Johnny Bratton

At the age of 23 Johnny Bratton was welterweight champion of the world.  His career started in 1944 and ended in 1955.  I thought of him because I remember the conversations JP Spitz and I used to have at National City Junior High School about him and other boxers.  Johnny Bratton was a great fighter.  He deserves recognition as an athlete.  He fought with all of his heart.  He started boxing at the age of 14.  He earned a great deal of money (around half a million dollars) and he spent it all and found himself in debt at the end of his career.   His fighting name was "Honey Boy."   He was also known as JBB  (Johnny Baby Bratton).  In 1955, the year Bratton's career ended, he was broke and confined to a mental hospital.