The task of the Great White Hopes was to beat Jack Johnson. The day that Johnson beat Jeffries was almost certainly the greatest Jack Johnson we would ever see. So, if you had a time machine and you had to promote a Jack Johnson vs White Hope fight shortly after this fight, who would you select?
Would be my pick too. He's the only white fighter I can envision beating Johnson under the rules of his day.
I think plenty of fighters- white, black and in between- would handle Johnson under innumerable sets of circumstance.
It would not be easy. Jeffries, Dempsey, Marciano would be the obvious choices. Some less obvious choices would be Harry Greb, Tommy Loughran or Billy Conn.
Oh, I think there are plenty of fighters who have a chance beating him. However, the only white fighter I would favour over him under the ruleset of his time is Jeffries.
Jerry Quarry...c'mon man you can't set me up like that. Quarry would be more than competitive with Johnson. The question is...how big of a favorite would Jerry be:nut?
agreed:good:good a white heavyweight who can fight, hit, take a punch, has limitless courage and charisma by the bucketful
I wouldn't want to change history and have a prime Johnson beaten by a "white hope" in 1910. So I'd take Peter McNeeley back in time.