September 3, 1906, Johnson who was likely in his prime (fresh off a win over a 156 pound, but very game Sam Langford a few months ago ) draws to Billy Dunning in 10 rounds. I never saw this fight report. What happened here?
You're such a good poster. Why don't you leave Johnson alone? There's loads of other things you could be doing that would be of more interest.
??? I don't think anyone ever brought up this point. For all we know the police could have stopped the fight, or Johnson was robbed into a draw. Would you like to learn what happened here?
Sure, but your surprise surprises me. Surely you know you carry a reputation for disliking Johnson and trying to undermine his standing on the forum?
I feel Johnson is over rated, but the context of the question is a fair one for the board. I do not know anything here, except the result.
Yeah, it is a fair question, but there are dozens of similair questions you could have asked. And many you could have answered in a thread for discussion. That said, your interest in Johnson is probably genuine, and there's nothing wrong with the thread. But post #2 contains my knee-jerk reaction to it. Don't know the answer, unfortunately.
I don't have this report, and never mentioned this point before. I do have access to tons of reports, but not this one.
I imagine with the schedules back then, and him just coming off with one of the fights of his life with Langford, Dunning was just that guy who got lucky. Hell I've seen many guys in their primes be stopped, drawed, etc with less than steller opposition. Archie Moore lost on a kayo to some guy who had 16-18 pro bouts once.
... you'd have to go fishing through micro film in the Boston Public Libary to find a report on this one. Chances are that even that wouldn't have told you the true reason why Johnson fought this guy to a draw. The real reason is probably this: Johnson was a pro for almost a decade and going nowhere. He was beating everyone right and left of the color line and was no closer to a title shot anyway. Here he is fighting a no name for a purse that would buy him nothing more than a lobster claw in a no name town (Millinocket was a mill town in Maine incorporated only 5 years earlier -1901. It still is a mill town -population a mere 5,000). Short answer: he didn't give a damn. The fight before that one he fought a guy who only differed from Dunning in that he got stopped more often by better fighters -Charles Haghey -Johnson stopped him in 2... probably simply because Haghey took risks and just caught a shot on a nerve center. Dunning, incidentally, died from injuries sustained in the ring by a fighter named Leon, a former wrestler, who was charged with manslaughter. It was Leon's first fight and he evidentally beat the case because he was back in the ring about 4 months later -again in Maine.
He was probably hungover with a broken arm, had a gentlemen's agreement, was a victim of backwood's racism and took a scheduled dive in the 26th round. All at once.
Here's what I found: Johnson fought a 10-round draw with Billy Dunning, BUT there was strong suspicions that Johnson had agreed to carry Dunning. The fight was held in Millinocket, Maine, and no doubt Johnson cared little about what boxing fans there thought of his ability. It was a simple case: allow the local boy to look good, collect the money, and leave town."
Oh, there it is. The 407th excuse for a Johnson bad performance. There is no heavyweight champ whose legacy employs such a cadre of excuses to inflate his worth.