Retired Champion Jim Jeffries, Came Back as "The Great White Hope."Sam McVey took such a beating that he decided he never wanted to be in the same ring with Jack Johnson again. Likewise, in his battle with Al Kaufman, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on 10th September 1909 that Kaufman was badly whipped by Johnson in ten rounds. Kaufman hardly laid a glove on his coloured opponent, who was a marvel of cleverness. Jack Johnson pitched a shut out. All rounds was for Johnson. The biggest fight of his career was against former champion Jim Jeffries, who came out of a long 6-year retirement as the great white hope to win back the Heavyweight title for the white race. In the days leading up to the fight, Johnson predicted; “Jeffries can’t touch me.” This is exactly how the fight turned out to be as Johnson dominated the hulking former champion from the very first beginning of round one until the knockout blow came. Johnson: "They Just Knock Themselves Out."According to the New York Chronicle 5th July 1910, “Round after round Johnson handled the burly Jeffries as if he was a "punching bag” Jack Johnson “blocked every punch” that the former world heavyweight champion attempted to land. The Chronicle Sport said it was Johnson’s “body blows” that wore down Jim Jeffries and eventually resulted in a knockout victory for the rather splendid black world heavyweight champion. Historian and writer Gilbert Odd discussed Johnson's ability. Jack Johnson’s skill at leading, picking his punches and whipping in precision blows was unequalled, so too was his uncanny ability to deflect punches aimed at him or to make them miss by a fraction of an inch as he slightly withdrew his head with perfect timing. Johnson's left jab was straight and true, his right cross sheer artistry, while his uppercuts were enormously demoralizing. Jack Johnson was a master expert at drawing an opponent into his blows, and of course, as they advanced so they met with his double impact punch. "They just knock themselves out", he was fond of saying. Johnson Was the Greatest Catcher of Punches That Ever LivedJohnson also used some unparalleled strategy in the ring. Johnson liked to “shoot a punch at a foe’s bicep while the fellow began to launch a haymaker. This not only kept the blow from arriving, but it gradually numbed or paralyzed the other boxer's arms. The great heavyweight boxer, Jack Dempsey said of Johnson: “ Jack Johnson was the greatest catcher of punches that ever lived and he could fight all night. The man was a combination of Jim Corbett and Joe Louis put together in one compact package. Jack Johnson was an intelligent scientific boxer fighter, he knew where to hit an opponent to bring him down. Jack Dempsey remarked; I’m glad I didn’t have to fight him.” He was a tremendously hard hitter, while, for a man his size, Johnson was amazingly swift on his feet. Nat Fleischer rated Johnson as the greatest heavyweight up to the time of his death in 1972. Fleischer picked Johnson in a dream fight over Joe Louis. Jack Johnson’s Superior Defense and Technical Superiority The reason is given in 50 Years at Ringside. Nat Fleischer quotes Johnson as saying that Louis was always off balance and to beat a counter puncher like Schmeling he had to change his stance. Jack Johnson said a clever sharp shooter with a good right hand could beat Louis. That was precisely the case in the first Schmeling fight. It was because of Johnson's prediction that Nat Fleischer always thought that Johnson could beat Louis. Johnson could also give Muhammad Ali a lot of trouble in a tactical boxing match. Charley Rose who saw both Johnson and Muhammad Ali fight said, "Johnson would have caught Clay's Jabs. Muhammad Ali also dropped his right hand when throwing an uppercut, which made him vulnerable to a well timed left hook. Jack Johnson’s superior defense and technical superiority would offset some of Ali’s natural gifts of speed, and quick reflexes. The question is asked! Would Ali have beaten Johnson? |
Johnson Could Defeat a Man With Good FootworkJack Johnson in his 1902 “Coloured Heavyweight Championship Title Match against Denver Ed Martin easily defeated a man who was said to have “the best footwork in the business.” In the first ten rounds they boxed with caution, but in the 11th round Johnson exploded with a right hand to the neck that dropped Martin. Martin went down four more times in the 11th round. Denver Ed Martin had a pretty good chin and his legs allowed him to survive the distance but Jack Johnson won the 20 round decision and the title. The ease with which Johnson could defeat a man with good footwork and a good chin demonstrates, he could give Muhammad Ali a mass of technical problems to solve. | |
