Did Benny Leonard ever fight a black fighter ?

Burt, I like Ike Williams. He's underrated as a boxer, and was of course a great puncher. I could count the guys on one hand who I think beats Williams at 135. Benny Leonard is one of them. He's more clever than Williams and could also pack a punch. It would be a great match up though.

 

Good point. I have a similar question : How many Jews did Pernell Whitaker fight ? There must have been dozens of terrific Jewish fighters from 130 to 147 during the span of Whitaker's career.

 

People are making a mockery of the question and it may well not have merit, but we know black fighters were discriminated against in this era. Generally the lesser regarded lower weights had less of this, but it was still present. Leonard was great none the less

 

Lots of fighters got shafted out of opportunities.Not just blacks,whites tobscure ones may have been great. who knows? Boxers forced to take dives and stuff or just horibly mismanaged. Maybe today its the same even now.

I agree if you mean ALL claims yes! because ALL successful fighters (the ones we heard of) got some breaks that many unscuccesful ones never got (the guys we never heard of.
Thats just the game

 

Darn it ! We should put the ludicrous statement and innuendo's of Benny Leonard not fighting top black LW challengers to rest. A damn PC lie. Let the guy and his legacy not be even tainted by such nonsense..Finito...

 

PP,The question "Did Benny Leonard ever fight a black fighter?", has been answered...YES,YES,YES...His first two challengers as a lightweight champion was Leo Johnson, and Eddie Dorsey in 1917 , both BLACK,who he dispatched in one and two rounds...And you say, "it may well have merit".
I'm too frustrated to hear such BIGOTRY AGAINST the great Benny Leonard
by some ESB posters and against EVERY WHITE fighter...
Remember PP there are decent caucasians in boxing also...Maybe I have overstayed my welcome, as an ulcer is beckoning me...:hi:

 

Benny Leonard faced everyone.....black or white, whatever, he faced the best available.....

 

Vic, you are RATIONAL...Others have a clinical agenda...Big difference.:good

 

Did bigotry exist in the 20's? Of course it did.

But if, by chance the Ghetto Wizard or his handlers were prejudiced, that attitude didn't prevent him from putting his championship on the line against the best available black contender, Leo Johnson. And that sets him apart from a lot of fighters that he grant could have cited as examples of fighters who ducked quality black challengers in the 20's.

 

Drew, that is just the point. Why of all champions in the Leonard, Greb great era,did he single out Benny Leonard.? Answer,NOT for valid reasons, but Leonard of course being white,was the target at hand. Without researching the facts, picking on Benny Leonard who was vrevered by every fighter of his time, BLACK or[pardon the expression ] WHITE. Who's next Abraham Lincoln ?
D, as a young boy, I as posted before , lived next door to a boxing trainer of the great LHC John Henry Lewis. I would go next door most every night
to eat a salad with OIL,and spar with his stablemates. The nicest guy who took me under his wing was a black welterweight Tommy Jones. He was a fine WW who suddenly left the USA to go to Australia with Jimmy Leto, because as a black WW,couldn't get enough bouts in the USA...I would ask why, and the trainer would just shrug at Im,a young boy.
So I learned early on that discrimination existed, but The trainer had the highest respect for the great and beloved Benny Leonard, whose first title defenses was against 2 black lightweights Johnson and Dorsey...Cheers.

 

remember that fights are made on potential profit/risk, not on boxing ability, the only white fighters fighting black opponents were not able to bargain like top guys(management) could.

 

Well put and exactly correct.

 

Terry Malloy is a case in point.

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" My night I coulda took Wilson apart".:-(

 

So he was souposed to fight unsccessful boxers? It's kind of hard to be a world class boxer in any era and be unknown. Not getting a championship shot sure, but unknown. We would have herd of them.

 

There is not really a long list of suppose duck black fighters in regards to Leonard than one would have say Jeff or Dempsey so to speak.

Leonard at least fought the top black fighters, sure he may not have fought 200 black fighters, but he fought the top guys and thats all one can ask.