Of all time? I know some certainly feel he deserves that label. But whenever the discussion arises he's seemingly barely mentioned, with fighters like Lennox Lewis instead mentioned. What exactly did Johnson do that was defensively genius? Who here agrees that he was one of if not the best defensive HW of all time?
He had very good defense against smaller, neanderthal fighters and shot has-beens. He has since gained a cadre of apologists for his many underwhelming performances. At his best, he was very good. Most of the time, he showed up below par. He would get wasted in a few rounds against today's heavies.
Jack Johnson is for the first part of the 20th century.......... BUT! Then we have other dudes like "Ali, Holmes, Holy, Bowe, Lewis & The K. Bros." to consider during the second half of the century......... I rank J.J. in my top-5 for sure........ He was great..... I love to review "The Great White Hope" with James Earl Jones when I'm buzzin' late at night..... A nice stroll down Memory Lane........ SR.BILL
I just dont see it with Johnson. When I think of skilled HW guys like Charles,Walcott,Louis and Holmes come to mind first. I think Dempsey had underated skills also.
He must have been crap as he only went undefeated for 10 years,anyone not convinced that Johnson was **** ? Ask Mendoza.
Johnson is widly over rated. If he was around today Johnson would be competive with most heavies. I still think he has the skill sets to be in the top 5 today. I also think both Klitschko's would knock him into next week. I think Johnson's problem if he was around today would be his low out put, suspect chin, and Ruiz like clinching abilities. That and perhaps the law. If you go on film, Johnson had a great uppercut, and quick hands. He was a pretty good in-fighter. That was his best stuff.
Most skilled for his time maybe . not all time his game and the game after the 20s with the advent of modern boxing are completly different.
He probably had the best defense of the heavyweights. His best punch was his right uppercut that he would land on an incoming opponent. He learned a lot from Joe Gans. http://www.amazon.com/Joe-Gans-Biography-American-Champion/dp/0786439947/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b
