He left us too soon. He never won a world title. Some say he was a glorified club fighter. To most he's just a victory on Rocky Graziano's record. All this but in a career that was marred by obstacles he led the way for Canadian fighters. He was tough, passionate and full of heart. He was the welterweight king of Canada, Johnny Greco.

Born in Montreal, he began boxing at the tender age of seven at the Griffentown Boys Club in the city's west end neighborhood of Notre Dame de Grace. It didn't take long before he was tearing up the Canadian amateur ranks, winning the golden gloves championship. By the time he turned pro in 1940 at the age of 17, he was thought of as one of the best amateurs Canada had produced in a long time.

Johnny turned pro and reeled off five straight wins, fighting in Montreal and Toronto. He then split a two fight series at Maple Leaf Gardens against then undefeated Art Foster. After winning his next three bouts he surprisingly moved up to welterweight and was decisioned by the bigger man though he was lauded for his courage. He won his next two fights, and then came the rubber match with Foster. He was knocked out for the first time. After the fight his manager, Pit Audette realized his charge had untapped potential and a fresh start was needed. He contacted New York managers Murray and Abe Elkins and Johnny was on the move to the Big Apple. Almost immediately the spotlight returned. He had a win and a draw in New York before his new handlers had him debut in the Mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden. The 11-3-1 Greco was thrown in against the 14-0-2 Herbie Kronowitz and the official record states a decision loss for the upstart Canuck. The record doesn't show that a loss on the big stage can mean more than any local victory. MSG had got its first taste of Joltin' Johnny Greco, and they wanted more.

What followed in the career of Canadian Johnny Greco? 27 victories and one draw, which was avenged with a knockout. This including five MSG appearances and six trips back to Canada. During this time Johnny volunteered and entered the Canadian Army in the recruiting division. He was regularly referred to as Private Johnny Greco, the fighting soldier. One of his legendary brawls was even promoted by the Canadian Army. His upset victories in a two fight series with Cleo Shans became a MSG legend. Shans was so heavily favored that Lightweight Champion Beau Jack's manager assured Greco a shot at the title if he won. Watching Johnny batter Shans was enough to dodge a match with Greco. A shot that might have changed the way people remember Johnny Greco. During the Second World War Johnny rose to become one of boxing's top draws and split his time between his role in the Canadian Army and boxing. So popular was he that he was featured on the cover of the "bible of boxing" Ring Magazine, the caption reading "Johnny Greco, Lightweight Threat from Canada".

After his tremendous streak, he returned to MSG for a classic trilogy against Bob Ruffin. It resulted in a win, draw and a loss with plenty of action and knockdowns. The Ruffin draw was quoted by the New York Times as "one of the greatest battles the arena ever has held". High praise is an understatement. He followed that up by four wins, three by knockout. He then had another trilogy with highly favored Tony Janeiro. He took two of three. The record till then was simply incredible. After another win, he was finally matched with often talked about opponent Beau Jack. He lost a decision and earned a draw. Two more wins, then his shot at the Canadian gold. His fight against David Castilloux was an unprecedented event. Canada had never seen the likes for two Canadian fighters. A record crowd of 14,750 watched it with many more unable to get in. They watched the Canadian fireball, Joltin' Johnny Greco win the Canadian Welterweight title. Soon after he was again featured on the cover of Ring Magazine.

He went 11-3 in his next fights till his return with Beau Jack. He suffered another decision loss. He again went 11-3 in his next fights with a no-contest. He defended his Canadian title, suffered a knockout loss to hall of famer Kid Gavilan, and won a decision against rival Beau Jack. He then faced any welterweight or middleweight's nightmare, the all-time great Rocky Graziano. Graziano was a middleweight, Greco a welterweight but the game Greco moved up to face the Rock. Two slugger's going at it like that couldn't go on long, Greco punched Graziano to the ropes but The Rock landed a bomb putting Johnny down in the third round. Like a good Canadian he tried to rise but the freakish right hand was too much and Greco suffered only his fourth knockout. Johnny fought on going 7-3-1 in his last series of bouts, losing then regaining his Canadian Welterweight crown.

Tragically on the 12th of December 1954, Johnny's car skipped over a sidewalk and hit a tree breaking his neck. He died at the scene. He was 31.

Through all the highs came some terrible lows. He was denied a title shot by the Canadian Army, refusing to allow him leave as they had done before to fight World Lightweight Champion and hall of famer Bob Montgomery because of pressure put on them by the American army since they had regularly denied fighters like Joe Louis and Billy Conn to fight professionally during their time in uniform.

He was not a boxer. He was a brawler of the finest kind. He had a 42.16% knockout ratio, but don't let that fool you. He had dynamite power, shown through his devastating left hooks to the body. He was known for punishing sparring partners; his managers had a lot of trouble finding guys willing to spar with him. He was known as the "million-dollar kid" because of his popularity pushed gate receipts to record highs for welterweights. He was one of boxing's top draws; a top rated lightweight and welterweight; fought 14 times at MSG, 11 of them main bouts; two time Canadian Welterweight Champion with five defenses; fought four hall of famers; has wins over such top fighters as Bob Montgomery, Beau Jack, Harold Green and Tony Janiro.

It's a cliché to say a Canadian boxer is underrated, but it's also so true. He finished his stellar career with a record of 78-18-5 with 1 no-contest. He served his country honourably. He let the world know that Canadian fighters should be counted with the world's best. He was the king of Canadian welterweights; Joltin' Johnny Greco.

If you wish to contact the author of this article, email Ryan Stead at FightNews Canada