There has been some speculation if Jack Blackburn ever said Jack Johnson would beat Joe Louis because he" moved". Freddie Guinyard, Louis's closest friend and personal secretary, is quoted in," Joe Louis The Brown Bomber" as follows:" you know what Chappy told me once when we were talking?" "He said Freddie,Jack Johnson would have whipped Joe every night of the week because he moved,I hate to say this but that's what would've happened". "Then when Walcott made a ****** out of him by this fast moving and shaking I saw what he was talking about".
Mc, thank you for finding this quote, I posted a short time ago, and Seamus tried to correct me...Saved me a trip to the library....But I still believe that the Louis of the Baer fight would have beaten any version of Jack Johnson...:hi:
It's entirely possible, that was a frightening display of controlled power over a real dangerous challenger with an iron chin.
I've seen that Guinyard quote, and he may well be relating what Blackburn said to him privately. The Blackburn quotes I've seen which were of a public nature either favored Louis, or said Johnson would have had no easy time with Louis. It may be that Guinyard's quote is what Blackburn truly thought; on the other had, he can be more confident of what Blackburn said publicly. Who knows? Would have been an interesting fight. I'll say this: even if Louis won, the fight might have lowered peoples opinion of him. It was very hard to look good against Johnson.
Johnson had the neck to ruin a fight just to get his own way. The dude didn't give a ****. He knew nine times out of ten that guys he neutralized would frustrate themselves to exhaustion before he went to work on them, and he had the patience to bare that out.
Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 10 1938… "Better than Johnson 'Jack Johnson? Yeah he could have took Johnson,' said Blackburn thoughtfully. 'He would feed Johnson with the left and then when Johnson moved in he would belt him a right. He was a mighty smart man, Johnson, but I think Joe would have been too tough for him. That Joe is one of the greatest fighters you ever see. He could even lick Johnson, that's how good he is. Some boy. He could even lick Johnson." Next...
Or if you take credence of direct quotes over second hand quotes, it sounds like he was a reasonable man.
S, why be stubborn ? I read that quote in the Louis book years ago. I am just the messenger, and though you might not like my style, I have no darn need to lie. Were the situation reversed I would apologize...:hi:
It isn't of vital importance to me , but may I just say.Blackburn made those quotes vis a vis Johnson in 1938 & 1939. I would have been astonished had he said, "well actually Johnson would run rings around my boy,seven days a week". Whatever he privately believed, that was definitely never going to happen. Therefore I find the private quote as credible as the others ,in fact I give it more veracity as Blackburn could confide the truth to friends whereas he would be more circumspect regarding public statements. Unless you are one who unreservedly believes everything a trainer publicly says about his charge ,I think most might agree with that. Blackburn had two excellent reasons for making those quotes for public consumption 1. to boost Joe's confidence,[it was 1938.39] 2. to promote his image . Guinyard was Louis's closest friend ,he worshipped Joe ,why would he lie?
I dont know if those quotes are legit or not but while I think Louis is probably the second best HW ever I think Johnson is a stylistic nightmare for most people. I could easily see him giving Louis ten kinds of hell. On the other hand Louis was an extremely patient guy, in fact he was probably the most patient banger Ive ever seen. Id see a Louis Johnson match being an extremely tactical one with both guys waiting for the other to make a mistake. The problem is that Louis was so damn good and so textbook its hard to find many flaws with the guy and when he does make a mistake I believe that while Johnson would counter him I dont think he would commit enough to really buzz Louis. If Johnson made a mistake Louis' speed, combinations, and power could end the fight. Its one of those fights I could see Johnson winning on points or Louis winning by stoppage but wouldnt want to guess which one did what.
:-( I'd say this was a very sensible attitude to take but, as I'm a senile ,cancerous , bitter old man, whose gonna take any notice of me?:-(