Mike DeJohn Heavyweight Boxer

By Robert Grey Reynolds, Jr

Mike DeJohn came from a family of boxers in Syracuse, New York. His brother, Joey, was a popular middleweight in the 1950s, as had been his brother Ralph in the late 1930s. Another brother, Johnny, managed Mike for the better part of his boxing career. Mike gained an early unexpected victory with a first round knockout of Argentine contender Alex Miteff in 1957. An inability to follow up this key victory, and losses to other contenders for the heavyweight title, would plague Mike DeJohn's career. Nevertheless, the Syracuse fighter was among the best punchers of his era, and this was sufficient to beat the majority of his opponents.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Grey Reynolds, Jr
• Release date: Dec 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310029042

Robert Grey Reynolds, Jr

I am a soon to be retired Duke Medical Center library researcher, who enjoys writing. I have been writing on Wikipedia for years and have begun to writeebooks. My pastimes include selling books on EBay, genealogical research, baseball (Pittsburgh Pirates), collecting antique furniture and coins, and spending time with Kingsley, my cocker spaniel.

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Mike DeJohn

Heavyweight Boxer

Robert Grey Reynolds Jr.

Smashwords Edition 2014

Born Michael Di Gianni, Mike DeJohn (December 29, 1931-June 2, 1989) made a name for himself in the amateur and gold gloves circles before he debuted in the professional ranks of boxing. He appeared on the undercard of a mid 1951 fight between Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott. In this fight DeJohn knocked out a rugged fighter from Pittsburgh, Henry Mazik, in the first round. DeJohn floored Mazik three times. Mike was managed by his older brother, Ralph, who was a prominent middleweight of the late 1930s.

At 6’2" ½ Mike DeJohn was an upper cut fighter. He liked to crouch and counterpunch. An interviewer once remarked of DeJohn, describing the heavyweight as quiet spoken with an appearance more like an engineering graduate student. He was also extremely courteous. And despite having fought forty times the reporter found Mike extremely handsome. He was certainly one of the mightier punchers among the heavyweights of his era.

Fighting at a weight of 196 ½ pounds, Mike had a fast left hook and could also move fast for a heavyweight. In one of his early fights, the youngest member of the fighting DeJohn family of Syracuse, New York, met Hank Johnson. The fighters battled at McConnell Field in Utica, New York on Wednesday evening, August 2, 1951.

DeJohn quickly disposed of his roly-poly 214-pound opponent, who fought out of Saratoga, NY. Mike hit Johnson with a vicious left hook just two seconds into the first round, flooring him. Johnson took a swing at DeJohn while he was down. The momentum of his missed punch sent Hank down once more.

DeJohn appeared overanxious to observers