Is it possible that the fighters and promoters who drew the color bar acted from honorable motives?

No.

 

Actually I'm on the fence.

 

I already know this thread isn't gonna end well...

 

What actual reasons are there to believe that the men who drew the color line were in fact motivated by such selfless, humanitarian considerations?

 

Nice of them all to think of our well-being.


I guess.

 

Very unique thread, there is a bit of evidence to support it is something to look back on warmly if you belief it to be true.

I believe personally it is false due to the racist nature of the times from memory you can catch me on this as I’m not certain, Tiger Flowers was fondly beloved by the masses (to an extent) and respected relative to the times and how I see it it was the HW division that saw the most racist backlash for mixed fights so I think your theory could hold true exclusive to that division.

In those times whomever held the HW title was the greatest unarmed fighter on the planet, For it to be a black man would signify them in an ignorant view as the most physically superior people on the planet. So I suppose it was best never to test themselves and claim superiority.

 

The Heavyweight champ has always been seen as the toughest man on the planet.
I'm positively sure( But cannot prove) white promoters knew of the talented black heavyweights of that era, and knew of their abilities to possibly win the Heavyweight championship .
M-O-N-E-Y would be their main motivation for excluding the best black heavyweights.
Not because of some moral enlightening.
Which group overall could afford to go see a fight live?
Would that group want to watch a dominant black champion defeat white men? Especially if that black champ behaved like Jack Johnson?
Until Joe Louis came along, ( Louis had to prove his acceptability, had to prove he was a "good" negro well before he won the championship) a black champion regardless of his ability, wouldn't get a fair shake at fighting for the championship, Johnson had left that bad a taste in the majorities mind.
No one would pay to see a black champ as the prestigious heavyweight champion, especially if he was dominant.
Louis was only exceptable because he came along at a perfect time. Nazism was set to take over the world, Schmeling a German, but not a Nazi was the champ of the world.
Louis was , though he had lost to Schmeling, seen as the best chance to defeat him, and the Nazi's.
When he did he became acceptable.
When Louis went into the military and fought exhibitions all over Europe for American and Allied troops, he became even more acceptable .
But even Louis didn't fight the best black challengers available. The risk versus the reward was far too great.
So no in my opinion the top promoters couldn't have cared less what would've been the reprocussions of black vs white boxing matches. They were more interested in what would make the most money.

 

I'm sure Tex Rickard lost a lot of sleep over it.

 

I'm not Tex Rickard. I don't have any reason to believe that he shares my views and values, or that he actually truly cared about preventing outbreaks of racial violence. How would me imagining what I would have done in his position clarify his actual motives?

And to be clear, is this thread only about Rickard/Dempsey dodging black fighters or does it pertain equally to all of the other white champions and contenders who refused to fight black fighters at various points in their careers?

 

I'm sure slave owners justified ownership of slaves with the same type of argument.