by Keith Lewis-Jones
Johnny Owen
Statue & plaque sited at St Tydfil’s Shopping Centre, CF47 8EL
Johnny Owen, 1956-1980, began boxing at the age of eight.
By the time he was 24, he was the British, Commonwealth and European Bantamweight Champion.
He was shy, kind and unassuming outside of the ring which was the only place where he was ‘comfortable’. He became known as ‘The Matchstick Man’ owing to his skeletal frame .
In 1980 he was knocked unconscious in a World Title fight in Los Angeles. He went into a coma and died six weeks later.
