He beat Sam Langford decisively and dropped him twice in the 6th. Langford that knocked out Godfrey Langford that Dempsey was scared to face.... Jack Johnson is a bad man giving Langford a whipping
Dempsey respected Langford and in reality different time frames, Dempsey was on the way up when Langford was on the way down. When Dempsey dodged Langford, Dempsey was still green a smart move really, he would of gotten a whipping of the seasoned pro who was one of the best boxers in the world at that time, Dempsey wasn't even on the radar for another 2 years.
Although interestingly, Dempsey had more experience than Harry Wills did when Wills first agreed to meet Langford.
That is interesting. It's a pity though as black boxers at the time were forced to fight each other more frequently and probably more frequently than they wanted to, plus it was harder for them to make money off fights. Dempsey probably could of gotten a similar payment or even more for fighting half the fighter, Wills would of gotten for fighting Langford, it was a game of survival then, not the silver spoon champions we have now. It stood to them in the long run gaining experience off each other with Wills, Johnson, Jeanette and McVea some of the finest boxers of that era.
Langford was considerably smaller, and less experienced. Not a great win, and Jack refused to give him a shot at the title once Sam picked up ore experience and put on a few more pounds. Johnson is one of the most overrated fighters of all time.
Jack had the GOAT MW résumé: Burns, O'Brian, Ketchel, Fitzsimmons and Langford. Very impressive stuff.
You joke but it is the truth. Nobody gets more credit for beating up smaller opponents than Jack Johnson.
