How did Jack Johnson fight against bigger opponents?

He rarely used the same strategy twice.

It usually depended on feeling out his opponent, what his goal was for the bout, and what kind of mood he was in.

We have some footage of the Willard bout. And what’s clear to me is that he stayed on the outside, looked for opportunities to get past Willards reach, and unloaded combos going forward as Willard tried to create space.

 

He didn't according to his detractors, he only met midgets and beat them by clinching,and leaning on them.
Martin
Ferguson
Kaufman
McVey
Felix
Klondike
Lang
Were all tiny.
He would never have been successful against bigger men because he couldn't fight at a distance.
Had no power or stamina.
ps Did you know?
He was once knocked down in a sparring session,but never defended his title against the man who knocked him down? Shameful!
He was on his last legs against Jim Flynn when the referee dsq'd Flynn saving Johnson's title?
That Tommy Burns was bright yellow with jaundice when Johnson beat him?
That Frank Moran lost a very close decision to him?
That the Jeffries fight could have been scored a draw after the first ten rounds?
That Willard began regularly winning the rounds after the 14thrd in their fight ?
That Jeannette was only 165lbs for the last Johnson fight?
That Johnson refused to fight Jeffries for free in a bar cellar?
But Johnson's most heinous crime was putting his BBD into White women,of course he drugged them first.

 

He seems to have used a crouch against Denver Ed Martin.

"From the start, realizing that Martin had every physical advantage, Johnson played a waiting game, looking to counter. He assumed a peculiar position, half crouched, and blocked the clever Martin's efforts, in a way that repeatedly evoked cheers from the house."

"They mixed it like bantems, fought in and out like middleweights, and were lightning fast on their feet. In covering ground rapidly Martin showed himself to be a wonder. His footwork was splendid, his boxing phenomenally stylish, and his appearance in the ring most impressive."

Los Angeles Herald

"Denver Ed Martin was the harder hitter, but that did not help him any. Johnson's cleverness was something that he could not solve. His left jabs sailed past Johnson's ear nearly every time."

National Police Gazette

 

GOOD FIND!

 

How did Jack Johnson fight against bigger opponents? I guess you have to clarify the weights. We saw vs. Willard. Another 220+ pound man he fought was **Jim Battling Johnson**, and he was lucky to escape with a draw.

If you want to lower the scales, Johnson at times had his hands full with a merely better than average Sandy Ferguson. He had troubles vs. Jim Jeffords. A 6'4" fighter who was 29-23-3 when Johnson fought him, in 1906.

You could add in a teenaged Sam McVey as a 210+ big man. Johnson easily beat Mcvey. Ask yourself why did Johnson had his share of issues vs. Ferguson and a guy like Jeffords, but breezed by McVey? The best answer is Mcvey at that time wasn't as good as Ferguson or Jeffords.

**Jack Johnson barely missed losing his heavyweight championship in a ten round bout here last night. Jeffries' conqueror met Battling Jim Johnson, a big negro from Memphis Tenn. and barely lasted through the final round. He was tottering and groggy at the finish. A few rounds more and he might have been knocked out. . . . In the last minute of the fight the Memphis negro rushed Johnson to the ropes and in a mixup both went to the floor, with Jack's arm around Jim's waist. Both were on their feet quickly but Jack looked exhausted just as the final bell rang. It is possible that Jack hurt his arm in the fall to the floor. . . . In the seventh round the Memphis man succeeded in breaking down Jack's guard and three times after landing on the body grazed Jack's jaw with terrific uppercuts**

 

Johnson handled Ferguson so easily Ferguson resorted to kicking him.Johnson took on Ferguson 5 times.The last time in1905.
In their1st contest Johnson was the aggressor, taking the fight t o Ferguson who fought timidly."Ferguson landed perhaps half a dozen clean punches in the entire ten rounds"
Johnson carried Ferguson in their secpnd No dec 6 rounder.
McVey was already an established threat at that time.
After beating McVey in1903 the L A Times ran this piece
"Its up to you,Champion Jeffries
Jack Johnson is now the logical opponent for the champion

He is a better man than Jeffries has so far met,barring possibly Fitzsimmons.


