How would Tommy Loughran's career go in the current era?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by mrkoolkevin, Jul 9, 2019.


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  1. mrkoolkevin

    mrkoolkevin Never wrestle with pigs or argue with fools Full Member

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    Are there plenty of fighters who went back and forth on the color bar who never fought any black fighters?? It seems like you've been grasping at straws in this thread but the facts seem pretty straightforward: Loughran was simply unwilling to fight black fighters. For what it's worth, here's an excerpt from a Philadelphia sports column toward the end of his career:

    “The Old Sport’s Musings,” Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 18, 1937: “Tommy is emphatic and so is his manager in asserting that following tonight’s bout, the former light heavyweight will be in retirement insofar as Philadelphia is concerned. And Loughran, let it be understood, has always struck by his assertions. It is recalled that, from the first, he drew the color line and never erased it, although he stuck to his decision at great financial sacrifice.”
     
    mrkoolkevin, Jul 10, 2019
    mrkoolkevin, Jul 10, 2019
    #46
    Unforgiven likes this.
  2. Unforgiven

    Unforgiven VIP Member banned Full Member

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    I've read that before. Tommy Loughran's color line is particularly strange. It doesn't seem to me to be about calculated risk avoidance at all. Just racial discrimination as a matter of principle. And it seems he never even considered (or pretended to be considering) fighting a black fighter.

    Unlike, say, Gene Tunney, who was a racist and never fought a black fighter but may have considered it and at least pretended to be open to it at some points in his career.
     
    Unforgiven, Jul 11, 2019
    Unforgiven, Jul 11, 2019
    #47
    mrkoolkevin likes this.
  3. Tonto62

    Tonto62 Boxing Addict banned Full Member

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    Tunney offered to fight Wills in an eliminator, though I don't know how sincere he was being.There is a photo of Tunney sitting next to Louis, eating dinner at a function,if he was an avowed racist,I don't know he would have gone for the seating arrangements.
    Sorry I doesnt seem you canaccess these but a click on GeneTunney photos should bring you to Getty Images

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    Last edited: Jul 11, 2019
    Tonto62, Jul 11, 2019
    Tonto62, Jul 11, 2019
    #48
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