnson vs Sam Langford — record, stats and common opponents compared

John Lester Johnson

Sam Langford