Why didn't Jack Dempsey ever fight a black fighter again after John Lester Johnson?

Why do you think? Let's just say, that wasn't an easy fight for Mr. Dempsey by any means.

 

I think it,s a money thing.....it didn,t pay well .

 

'Cause there's nothing better, once you've had the best? :?

 

The colour bar, I can kinda see given the times. I'm sure if he desperately wanted to fight any of the coloured contenders he could have gone and forced the issue.

What irks me more is the omission of greb. He fought the major white contenders but wouldn't fight him who was better than the others he did fight (bar tunney). Atleast had he fought all the major white guys you could just write off the coloured thing as political.

But given his refusal to face greb (who reportedly beat him up in sparring as well as beating most of his hw opposition) that indicates a tendency to duck.

 

Maybe. I understand the political issues surrounding the color line when it came to title fights, but pre-championship bouts, not so much, particularly when he had already fought at least one black fighter. Hence, avoiding the rest, including all of the ones that were better than the one he did fight, pre-championship, simply seems to me to be a convenient way to avoid tough tests. Not saying he didn't take on elite white fighters, but after the struggle with John Lester, he never again fought a black fighter, which tells me the color line was a convenient out for him or his manager. Makes perfect sense from a financial and long-term health point of view, but it does diminish his legacy, to what degree folks can debate, depending on your perspective, but the fact remains that he did avoid the top black contenders both as a contender and as a champion.

Sullivan fought none. Fitz fought and defeated Starlight in Australia and Harris Martin in the U.S. in a short 4-round decision bout, both middleweight bouts, but none as a heavyweight. At least Corbett fought Peter Jackson once, so he fought the best black fighter out there. Jeffries fought Griffin, Jackson, Armstrong, and eventually Johnson, though with great reluctance. When you think about it, Jeffries actually took on the most top heavyweight blacks of all white champions until Rocky Marciano. Hart only fought one black, but the best one in Johnson. Burns fought several black fighters, mostly as a middleweight, though he also took on Johnson as a heavyweight. Johnson had to establish himself as the best black fighter before obtaining a title shot. Willard beat Johnson, of course. Correct me if I am wrong, but you can pretty much count on one hand the number of blacks future white heavyweight champions took on, until Marciano.

Naturally, we have to understand the historical context of the color line being the norm, and the fact that it got drawn perhaps even tighter in the post-Johnson era, but still the lingering questions remain as to how well Dempsey (and others) would have done had he taken on black top fighters. We'll never know for sure.

 

It's strange because I honestly struggle to see a 1918 dempsey struggling with the likes of mcvey, langford, jeannette and even johnson. It's possible that in short round bouts he'd have been out pointed but I can't envision any of them beating him over a distance of say ten rounds.

I'm not sure if this is an outrageous comment or not but is it fair to say that only wills was a top level coloured heavyweight during jack's era?

 

Once you've gone black, you don't go back. To black.

 

I think that far too much is being read into it.

I could buy the idea that Dempsey might have regarded Harry Wills as a threat, but you are never going to convince me that he was afraid to take on the midlew of the pack black contenders.

 

Cos I is a massive racist innit?