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

basically you asking for the populace of a country to not be racist.

its a big ask.

 

Johnson still would be talked about, but his ranking would dim a bit.

 

Johnson probably has the third best resume of any heavyweight champion, in terms of the raw numbers.

That alone should be enough to get him talked about, though today it is only apparent to people who understand the era.

 

He offered Corbett a rematch several times ,his only proviso being that it be above the Mason Dixon line Corbett ignored his challenges.

 

I don't believe for one second that Johnson's standing rests on him being the first black heavyweight champion, so the question is largely redundant.

 

Please explain why?

 

The drinking problem may have not begun if he had been given his rightful shot at either Sullivan or Corbett.imo
I fail to see how him winning the title would have impacted on Johnson standing?:huh

It could only have been positive for Johnson imo, he would not be breaking through the barrier and probably would not have had to face all the sh*t that he did, including being shot at and threatened with violence several times.

 

I honestly feel that Jackson would do more than enough in his reign to make people look at Johnson and say, his reign was nice, but not like Jackson. I think Peter could have done a bit more, if he was champ, that it makes Jack's accomplishments seem a bit dimmer, in comparision.

 

And I was agreeing with you.:good

 

Oh I see where you are. I would pick Jackson to beat the dissipated version of Sullivan that refused to fight him.Jackson would then be a younger fresher version defending against Corbett.I pick Jackson to win that one. Jackson could have defences against Maher & Goddard and probably win both, Fitz would be problematical ,I think I would go with "Freckles" so Jackson's reign would not be a long one.

 

This thread had troubled me somewhat.

My default opinion was that there's no way Jackson would have beaten Fitz.

But then I remembered how lowly I regard Fitz h2h. I have never seen Jackson but those who have regard him very highly. Plus he held a big size advantage over Fitz.

I'm gonna re evaluate how I rank Fitz historically.

Regarding the op, I think casually it takes some shine off Johnson but it doesn't affect his standing too much. Obviously Jackson gets a huge boost in legacy.

 

I dont see Fitz beating Jackson unless Jackson deteriorated Jackson was better than fitz when he was in his prime and both were younger, not the least because one was a middle and the other a heavy. i think he had it mentally over Fitz because of this.

Saying that, Jackson was (according to many) past his prime by the time he fought Corbett, so by the time he fought Fitz, you would expect him to be well past prime, so Fitz just may have been the one to beat him. It is worth noting also that many people actually did consider Peter Jackson the world Heavyweight champion. It is just that they didnt live in the us.

Regarding Johnson, I think that it would take away a lot of the black v White money fights, meaning that JOhnson would have stayed in shape and fought more often. Pretty scary really. If he continued his dominance by beating Jeanette, Langford, Mcvey and i suppose Johnson, i think he would be number 1. I n reality he would have also probably given a young Harry Wills a shot which could only end one way. The willard fight would ahve probably been a 12 round no decision or points win to johnson. to be honest, the mind boggles how highly he could have been ranked if he didnt stop fighting and instead continued on the same run he was making pre title.

Realistically, it would not be until Dempsey came along that you would expect him to lose.

 

Interesting and plausible twist on things:good

 

There would be no films of Jackson. Plenty of Johnson so a more known quantity as decades go by. Johnson would still be rated higher. It would not have changed his historical ranking.