Another excerpt from 'Sam Langford, Boxing's Greatest Uncrowned Champion'. This was a quote from Australian promoter Hugh McIntosh: “Boxing will never see another Sam Langford. There will never be another like the Boston Tar Baby, with his incredibly long gorilla like arms, his grotesque, top-heavy body, coal-black and squat, his wide, engaging smile perpetually splitting his broad countenance, and his inevitable cigar. And more’s the pity. For Langford, beyond all shadow of doubt, was one of the miracle men of boxing. Something of a fistic freak, if you like, but a fighter nevertheless, and a remarkable personality. What an amazing glove fighter Langford was. No more than a light-heavyweight, and so short that the majority of his opponents towered over him by six inches or more. Yet he was invincible. His physique was astounding. He was so hugely proportioned above the waist that, at first glance, he appeared almost as broad as he was long. His colossal shoulders and back, smooth and shining, suggested a wall of coal. His chest was so deep and barrel-like. And the length of his arms was something to marvel at. His speed and punching powers were alike phenomenal, and so it was small wonder that even the great Jack Johnson, having once fought fifteen anxious rounds with the ‘Tar Baby’, carefully side-stepped another encounter with him. Johnson was not afraid of a hiding, but he did not want to risk his title. I spent months trying to persuade Johnson to agree to a match with Langford, but he obstinately refused and one day he frankly told me the reason. ‘Say, Mister Mac,’ he drawled, ‘you’re only wasting your time talking to me. I don’t want to fight that little smoke. He’s got a chance against anyone in the world. I’m the first black champion and I’m going to be the last.’ ”5