It’s not on the list but it’s Johnson vs Tommy Burns for mine. From the poll choices I selected Johnson vs Jeffries. Cheers All.
sorry purely from a nazi germany v america perspective which this fight is often discussed in reference to. from what i have read people in germany did not even know of the result as the radio broadcast was binned before joe finished him. here i think a boxing event is a drop in the ocean. i am not sure of joe louis impact on black society in america if that is the angle we are looking at but my base understanding is that he was a lot less impactful than ali and johnson. but this was not where i was coming from.
Fair enough. My own reading yields a lot of anecdotes from places as far-flung as Central America to Poland, where people saw the coming storm and what this fight represented. It was an enormous happening with really, really far-reaching implications for things that had nothing to do with boxing. Not terribly sure what it is you're reading that would lead you to believe this about it, but all opinions are welcome.
That is because Janitor is consistently brilliant! I admire all of his post it not just for the knowledge quality but also for his civility and reasoning. Janitor, do you mind unpacking that choice s bit for teaching and context purposes? If so thanks.
Johnson/Jeffries. I think a singular, watershed moment, with breakthrough implications for the bedrock of an accepted, societal status quo, carries considerable significance. The sociopolitical context of a sporting event, amidst zeitgeist propaganda, doesn't really compare.
Hindsight says Louis/SchmelingII. But without hindsight it is Johnson/Jeffries. The Nazis of even 1938 split opinion. Plenty of the future allies were willing to overlook the terrible crimes the Nazis were committing to stop war. And worse still, a minority were actually suggesting Hitler et al were a positive boon to Germany and should be allies. Louis smashing Schmeling did not change minds. But Johnson beating Jeffries did make racists stand up and take notice. The racist had to find an excuse as to why a black fighter had beaten a previously dominant, unbeaten white fighter. The fight moved public opinion; the three others were merely events that had hype and strong narratives, but not the meat of Johnson/Jeffries.
I think the duration of Louis' reign and his behavior as a representative of his race over the course of it paved the way more than just the fight but had he lost that fight no telling about the trajectory of relations may have been different ..
Louis--Schmeling I'm not sure what Johnson--Jeffries changed. Racism continued and Johnson hardly changed widespread views of blacks at the time, beyond proving that a black person could become heavyweight champion. It wasn't much of a watershed moment as much as it was an exception.
Jeffries was a victim of this infamous fight. He's not remembered as an all-time great soley because of this fight in 1910.
