Johnny Owen - Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, Great Britain. - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

Johnny Owen known as the matchstick man, much loved by boxing fans in Wales, a native of Merthyr Tydfil.

A bronze lifesize sculpture of Johhny stands in the town centre, near the bus station. He is posed in the ready to box position. Wearing, his championship belt, boxing gloves, shorts, & boots.

He stands in a classic boxing stance, on a polished grey granite plinth, with bronze plaques in Welsh and English.

"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." Text Source: (visit link)

Johnny Owen Statue sited at CF47 8EL

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"John Richard Owens (7 January 1956 – 4 November 1980) was a professional boxer from Wales who fought under the name Johnny Owen. His fragile appearance earned him many epithets, including ‘the Bionic Bantam’ and ‘the Merthyr Matchstick’. During his brief career, he held the Bantamweight Championships of Great Britain and Europe and became the first ever Welsh holder of the Bantamweight Championship of the Commonwealth. He challenged champion Lupe Pintor for his version of the World Bantamweight title in September 1980, losing a torturously difficult contest by way of twelfth round knockout. Owen never regained consciousness, fell into a coma and died seven weeks later. A statue commemorating his life and career was unveiled in Merthyr Tydfil in 2002." Text Source: (visit link)

URL of the statue: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   03/19/2014 veritas vita visited it