how good was the galveston giant..where is he on most atg lists....recetnly read his bio and rewatched some of his fights, looked to be adefensive wizard with decent, spiteful power...??
Johnson was a great who could've competed in any era, A phenom. It's hard to rate fighters who fought pre war and compare them to those post war, because it's not fair to either, but IMO Jack Johnson is top 3 heavyweight of all time. From what i've seen he was very relaxed in the ring, so cool under fire and brillient defensively and made you pay for mistakes. He caught and blocked punches and countered extremely well. Very good on the inside as well, and had vicious Lennox Lewis-esque uppercuts. Brillient handspeed, defense, smarts and physically very strong. He was past his best by the time he won the title and was closer to it when he beat the great Sam Langford. A truly great fighter.
i didnt know he had fought langford...he refused to defend title against sam didnt he??....i also hadnt realised his parity on size with todays (pre SUPER heavyweight guys)..the footage i watched of him made him look big, athletic, well muscled and well over 6ft and a solid 215lb....looks a handful for anyone
Among the heavyweight champions he is behind only Mr Barrows and Mr Clay, in terms of depth of resume. His resume has some serious flaws, but the depth of it is hard to get your head round. His power seems to be prety impresive and he might have been developed as a slugger if his career had followed a diferent trajectory.
