After 100 professional fights, London journeyman Johnny Greaves is getting used to civilian life.
Greaves called it a day winning fight No. 100, and with a record 4-96 (1 KO).
The East Ham southpaw was stopped 12 times and now makes his living solely from painting and decorating.
In an excellent new book about his life, Bright Lights and Dark Corners, Greaves discusses his career in the away corner, his mental health struggles, and the sub-culture of boxing as a journeyman.
Greaves still follows the sport, but admits no longer fighting – his last bout was in 2013 – saw him lose his routine.
“To be honest, the thing I miss most is just having that bit of structure, a reason to get up and go to the gym,” Greaves told BoxingScene.
“Obviously, you’re always going to miss the cash. But, look, in all honesty, I got offered quite good money for Fight 101 in a fight that I thought would have been quite easy to get through. But then again, you have 101, then it’s 102, 103, 104. I was already 30 when I turned pro. Where do you stop? I mean, if it was life-changing money, obviously, it’s a bit different. When you’re talking a grand or two… look, you’re always back to square one in a few weeks’ time anyway.”
It is fair to say Greaves did not live the life. A lot of calls for fights came a day or two before landing an assignment. One came on a Saturday evening after he had already downed a couple of beers.
By the end, his mental health was suffering, his hands were damaged and his ribs were sore.
The last fight of his career he called “perfection.” He defeated fellow journeyman Dan Carr and Greaves had sold around 400 tickets to watch his send off at Bethnal Green’s York Hall.
“Other than the kids being born, it was probably one of the best days of my life, to be fair. I mean, we went out, we got the win. So, I more or less packed out York Hall on my own,” he recalled. “And we had such a good night afterwards. Like I say, all the family, all my friends. It was the only fight I’d allowed my kids to come to. Why would I want them there week in, week out? It was a 99.9 per cent chance I was going to lose. I don’t want my kids seeing that. So I went out perfectly, got the win, and it worked out brilliantly.”
Greaves was a wind-up merchant and would try to get into the heads of the prospects and contenders he faced. The names of Jack Catterall, Maxi Hughes, Anthony Crolla, Gavin Rees, Lee Selby, Jamie Cox, and Johan Perez, all gave Greaves their best shots.
Sometimes Greaves fought back, sometimes he’d smother and hold, sometimes he’d perform an Ali shuffle and blow kisses to the jeering crowd.
In the book, Greaves talks about drinking alcohol, and using cocaine, but he told BoxingScene that in 100 pro fights, he was not drug tested once.
“I was never drug-tested,” he said. “To be fair, at the end of the year, you do your yearly medicals, which I believe obviously you have tests for that. I don’t mean specifically for drugs. [But I] never did a pre-fight sample. To be honest, again, I could deflect that onto the [British Boxing] Board and say, look, at the end of the day, it’s all well and good testing all your top-of-the-world fighters and fighters fighting for titles. There wasn’t that much duty of care for us lads. At the end of the day, we were fighting every week and it was sort of more or less, ‘Have you paid your medical fees? Have you paid your licence fees? Other than that, you’re good to go. See you later.’ I’m not having a go at the Board and that’s just the way things are. There’s money to test these fighters fighting for British titles, world titles. But again, there was nothing performance-enhancing in what I was doing.”
There has already been a documentary on Greaves’ life, and the book is equally gripping. That leaves just a movie.
So who would play Greaves in the film?
“I think Brad Pitt might be a bit busy,” Greaves joked. “But funnily enough, we’re in talks at the moment with someone. I really can’t say too much, but a double well-known person that really is interested in the story, because it is quite a story. You hear about all these things in Hollywood. Hopefully there will be some really big news and I can announce it soon. It could be quite life-changing. Hopefully. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed. In all honesty, I think I’m due a bit of luck. I’ve grafted all my life.”
In his fighting prime, Greaves was smoking 20 cigarettes a day.
But he always wanted to entertain the crowd. He was happy being booed. He knew his job and for the six years he boxed as a pro, he knew what he was getting into and that he would get no favors.
“I’d always try to entertain the crowd as such,” he recalled.
“I think just completely running away, running for four or six rounds, it wasn’t my bag, to be honest. So, look, I just had to have a go. Again, look, when you’re boxing lads that have trained for that particular night for three months, you can’t compete when you’ve had two- or three-days’ notice. But at least have a go. I had a bit of something about me. I wasn’t a punch bag for no one.
“By the end of the night, I had a pocket full of cash. I had a four-pack of lager in me bag. And, literally, a pocket full of cash.
“So, look, to be fair, happy days.”
Bright Lights And Dark Corners; The Johnny Greaves Story, is written by Johnny with Adam Darke, published by Pitch Publishing and available online and all good booksellers.
