Jack Johnson is the kind of inspiration a man needs once or twice a year

Jim Brown wasnt born until 1936, this was well before his time.

 

I'd strongly recommend reading Unforgivable Blackness for anyone who hasn't. One of the best boxing biographies(or any biography) I've read.

 

I meant Jim Crown

 

Jack never bent his will to accommodate anyone else’s view of him or his place. He was a truly self-actualized human being.

 

Seconded

 

Who´s Jim Crown?

 

I dont know who the bravest fighter ever was in the ring per se, but I know who the bravest man to ever box was.

 

Absolutely this. I'd go so far as to say that if you added up the ball size of all HW champs to date, Johnson's would still be bigger than all of them combined. In an era where a black man could get lynched for looking at a white person wrong -- or just for no reason at all -- he loudly lived as a giant middle finger to the white racists. I recall reading old reporting that he was even hitting on Jeffries's wife prior to their fight. Just lol.

Death must be black, because if Death was white, Johnson wouldn't have lost that battle.

 

Closest, I can suggest here is Jim Crowe (Law).

 

Not enough schools talk about Jack Johnson. Floyd Mayweather and Muhammad Ali both borrowed much from his blueprint to success.

 

Though this opinion might be contested due to Champion Johnson’s own, apparent propensity to mainly engage white fighters (but he did at least fight Battling Jim Johnson) - it seems he lived somewhat “colour blind” - the most ideal way to be - mixing with whites just as much and just the same as he did blacks.

However, again, his penchant for white women might’ve been viewed as a thumbing of the nose toward whites - but then again, white women might’ve simply been Jack’s personal preference - one which he took all the way with him until his passing.

Though, at the risk of sounding mean, some of those white women Jack hooked up with weren’t too purrdy, imo.

That’s a HUGE commitment to thumbing your nose at the white folks in spite of yourself, IF that’s what Johnson remained faithful to doing. Lol.

But hey, what do I know? Jack’s white partners might’ve been considered hotties in their time.

You guys should check out the naughty pages of the old Police Gazettes of the day.

They had pages dedicated to the apparently hot women of the day - much like The Mirror’s page 3 girls.

When I saw said photos, two words came to mind: Brick Outhouses.

If you like thighs that could crush you in a heartbeat, then those women would’ve been truly the ones for you.

Ah, but I digress...yet again,...

 

Was good to have around in a fight inside a brothel, which is where he spent much of his time.
Even admitted during his trial to having helped a ***** start one up.

 

Jack Johnson is similar to Sonny Liston in so much as the bulk of his resume, in terms of what made him great, was achieved pre-winning the title.

In my experience, there is typically, but by no means always, a negative correlation between the physical attractiveness of a woman and, to put this delicately and politely....., how romantically adventurous they are.

Perhaps the Galveston Giant prioritised open mindedness and willing, over physical attractiveness, in his female partners, for this reason.

 

Spot on Greg re the comparison between Johnson and Liston and the quality of their pre-title opposition.

Staved off for some time beyond their eligible due dates, their best work, in terms of quantity and quality was achieved before they finally ascended the throne.

Yeah, Johnson did pretty much everything differently, in so far as defying what was expected of him and, more importantly, his race.

Jack was criticised for not doing more for his race, but he actually did exemplify what his race could do for themselves as individuals.

However they were attained, the gaining of due rights for Black people was always going to involve turbulence and violence in the face of impossibly resistant and highly insecure Whites.

It seems some people either forget or oversight that it was the Whites who were the core problem.

So, illogically, black people were held accountable for the consequential actions of the Whites - so even if the actions of a Black man were fair and reasonable, IF those actions somehow ruffled the feathers of any White folk and gave rise to the negative actions directly perpetrated by the Whites - then it was somehow the fault of the Black Man or Woman.

Even some of their own race would accuse certain Black individuals of not exercising due prudence - due prudence being “You should know such behaviours will agitate the White folk, therefore you should refrain from same”.

The Whites were literally worried by and rejecting of the “due confidence” Black people might’ve gained from Johnson’s successes in the ring, particularly after Jack’s victory in Reno - Johnson’s “crime” being that he won a fight???

The Whites were trying to impose a “lose lose” outcome for all scenarios, notwithstanding the approach or method adopted by the black individual in question.

So, through history, some took a softly softly approach while others, like Johnson, challenged the inequalities head on - not so much by words but by his more significant actions - and those actions were simply living his life freely, as he should’ve.

Both approaches have their rightful place and again, it really comes back to the rights and choices of every individual as to how they choose to live their life without anyone telling them how it should be done.

Louis was instructed to mind his Ps and Qs, which included the preclusion of any notable post fight victory celebration in the ring.

I understand Joe loathed those suppressions but that’s the path Louis chose to take and he had every right to choose that path.

The way I see it, both Joe and Jack contributed a lot to their race in their own ways. I don’t even like the expression “their race”, it simply delineates and reflects the feeling of the times.

The sports writer who, in reference to Louis, moved the spot light from “The Back Race” to “The Human Race” had it beautifully correct.

Sorry, I will now step down from my soap box. Lol.