He Proves He’s Still a Fighter : Hit by a Car, Harris Recovers to Box for Olympic Berth

It was almost four years ago, on a rainy summer night in Washington, D.C. An ambulance crew delivered what was left of James Harris to a hospital emergency ward.

James Harris could handle fighters, he’d proven that. But not a car, not head-on. Harris is a light-flyweight. Even after Thanksgiving dinner, he barely weighs 100 pounds.

While riding his motorcycle, he’d been struck by a car on a wet street. Witnesses said he was knocked 10 feet into the air and landed on his back, on the pavement, unconscious.

The first X-rays showed fractures of both legs, both hips broken, a crushed pelvis and several broken ribs.

A doctor, after a long examination of Harris’ broken body in the emergency ward, went outside to talk to the boxer’s father, Ham Johnson.

“It’s very bad; he might never walk again--you should prepare yourself for that,” the doctor said.

The doctor didn’t know that James Harris was a fighter.

This week, four summers later, Harris is not only walking, he’s three or four bouts away from a berth on the 1988 U.S. Olympic boxing team.

The Olympic team boxing trials, which begin here Tuesday and run through Sunday, have drawn 96 amateur boxers in 12 weight classes. Much of the attention will be focused on world champions Ken Gould and Kelcie Banks, hotshot newcomer Jemal Hinton, Olympic medal candidate Andrew Maynard and a hoped-for super-heavyweight battle between Riddick Bowe and Robert Salters.

But you wonder if any of them have ever posted a win equal to the magnitude of what Harris has achieved.

He’s amateur boxing’s comeback kid, Class of ’88. Make that Comeback Man.

Harris, 21, who spent six months in traction and another six months learning how to walk again in 1984 and 1985, and another year acquiring his old boxing timing and mechanics, is not a favorite here. Michael Carbajal of Phoenix is the clear-cut favorite for the Olympic team’s light-flyweight berth, and Harris knows it.

“James is a courageous young man,” said his father/coach.

“He went through a lot of pain, a lot of hard work, and never lost his spirit. He came a long way back. . . . We’re all very proud of him.”

“When the doctor told me he might never walk again . . . hey, I figured he was some kind of knothead. He didn’t know James. He didn’t know he’s as hard as a rock and as stubborn as a nail.”

At amateur boxing tournaments, the 5-1 Harris usually weighs in at 104 or 105 pounds. The light-flyweight maximum is 106. Coaches at the USA Amateur Boxing Federation figure a lot of it must be heart.

Harris recently talked about his accident and the long road to Concord.

“I was riding with four of my friends,” he said. “The car that hit me was pulling out of a gas station. We could see the car was coming right for us, and we all blew our horns. It was raining, and the guy just didn’t see us. I was the only one who couldn’t get out of the way. I went right into his grill.

“I knew eventually I’d get back in the ring,” he said. “It was just a matter of all the time, and putting up with all the pain. The pain was tremendous. The pain was the worst part. Even now, my legs still hurt some of the time.

“I was a long time getting my strength back. Just walking, I had to use a walker for three months after I got out of traction. The first time I did leg lifts in the therapy room, I couldn’t lift five pounds with either leg.

“I never did get the lateral movement back that I had before the accident. But I’ve compensated for it, so it doesn’t mean I’m not as good as I once was.”

Says Ham Johnson: “When you look at James’ feet, you see they’re kind of splayed. They weren’t like that before. His lower body’s changed. But he’s still the same style of boxer--aggressive, good inside puncher, very strong.”

After a year-and-a-half of healing, therapy, rehabilitation--and lots of pain--Harris made it back. His first major tournament was the 1987 national championships, where Harris made it to the final and lost a decision to Brian Lonon.

At Concord this week, Harris could find himself having to fight his way past his brother to reach Seoul.

His brother, Mark Johnson, 16, has also qualified for the trials. At the national amateur championships in Colorado Springs last March, both were entered but didn’t meet.

Johnson lost in the second round on a disqualification. Harris won on a disqualification, and reached the final with back-to-back 5-0 decision wins. But he met Carbajal in the final and lost a 5-0 decision.

“We’re hoping and praying they don’t wind up facing each other after the draw, but we know it could happen,” Ham Johnson said.

“They were drawn to box each other at Colorado Springs, but another kid was dropped because he couldn’t make weight. So there was a re-draw and James and Mark wound up in opposite brackets.”

Harris and Johnson have different last names, but the same parents. Their mother, Ham Johnson explained, was using her previous husband’s name in order to live in a public housing project when James was born.

Harris, who works part time at a Washington-area auto dealership, has no pro boxing aspirations--not unless he decides to move to Thailand.

And Thailand, according to Ham Johnson, might just happen.

“I’m thinking I might take both of my boys to Thailand next year, if we decide there are some opportunities for them to box professionally over there,” Johnson said.

Eventually, James Harris wants to be a boxing coach.

“My dad runs a gym (Ham’s A.C.), and I want to train fighters with him some day,” he said.

Ham Johnson is a busy man. By day, he runs his gym, and by night he’s a supermarket manager. And he also counsels, coaches and supervises community service work performed by juvenile delinquents. Thirty years ago, he was an also an amateur boxer, and also, like his sons, a light-flyweight.

James Harris is quiet this week, apparently sharply focused on Carbajal. The two have only met twice. Harris decisioned Carbajal in 1984 and lost to him last March at the national championships.

“This time, I’ll be more aggressive than I was the last time, and go hard to his body,” Harris said.