Looking back, this title fight made no sense at all. Ross was 5'9" tall and had only won 1 of his last 7 fights! He was Ko'd 4 times previous to this match. History will never see such a man with these credentials getting a heavyweight title shot again. Questions: Was Ross a sub? Based on his record he was one of the worst " white hopes of the times " If Johnson would not agree to fight Langford, McVey, and Jeannette, why not Mike Schreck, who had a fine record and Ko'd Ross before the meeting Johnson? Or a re-match with Hart instead of Ross? A six-rounder vs. a no-name could not have drawn a big purse. As for the fight itself, it looks like Johnson went for the KO, and got hurt....by a guy like Ross who only landed one good shot that shook the champion. This content is protected
I enjoyed the information you dug up but I feel like you presented it in a disrespectful way (ie it feels like info to try and tarnish/diminish Johnson's abilities). Maybe I'm just overthinking things but this forum does attract alot of negativity If you look at Ross' resume (24 wins 20KOs) it's clear if he could do one thing, it was punch
That's the way fights were made in the old days. Even though we tend to glorify those days, in reality boxing was still in its infancy. There just weren't that many fighters around. And there wasn't that much money around, so a fighter like Johnson sometime just had to take what he could get just to pay the bills.
That's just it, how much could he really make on Ross, a guy who was Ko'd a few times early and had a iffy record? I do not know the purse here. I never saw a guy 1 for his last 7 get any title fight unless maybe if he was a big legend with a name, which Ross of corse was not. This is unique. I'm more than sure Johnson could have made money with a better opponent. Who would not want to see Johnson vs Hart II? Thant one would see for sure and Hart was on the decline. Or Johnson vs Schreck would have been a good title defense even though he was likely on the slide at that point. The shocking part is Ross ha a moment, but how big of a moment was it? Its not on film. Going by the report, it looks like a fighter that would be considered a B-U-M today shook the champion in his prime. Even worse he lasted the distance.
I'm conjecturing here, obviously, but the fight was probably made on the spur of the moment by a local promoter and Johnson figured he could use the cash. Johnson fought Victor McLaglen up in Vancouver, B.C. on the same sort of a deal. There wasn't any TV or radio. If a local promoter could show a champion, the local fans would likely show up just to see a champion whom they had read about in the newspaper.. A chance to see the champion was the draw, not the fight itself. It was a totally different era with its own set of incentives for the fighters, the promoters, and the fans themselves. Fights like these were more on the order of exhibitions. Johnson wouldn't have to be in shape to take on a fighter like Ross for a few rounds. It was easy money.
Well ross beat Mike Shrek by stoppage a year or so earlier and he drew with him twice , a fight or two after Johnson. So how is Schrek a better defence than Ross? I just read that there was a packed crowd and johnson got a 2500 guarantee regardless of the result, this was apparently negotiated on the afternoon of the fight.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/229851637?searchTerm=tony ross fight&searchLimits=\\ By the way here is a mention of an unrecorded Tony Ross fight (at least from a boxrec perspective)
Schrek also ko’d Ross and has better wins leading up to the fight. Thanks for the purse amount. But the question is did Ross, a fighter on a losing streak really have a big moment or not?
Well, this is the description of the 4th round from the round-by-round account next day: Fourth Round - Johnson came up smiling, with Ross in distress. Johnson goaded the Newcastle boxer, making remarks concerning his bloody nose and mouth. Johnson led with left to jaw, and the men clinched. Ross made a vicious lunge, swinging his right to Johnson's jaw. This was the first effective blow Ross landed. The round ended with the men in the center of ring in a clinch. Johnson's round. There's no suggestion that Johnson was in trouble or in danger of going down, and he won the round overall. I assume the statement on boxrec that the punch shook Johnson must have come from somewhere, but I've never seen it. Contrast with the second round of Ross's fight with Sam Langford the previous year: But in the second round Ross gave Langford a surprise. First he jabbed Samuel on the nose so hard that the black staggered back a pace. Langford was so mad that he nearly bellowed with rage. He is becoming spoiled. He has been winning too easily. Back he came savagely and smashed Ross around with rights and lefts until his bruised lips bled. Still Ross was light on his feet and apparently unhurt. He mixed it and landed a right on Langford's jaw that nearly floored him, while the crowd rose and shrieked encouragement. Langford, enraged, missed wild swings. Ross had the best of the round.
Which begs the question," did Langford have a Ketchel moment?" lol NB CBZ lists Ross' 10 previous fights as follows. Kaufman ND Hart L dsq With Ross knocking down Hart and having him beat, only to hit him when he was down and lose on a foul. Gunther ND Temple ND Harris ND Harris ND Langford L tko5 Barry Draw Gunther L tko Gardner Wtko Jeffords W ko Shreck Draw
Ross seems to have been better than his paper record going into the fight suggests. For example he seems to have been beating Marvin Hart handily, before he went low and got disqualified.
Interestingly Johnson's first title defense was originally going to be against Denver Ed Martin according to some sources.
"Ross had Hart practically knocked out when the foul was administered. Hart was on the floor and Ross stooped down and struck him. There was an instant cry from the big crowd that filled the West Side arena and the referee awarded the fight to Hart." Source: Galveston Daily News"
Ross has wins over Moran Gardner Jeffords Kubiak Palzer Schreck Ferguson Draws with Jim Johnson & Joe Jeannette.
Ross probably drew the first Harris fight in 1908, won the second Harris fight and perhaps the Gunther one too. Kaufman did beat him well but overall Ross had a fairly decent record, Schreck, Gardner, Ferguson, and others were among his victims, the 1908 draw with Schreck should have gone to Ross too. In truth Tony was only bettered by Langford and Kaufman in his twelve fights prior to the Johnson, he was not a great fighter but a better one than the Boxrec record would suggest.
