John Obed Howard, alias Richie "Kid" Howard (born October 9, 1928), was a lightweight

Lightweight

Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....

 professional boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 from Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Personal life

Richie Howard was born in Terrace Bay, Nova Scotia, but his residence is given by boxrec.com as Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

.

Professional career

Howard made his professional debut at the age of seventeen on January 1, 1945 with a four rounds points win against Lloyd Martin. After winning his first six fights, Howard lost for the first time on April 1 of 1946, to Isaac Thomas. Fighting mostly in Halifax, Howard had compiled an impressive record of 24-4 before making an unproductive forway into New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. He returned to Halifax with a record of 26-6 to face Crosby Irvine for the Maritime Lightweight Championship on October 22, 1949, which he won with a second round knockout. Howard continued to face tougher competition, making further ventures into New York and fighting such names as Buddy Hayes

Buddy Hayes

Timothy Hayes, alias Buddy Hayes was a featherweight professional boxer from Massachusetts, USA.-Personal life:Buddy Hayes was a native of Boston, Massachusetts. He married Marie Murphy in August 1948. The couple had two daughters, Bonnie and Franci.-Professional career:Hayes made his professional...

, Ray Famechon, Charley Titone, Frankie Sodano, Ralph Dupas

Ralph Dupas

Ralph Dupas was a boxer from New Orleans who won the world light middleweight championship.-Early boxing career:...

, Dennis Pat Brady

Dennis Pat Brady

Dennis Pat Brady was a lightweight professional boxer from Connecticut.-Personal life:Brady, a resident of [Bronx, New York], was born in New York, New York.-Professional career:...

, Armand Savoie, Orlando Zulueta, Kenny Lane

Kenny Lane

Kenny Lane was a famous southpaw boxer. He fought for lightweight and light welterweight titles of the world, once against Joe Brown and twice against Carlos Ortiz.-Early life:...

, Redtop Davis

Teddy Davis (boxer)

Teddy "Redtop" Davis, alias Murray Cain , was a featherweight professional boxer from South Carolina.-Personal life:...

, Glen Flanagan

Glen Flanagan

Glen Flanagan was a featherweight professional boxer from Minnesota.-Personal life:Glen Flanagan was born and raised in St Paul, Minnesota. He and his wife Betty had six children, and Glen went on to have a successful career in insurance and real estate...

, and Willie Toweel

Willie Toweel

Willie Michael Toweel is a former boxer from South Africa, who won the bronze medal in the flyweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.-Personal:...

. Howard retired after a July 1959 loss to Tommy Tibbs, having compiled a career record of 77 wins (17 by knockout

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

), 26 losses, and 5 draws.