Did Jack Johnson Deserve A Title Shot From 1902-1904?

Most definitely. Johnson was the best heavy in the world for a few years,prior to him finally getting a title shot. It was the moronic racist colour bar that prevented him from doing so.

Jack could,indeed,have beaten Jeffries at this stage,though it would obviously be far more competitive than their 1910 bout.

 

Munroe didn't remotely deserve a title shot; that was just vengeance, and Jeffries hoping the controversy as to whether Munroe had knocked Jeffries down in exhibition would create a good gate.

Fitzsimmons and Corbett were retired in the sense that, with boxing (and big paydays) banned in New York, they were going to sit on their status as top contenders. Corbett's qualifications were that in his last two fights he had given Jeffries a major scare and had taken Kid McCoy to the cleaners; Fitzsimmons had beaten Ruhlin half to death and KO'd Sharkey in 2.

As potential contenders, Fitzsimmons postive accomplishments were, I think, better than Johnson's; their negatives were that they were sitting on their status while Johnson had been more active.

 

I've been thinking about my last post. I will say that my being a bit more impressed with what Corbett and Fitzsimmons did to earn rematches is my personal opinion; that their inactivity (and Johnson's activity) is a debit to their acounts is an opinion whch, i think, most anyone would sign on to.

Basically, Jeffries not matching Johnson leaves us with a bit of a taste of something undone; not rematching Fitzsimmons or Corbett would taste about the same.

 

One thing which hasnt been considered here is whether or not Johnson was actually ready for a title shot.

He seemed to be still struggling with the likes of Griffin and Hart and wasnt that far removed from the Choynski loss. Saying that, he was building his impressive run. If he had fought Jeffries in say 1902 and not won, what would it have done for both fighter legacies. Johnson, who would go on and continue dominance until the out of character jeffries, and even then for another 10 years would not lose a fight. Where would this place Jeffries in the overall scheme of rankings?

 

I think the fact that it was much more financially viable to tour the country (and Jeffries confirms this even when comparing to the Jeffries Johnson fight) than it was to actually defend your title in a proper fight where you met a fighter so good that you had to lock yourself away and train for the fight for months on end, pretty much explains the reasons.

 

One factor that people never take into account is the fallibility of boxing scribes.

When Lennox Lewis was champion, some people picked Wladamir Klitschko as the heir to his throne, while others picked Audley Harrison or Dominick Guinn.

It was exactly the same during Jeffries reign.

Some people thought that Jack Munroe was the future, and Johnson was going to fade into insignificance. The aura surrounding Jeffries was such that some people said, "these are the top five contenders, but it doesn’t matter who he fights, because he will destroy them all".

That five included Johnson who was the real deal. McVea, who would be significant but was not ready yet. Monroe, who got knocked out by Jeffries then went into the tank. Ferguson who was a complete bust.

 

Jeffries said that.

They said "who cares, Jeffries will destroy the next fighter foolish enough to stand in front of him".

Make of that what you will!

 

I wasnt talking as to whether or not he should have been given a chance, just asking whether or not he was yet ready. There is no doubt that Johnson went on to improve after this period and become a better fighter. Would have really been ready to beat Jeffries in this time frame, that was the question i was asking.