Interesting wee article on Johnson-Kaufmann title fight

This is from an interesting wee article from The Richmond Planet covering the Johnson-Kauffman fight. Kaufmann had a great run of form coming to his shot, winning 7 on the bounce through 08 and into 09, including KO wins over Flynn, Gardner and Jim Johnson and a points win over Twin Sullivan in 25. He also showed good form immediatly at the back of the fight beating Jack O'Brien and Lang.

The Headline: "The Ebony Hued Fighting Machine Too Much For Al Kaufman - Jim Jeffries Would Be No Cinch With Him"


"Johnson made the native son look foolish for round after round, staggered him against the ropes, used every punch allowed in the ring, but to the dissappointment of the large crowd, failed to produce the sleep inducing wallop.

Johnson was to careful. His old system of playing it safe was obviously his plan of battle. He took no chances. But in spite of this, the fight was one of the fastest ever seen on the coast...Kaufmann tried the best he knew how to get over a punch that would change [the fight]. His wonderful right, the punch that earned him the nickname "one-round Kauffman"...might as well have been left in the stable for all the good it did against Johnson's defencisve prowess, the burley negro picking them off - literally picking them off - and shooting home counters.

In the later rounds Kauffman altered his plan of battle. He began to fight for the stomach and had Johnson worried. In the last two rounds Johnson tired perceptably, and the tide seemed to be turning..after two or three hard rights to the wine cellar...but Johnson fought a ten round battle, and had he been fighting for 20 rounds, he might have fought differently.

Johnsn was not in the best of shape when he entered the ring. He was pounds overweight. The champion had been leading an "easy" lifestyle, champagne, big feeds...had put large rolls of fat on his midriff...he acknowledged that he was many pounds overweight....when the pinch came in the last two rounds he felt the handicap.

There was no particular punch that could be said to have won the fight for the champion. He had them all and used them all but his trump card was the right uppercut to the chin, it never seemed to miss. At close quarters this was particularly fatal...Twice ringsiders thought the fight was over as this punch found the mark, but as many times they were dissappointed...but Johnson could shoot [the right uppercut] home at any time from any angle."


What's interesting to me is how far gone Johnson is in terms of conditioning, and that he struggles in the last two rounds. I always felt like his conditioning was ok - if not perfect - between his title win and the Jeffries fight (Where he was beautifully turned out!), but it seems this is not the case...this makes me wonder again about a Johnson-Langford fight post Jeffries...I always felt with Johnson sliding off and Langford hungry and peaking there could only be one winner (Sam) but if Jack was able to haul himself in for Jeffries despite splilling condition, perhaps he could do it again? Thoughts?


"The fight showed that even Jeffries would have no cinch with Johnson. But the coloured man will have to get very busy and train like a proper fighter..."

 

Retired.

 

I think that the apparent affect these body shots have on Jack are very interesting, but let's also be clear - the article stresses, time and again that a) Johnson won easily b) Johnson was in bad shape. I think, basically, it's very impressive that Johnson comes in in bad nick and dispatches a fighter of Kauffman's pedigree with such ease...but here is what I will do. There is a detailed round by round of this fight in this article. Allowing for and stressing the fact that Kauffman lost by distance, i'll look for which punches the article says he landed and when, and we can have a look at what his real success or otherwise might have been. I'll also look for details concerning the body punches and their affect, and then maybe we can try and double-source the article.

 

Why? 209 out of training and eating and drinking wrong is entirely different from 214 in training.

 

Round 1 - Johnson lands a long left hook very early and Kauffman is clinching "in a desperate embrace". Johnson, "grinning, both hands free, shot a left and right to the body". Kauffman, "stung by some remark" attacked but was met with a left right upstairs that "stood him straight up...it looked as though the coloured man would have a sinch for a knockout within the limit...but Johnson stood away...Kauffman then decided to box...to the crowds amazement he beat Johnson to the punch and landed a right to the stomach, and in turn was copped with a right on the jaw that hurt."

So Kauffman lands a single blow, sounds like a decent one, to the body, which Johnson absorbs without difficulty, apparently.

 

Round 2 - "The second round was all Johnson...he put it all over Kauffman landing to the jaw and body at will...he opened the round with a straight left to the face...and then to prove it wasn't a fluke he shot it home again three times...Kauffman threw a right to the face, but Johnson picked it off within one sixteenth of an inch from it's target and smiling derisively, slammed home a left to the body and then put the same fist to the jaw...Kauffman staggered...Johnson stood off and let his man come back...he still seemed to feel the fight a joke."


No blows reported as being landed by Kauffman.