If Johnson and Willard had fought over 15 rounds

I think Willard basicaly beat Johnson the only way he could.

 

If Johnsin where to win I think it would certainly enhance his longevity. I could wee him sitting on the title outside of the US before being baited back in after 2/3 years and probably losing handily to a top white contender (potentially Dempsey) giving him the second longest title reign of all time. To be taken with a pinch of salt due to his lack of defenses of course.

 

So what if Johnson wins.

I think his financial circumstances would likely have forced him to defend his title further.

It is even possible to imagine him returning to the states, and taking the title to prison with him.

Potential future opponents in the frame would be Moran (again), Morris, and Fulton.

I could see Fulton being the man who finally relieved an ageing Johnson of the title.

 

I cant imagine Fulton beating Johnson at any time.

DOnt forget that Johnson followed the Willard Loss witha 7 or so years unbeaten streak, despite the non activity, and it was only very good young fighters like Eddie Lawson and Bearcat Wright that ended up beating him, after Johnson came out of lengthy absences.

If he had outclassed Willard, it is hard to imagine who might have beaten him. I could see Johnson giving Langford a chance some time after or around the Langford Fulton fight, but cant see Langford winning this, and if Fulton were to earn the fight with his win over Langford (most likely scenario), Johnson would really enhance his own Legacy by fighting and beating Fulton.

This leaves Johnson Wills as the biggest match up around this time, but would it attract Johnson, probably not when you consider that around this time, he could fight the biggest European draw in Georges Carpentier which i think is a definite fight for Johnson, and he surely wins this. Around this time, Johnson v Darcy stands out as another Mega fight in Australia especially since Darcy was the Australian Heavyweight Champion, and again you would have to favour Johnson.

INterestingly, if Johnson were to return to the USA, he presumably would have the likes of Greb, Gibbons, Dillon & Co to feast on. All of hom you would expect to be too small and lose to JAck (although as with Darcy each of these fights does create a massive Legacy opportunity for the opponents). These are all possible fights (easy money Low risk high regard) as are fighting lesser thought of foreign opposition such as Albert Kid Lloyd who later became an Australian champ after Darcy left, or Bombadier Billy Wells or Bandsman Dick Rice.


Firpo is another huge potential payday to sneak into the schedule and Johnson would really have an easy time with him, i think.

If johnson had continued on this route, i think he has the potential to extend both his legacy and length of reign in a massive way, without too much risk.

Dempsey is the big risk, you would think that Johnson Dempsey was a collission course that was destined to happen and would at some stage become massive, if Dempsey could maintain his impressive KO streaks. I could see Dempsey becoming either a huge draw as the White Champion or even as a newly created US or NYS champ, with Johnson not coming back to fight in the us.

One very interesting scenario and possibility is that If Dempsey was the alternate champ (particularly if he just fought and beat Wills the coloured champ) and then got caught up in draft dodge scandals, Johnson might very well have been invited back to the US not only in a mega fight against Dempsey, but as a hero representing the American way against a draft dodger. It would have really changed the way he was looked at by history, he could have become Americas first black hero.

While Dempsey must be favoured in any fight with JOhnson, if JOhnson wins, it really does probably make him the greatest fighter of all time. And it certainly wouldnt be the first time that Johnson had beaten a smaller murderous punching white heavyweight. If his defence nullified Dempseys, we might just be convinced that it would do the same to Louis, Marciano and Tyson among others.

 

jonhson would have won in a 15 rounder, even this finished version, a prime johnson was a much better boxer than dempsey, he would have schooled dempsey, tunney, corbett, sulivan,baer, schmeling, sharkey,carnera prime jefries... johnson is the man pre 1936

 

Johnson won most all rounds over the first 15. Willard only surged once Johnson was exhausted. Johnson would have held onto the title until he loses to Dempsey.

 

I think that people tend to make completely realistic predictions for the longevity of certain great fighters if they had not retired, or if they had just not shared an era with that one fighter. This applies to fighters like Johnson, Tunney, Marciano, and Liston to name a few. I think they were all coming to the end of the road soon enough.

There are relativley few cases where a fighter holds the title significantly longer in an alternative universe.

 

I dont think anyone from then would beat Johnson over 15 rounds. I also believer Johnson would never have fought anyone meaningful until the Dempsey hype train got started.