In 1902 McVey ,Jeffries ,and, Fitzsimmons all had their punches registered on the same machine.
Here are the results.
McVey 1,2070lbs
Jeffries 1,100lbs
Fitzsimmons 1,070lbs
Source the Oxnard Courier March 29th 1902.

 

Johnson played with Jeffries, as he should with the difference in class, using a right to the face and a left to the body to control the action.
The SanFrancisco Call has a very detailed round-by-round report on the December 1903 Ferguson fight which Jack dominateed with a long left jab, winning it appears nearly all the twenty rounds. Jack also dominated their April 1903 affair winning over ten rounds with his jab, movement and body work. The 1905 bout in Ferguson's home town was a good and close affair but as Sandy tired, he fouled out, Jack cool and defensive and using the body attack a lot. Ferguson, despite his record, was probably the most able white fighter, after Jeffries of that period. He liked a drink though...

 

This.

 

Ferguson wasn't very good, and by 1905, I'd put Hart and O'Brien way above him. I disagree, pretty much every decent fighter Ferguson fought beat him. In the DQ match it was even until the ending. It is said that Johnson body punches went low and Ferguson retaliated resulting in the DQ. Johnson also struggled in the Jeffords match in 1906.

Ferguson at best was a tier two contender, and Jeffords a .500 journeyman, yet as reported Johnson struggled with them despite being the much better fighter. We also have Jim Battling Johnson, and IMO Johnson was lucky to escape with the draw.

This to me suggests Johnson would have issues vs. skilled big men in their prime. And he never fought skilled big man in his prime, unless Ed Martin qualifies. Their first fight in 1903 was close. Martin could be viewed as a contender for sure, but 190-200 pounds is not very by the standards of the early 20th century.

 

mcvey, says: Johnson handled Ferguson so easily Ferguson resorted to kicking him.Johnson took on Ferguson 5 times.The last time in1905.
In their1st contest Johnson was the aggressor, taking the fight t o Ferguson who fought timidly."Ferguson landed perhaps half a dozen clean punches in the entire ten rounds"
Johnson carried Ferguson in their secpnd No dec 6 rounder.
McVey was already an established threat at that time.
After beating McVey in1903 the L A Times ran this piece
"Its up to you,Champion Jeffries
Jack Johnson is now the logical opponent for the champion

He is a better man than Jeffries has so far met,barring possibly Fitzsimmons.


In 1902 McVey ,Jeffries ,and, Fitzsimmons all had their punches registered on the same machine.
Here are the results.
McVey 1,2070lbs
Jeffries 1,100lbs
Fitzsimmons 1,070lbs
Source the Oxnard Courier March 29th 1902.

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I think Ferguson might be a bit better than some appreciate,apart from his size 6'3 200/220LBS ,he has some decent wins.Between the 1st and 2nd Johnson fights he drew with Ruhlin and in his next fight after losing to Johnson for the second time,he kod Armstrong in 1 rd, following that up with a win over Klondike .We don't need to go into why some downplay him its self evident.Suffice to say he was a big, strong, durable guy who could take and give a shot ,but one who certainly lacked finesse and often dedication.He does have a draw with Langford and a win over Jeannette so he obviously wasn't some useless dub. Johnson seems to have varfied his tactics against him in their series ,sometimes being the aggressor and sometimes reverting to his more reactive role.Pollack's 1st vol on Johnson has details of their series.

 

McVey, spot on. If anything he was better than you give him credit for. Stamina was a problem but most people felt he defeated Hart in what was a virtual eliminator. He was prepared to fight the top black heavies and beat Armstrong, Byers, Klondike in a twenty fight plus run from mid 1902 until late 1907. His battles with Ruhlin, Hart, Armstrong puts him at the top echelon of the heavyweights for this time frame without a shadow of a doubt. Sorry 70's fan865, don't mean to derail your thread, just setting the record straight.