Hello, Jim Corbett once said that Jack Johnson was a good fighter but had done nothing phenomenal in terms of who he beat. Saying Burns and Hart weren't really champions and anyone would've have beaten the Jeffries Johnson fought. Ever since I read that I wondered if Corbett at his best could back this up and beat Johnson's title defenses. So how does the Corbett that fought Sullivan do against Tommy Burns Jack O Brien Stanley Ketchel Jim Jeffries Jim Flynn Jim Johnson Frank Moran Jess Willard. All fighters are in the same shape and age as when they fought Johnson. Same number of rounds even. Corbett stays in the same kind of shape as he was with John L. Just to see if he can back up his statement that these guys weren't very good. What do you think happens does Corbett eat his words or prove them?
Burns gives him the most trouble, O'Brien was Corbett-Lite, Ketchel too wild to ever catch him, a peak Jeffries had trouble with a slipping Corbett, Flynn, Johnson and Moran too slow and simply not good enough, Willard made for Jim, see Tom McMahon etc. Burns could box, set traps, hit hard, was fast and could rough up Corbett, a more complete Sharkey if you will-interesting but as he handled Choynski he probably beat Tommy too.
Tommy Burns Jack O Brien Stanley Ketchel Jim Jeffries Jim Flynn Jim Johnson Frank Moran Jess Willard Johnson was 5-1-2 here. Let's be honest, these are weak title title matches, except for Willard. I'd pick most hall of fame level champions to do better than Johnson's 5-2-1 mark. I'd pick Corbett every time, but suspect he'd lose once, possibly to Willard in a 45 round match, though Corbett in his prime went 60+ with Jackson. So 7-1 for Corbett is my call.
Fixed to 5-1-2. I have not seen many historians of the time who felt Burs was better than Corbett,outside of Mr. Gilbert Odd, who's rankings are good for a laugh.
Corbett actually sparred with a young Tommy Burns (then known as Noah Brusso) when Brusso was just a middleweight. See my book: In the Ring With Tommy Burns. Former heavyweight champion James J. Corbett was in Detroit, sparring and working out there for one week in early December 1902. He was anticipating a rematch with champion James Jeffries. On December 9, 1902, Corbett sparred for a short time with Harry Nederlander and also mixed it up for 10 minutes with middleweight Noah Brusso. Afterwards, Corbett had “considerable praise” for the Detroit boys, as well as advice. Of his sparring with Brusso, “The bout was very fast, and after it was over the ex-champion had some good words for the local boy. ‘He settles his muscles too much,’ said Corbett. ‘Let him overcome that and he will be heard from. He can certainly hit some.’” Corbett had sparred Jeffries on Jeff’s way up the ladder, and now Noah Brusso had the honor of having been in the ring with the former champ. His showing and Corbett’s compliments gave Brusso confidence. He took Corbett’s advice and worked on relaxing his muscles more. Years later, Brusso said he sparred with Corbett several times that week and learned something new each time. In late December, Brusso won the Michigan State Middleweight Championship.
I think that you might undersestimate Ketchel's chances in this one. To me Ketchell appears to have a style similar to Sharkey's and i think that Ketchell might be an reasonable chance of upsetting corbett. as he sometimes struggled with the wild volume hitters. Jim Johnson, i think , is another who probably has better chances than you mentioned. Though i think that is because he is criminally underated on this forum (though so is probably Corbett). I find the comments that Tommy sparred Corbett very interesting.
A young and green Johnson embarrassed Sharkey in sparring.Sharkey beat the **** out of Corbett.:think
Sharkey was passed his best by then ( 1901 ), and who knows if he was in shape. Sharkey's only listed weight was 192 pounds in 1901. From 1901-1905, Sharkey won just one fight in five. The Fitzsimmons, Ruhlin and Jeffries fights took a lot out of Sharkey, who like most aggressive trading types, did not have a long prime. Now its double standard time for Mr. Tony McVey. What about Jack Johnson sparring with Gun Boat Smith, where Smith knocked him silly when Johnson was in his absolute prime in 1909? I think that one counts a bit more Smith vs. Corbett anyone?
YOU'VE DONE IT AGAIN! PASSED! IT'S PAST! Going to blame me again? We don't know what Sharkey weighed when he sparred with Johnson in April1901.What we do know is that in April 1900 ,one year earlier , Johnson weighed 168lbs.
If you want to use Johnson's sparring sessions he was TKO'd by GB Smith. As stated Johnson by then was in his prime when this happened in 1909. Smith would have been a nice title choice for Johnson. Who really cares if Johnson did well in sparring vs. the past his prime Sharkey? Only you. I showed you Sharkey was overweight by 1901, and his ring record from 1901-1905. That is what matters. I'm having a bit of fun today. You're too numb to realize how easy it is to beat you with your own words, double standards, and forgetful memory. Now, can you name another ATG great heavy that only wins 5 of 8 matches vs the listed men? I can't. But go ahead and list a few names.
Corbett had some front criticizing Johnson ,old Jim managed 2 successful defences in 5 years one over a past it middleweight. Then he lost his crown to another middleweight.WTF did he ever beat? A washed up Sullivan ,a washed up Mitchell?
I could honestly see Corbett getting the same general results as Johnson, against all those opponents. I think McVea makes a good point however, that given Corbetts real world resume it is a bit of a leap of faith to assume that he would replicate those results, over the same timeframe. Either way, I am quite confident that Corbett would not have replicated Johnson’s pre title run, say from the Gardiner fight onwards.
