How would Johnson rank if Jackson were the first black Heavyweight Champion?

You are making a number of assumptions about Jackson’s success as champion.

He did not age particularly well, owing in large part to his drink problem.

My gut tells me that somebody gets him before Jeffries.

 

Peter Jackson was the Brittish Empire Champion, which at the time carried a lot of weights. His ring record was excellent, he fought the best. Tall, very fast, skilled, and with good power, Jackson was an all-around talent. His chin was good, not great and he was not waxed until he fought Jeffries past his prime.

According to experts of the time, such as Geroge Siler Jackson was better than Johnson by long odds! Circa 1907.

Had Jackson beaten Corbett or Fitz ( Jackson got the better of Fitz in sparring ), Johnson's star dims for sure. Jackson, though black was a gentleman and well liked by many including the press. The polar opposite of Johnson in many areas.

I think Jackson would have offered any man a title shot, regardless of race or creed if the money was right.

 

It would change history and perspective a great deal no other way around it. I don't think it would diminish Johnson's in the ring accomplishments that much, a little for sure but he would still be viewed as a great champion. Culturally speaking things would be viewed differently. Johnson gets a lot of credit for breaking the glass ceiling. Mainstream people recognize him more for that than beating say the Mcvey's and Tommy Burns of the world. Remove that cultural significance to his achievement but keep the same personality on him and I think many of the media of the time that supported him and defended him abandon him. He may even have been robbed of the title in one of his defenses. Because his personality as compared to Jackson who would of preceded him would of rankled even more people of his era than he already did.
It's an interesting topic for sure.

 

I am convinced that Jackson at his peak was the best heavyweight between Sullivan and Jeffries. If he can keep his house in order, he potentially has everything to play for.

Hard to be sure about the exact cause of his drink problem. Jackson was an intelligent man, and it is well documented that intelligent people are susceptible to drink problems.

 

Many of the old time fighters were big drinkers, but not all of them could handle it.

I tend to agree that Jackson was better than Sullivan based on wins.

 

Jackson's manager didn't.

 

I disagree with Corbett. If Jackson was the champion, and Corbett drew with him, Corbett's stock goes up. Based on a detailed round by round ****ysis, Corbett won more rounds than Jackson in the first 25 rounds, and there was little action after that. However, Jackson won some rounds by the larger margin's.

Speaking of Corbett, he had a high opinion on Jackson ranking him 1B with Jeffries.

Jim Corbett (circa 1925) rankings.

1A. Jeffries
1B. Jackson
3. Fitzsimmons
4. Sullivan
5. Slavin and Dempsey
7. Langford
8. Johnson
9. Willard
10. Sharkey and Wills
12. McCoy and Mitchell
14. Kilrain

 

I try to ignore manager's and trainer's input especially if they had a falling out with their fighter. In other cases, manger picks are pure homer picks.

I'd rather go with what the fighters, or ref's said.

 

This is what he said while he was managing Jackson.

He said that the only person who would have beaten Jackson, was a prime Sullivan.

 

In his autobiography The Roar of the Crowd, Corbett at the end summarizes his thoughts of the champions who followed him and says of Jackson (who was not a champion) that 'he may have been the greatest of them all.'