American Whites Was Keen On Having Another Black Champion After Jack JohnsonTommy Burns fought ten more fights after losing to Jack Johnson but most his ten fights were outside of the USA in Canada, then Burns gave up boxing to become a successful owner of a pub in London, England. He also set up a secular in New York during the roaring twenties. Sam Langford, known as the Boston Tar Baby challenged Johnson for a title fight repeatedly but was refused. By the time Jess Willard beat Johnson in 1915, Johnson's reputation as a womaniser especially, with white women which angered the white American public so badly that for the next two decades they were not too keen to see another black man win the world heavyweight title. As a result, Langford had to settle for heavyweight titles of Wales, England, Spain, and Mexico. Sam Langford fought until 1923, he was 37 years old, at the end of his fight career he was considered officially blind. Langford wound up angry, penniless, stone blind spending most of his time on the front stoop of an old dwelling in Harlem. When Sam Langford died in 1956 he was aged 70. He was residing in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In the 1934 Golden Gloves final Joe Louis Put up a strong showing. Unlike Jack Johnson, Louis Needed A Good Clean Image Joe Louis attracted the attention of an ambitious manager and trainer, who believed Joe Louis could be the next world champion. In the 1930s, New York was the capitol for boxing, the Mecca, the biggest venue, Madison Square Garden, would not allow black boxers to performed their boxing in the Garden venue, but Joe Louis came along and broke down racial barriers to become a national hero. Cassius Clay described Joe Louis as an Uncle Tom, but he was out of sorts to characterized the great Joe Louis as an Uncle Tom. Joe Louis who became the second black world heavyweight boxing champion was told by his two managers John Roxborough and Julian Black, that he needed a good clean image, and he should never brag like Jack Johnson had done before him, nor was he to have his picture taken with any white woman. When Joe Louis met Mike Jacobs who told Joe Louis that he never had to throw a fight. Mike Jacobs told Louis that there had been a private agreement amongst all the white boxing promoters that there would never be another Negro heavyweight champion, but that he thought he could guide Joe Louis to a shot at the world heavyweight title. Johnson Took a Disdain Dislike For Joe Louis During Joe Louis boxing career he was a very much liked heavyweight champion accepted by the white population. Jack Johnson in the beginning was interesting in teaching Joe Louis but Louis' handlers did not appreciate the thought of Jack Johnson guiding Joe Louis due to his reputation with white women. When Joe Louis was up and coming and knocking out every boxer in sight that caused a scare to a minority of white people. They began looking everywhere for someone to beat him. Although Joe Louis was well liked, it was still within a period of segregation. Jack Johnson did not take to Joe Louis being so well liked by the majority of whites? Because of Joe Louis popularity Johnson was very jealous of him. Johnson went up to Louis's camp before the Primo Carnera fight and said a lot of cruel things about Louis in the press. He said Joe Louis was just a flash in the pan and that his boxing stance was all wrong, and pointed out other faults Louis had but that was sour grapes as Joe Louis got on well with most people unlike Jack Johnson. Joe Louis Was Taught How To Put His Whole Body Behind A PunchJoe Louis never encounter the “white hope’ set of symptoms as he did. Jack Blackburn who was Joe Louis trainer on having a chat with Scriptwriters, went on record as saying it had to do with exactly Louis being a well liked Negro American heavyweight fighter which Johnson wasn’t. Jack Blackburn had once had a sparring match with the mighty Jack Johnson in 1908 and and during the sparring session Blackburn drew blood from Johnson nose, even though Jack Blackburn was only a lightweight boxer, it made Jack Johnson extremely infuriated. Johnson tried his best to put Blackburn away, but he never even came close to do it. Since that time they have never had much love for each other. Jack Blackburn said Johnson would not have had an easy time with Joe Louis. Blackburn and Louis became good pals and had strike up a rather special kind of relationship. Holman Williams taught Joe Louis how to jab, box and move in the ring. |
