This 4th title defense of Johnson's was a complete waste of time. I had watched four Johnson fights previously, but knew Johnson said this was his toughest fight, I think I read. All I did was spend 20 mins. that I would never get back, and it wasn't a 20 mins. I enjoyed. It had significantly less clinching than any of Johnson's other clinches, which made sense since Moran was much closer to Johnson's size, whereas Burns, Ketchel, and Flynn were much smaller. So this fight was much more of an outside affair than any of the previous Johnson fights I had seen. Despite that, it was a huge yawn. But the terrible thing was that in the last several rounds, before each every round a slide would appear describing the incredible action of the later rounds, but none of it was never shown in the rounds that followed. Verdict: Huge waste of time. Forget it.
If you're talking suggestions. Owen Moran Vs Battling Nelson Packey McFarland Vs Freddie Welsh Joe Gans Vs Kid Herman
It's not a good fight to watch, but it's good fight to see Johnson's outside boxing ability. He wasn't in any danger at any point of the fight and he controlled Moran both inside and outside. Of course, Moran wasn't that good but you can see how deceptive Johnson's quickness was even at 220 lbs.
I wouldn't judge any fighters on such POOR Old Film Footage... there are 2 simple ways to deduce these fighters were much better than they look on such crap film. 1) look at the TOP names fighters fought successfull in both Wins and Competetive Loses. 2) look at the Odd, but Available, Footage from pre 1940s that is Actually Good, well even 'if' only One Good Film shows Proper and Skilled Fighting, well that's the only Proof Required to know that ALL of their Top Teir Peers, were just as good or better. and thankfully there are far more excellent examples of Old Fight Footage than just one, but again it only takes ONE Good Film to prove all the contemporaries were just fine. I do maintain however, that in the evolutionary scale of things, Boxing as a whole greatly improved by the mid late 20s and from there.
Yes. Of historical interest only. Moran strikes me as mediocre. Johnson not finishing him was a tip off that he was slipping badly.
