Johnson started boxing in 1894. Breaking down his career, What 6-year period was Jack Johnson's b

Johnson started boxing in 1894. Breaking down his career, What 6-year period was Jack Johnson's best?

Poll options:

1901-1906, 1907-1912, 1913-1918, 1895-1900
1907-1912, 1901-1906, 1913-1918, 1895-1900
1901-1906, 1907-1912, 1895-1900, 1913-1918
1907-1906, 1901-1906, 1985-1900, 1913-1918
Other, list yor own best 6 years from best to worst.


1895-1900 ( Early Career ) Age 16-22

Notable wins: Klondike Haynes TKO14.

Notable losses; Klondike Haynes TKO/RTD by 5, Bob Thompson ( Who was a lower weight fighter ) UD loss.

Draws. Klondike Haynes, Henry Smith, Jim McCormick, Pat Smith

Records vs. the best two fighters fought ( opponents status when he fought Johnson ) 1 win, 1 loss 2 draws.

My Overall Grade and Notes: Grade C Johnson won some and lost some as a young professional. His competition in the early parts of his career was weak, outside of Klondike Haynes.



1901-1906 ( Early prime years to prime years ) Age 23-28

Notable wins: Langford UD win. Mcvey UD 2 Ko 1X, Jeannette UD Win 5x, Martin 3 UD twice, KO UD, Munore UD

Notable losses: Choynski Ko'd by 3, Griffin UD loss, Hart UD Loss, Jeannette DQ.

Draws: Stift, Scanlan , Dunning, Everett, Griffin 2x McCormick, Jeannette.

Records vs. the best two fighters fought ( opponents status when he fought Johnson ) 0-2

My overall Overall Grade and Notes: Grade B-. Johnson has wins over Langford, McVey and Jeannette; however, Langford was an estimated 156 pounds and 20 years old, McVey was a teenager when he fought Johnson, and Jeannette a raw novice who had a losing or .500 type of record. So when they happened, they were not as significant as they look on paper. More revealing are Johnson's losses to Hart who was in his prime, Choysnki slightly past his prime, and Griffin past his prime show Johnson wasn't exactly a top 3 contender wire to wire for these years. There are also too many draws for a great fighter to have on his resume at this point in time ( over 8 years as a pro ) , relative to the resumes of other great fighters. I tend to think Choynski and Hart when Johnson fought them were as good or better than anyone he beat in this period. The win over Martin could very well be Johnson's best in this timeline.

Numerous draws, including one to McCormick, who had a losing record in 1906 shows Johnson wasn't quite ready for prime time.


1907-1912 ( Prime years, championship years ) Age 29- 34

Notable wins Flynn KO, DQ, Burns Dec, Ketchel, Jeffries
Notable losses none
Draws O'Brien
Records vs. the best two fighters fought ( opponents status when he fought Johnson ) 1-0-1


Overall Grade and Notes: B In my opinion, Johnson improved in 1907 and 1908. Tommy Burns was likely Johnson's best pure win in addition to his best-filmed performance. Burns at 5'7 1/2 168 pounds was small, but he was game. O'Brien was probably the best title opponent for Johnson, and that one ended in a draw. Some primary sources say O'Brien who gave up over 40 pounds was slightly the better. The Ketchel match was notable for the ending, where Ketchel floors and by Johnson's own admission hurt him then quickly gets KO'd by an off-balance Johnson. Ketchel who hardly landed much exposed Johnson's as a middleweight. A middleweight shouldn't be able to do this to the heavyweight champion of the world. Johnson won easily over a Ross who didn't belong but was stung in the process. He easily outboxed a very overrated Kaufman who lost often post Johnson and defeated the shell of Jim Jeffries for his largest purse.

His overall grade is downgraded due to shaky performances and avoiding the best competition of this timeline in Langford, Jeannette McVey , and Gunboat Smith. These were the top 4 contenders in the timeline. Not one of them was given a title shot. When you consider how Smith sparked Johnson in a 4 round exhibition match, and how much Langford, Jeannete and Mcvey improved, you'd have to give all four of them a legitimate shot to dethrone Johnson, as we saw an older O'brien Drew with him, and a much smaller Kethcel floored and hurt him. In my opinion, these were Johnson best overall years, though some think he beat better fighters from 1901-1906. A fight was scheduled with Langford in 1909, but Johnson withdrew. Had Johnson faced a more mature Langford and won cleanly, I'd give him a B+ as he would have faced his best opponent. Had Johnson faced Langford and either Smith, Jeannette or McVey and won he'd get an A-


1913-1918 ( Post prime years )


Notable wins Moran, UD
Notable losses Willard KO loss
Draws Battling Jim Johnson
Records vs. the best two fighters fought ( opponents status when he fought Johnson ) 1-1

My overall Grade and Notes: C+ Johnson was on the slide during these years, and he was lucky to draw with Jim " Battling " Johnson " over 10 rounds. 12 or more, and we have a likely new champion. The judging was curious as one judge voted for Battling Jim, and the other two voted draw. Many at ringside felt Johnson hurt his arm in the last round.

Johnson edged Moran in a close fight where few punches were landed. Moran didn't get a dime and was the victim to fouls, and a ref who was wasn't giving a warning for fouls. Moran wasn't among the 3 the best white hopes during Johnson's championship years, but he certainly made a fair showing.

Johnson ended up losing his crown to Willard. Willard was clumsy and had no defense. He was hit easily at times; however, Johnson could not hurt or deter him. Many of the shown rounds show a close fight with Willard being better on the outside and Johnson him. Willard, without a doubt, was Johnson's most formidable title opponent. Johnson's performance, given his age, raises his stock a little. The ending wasn't as sudden, you could see it coming as Johnson was baldy hurt by a body shot in round 25.

 

I thought this one would be debated. Some say Johnson's best wins happened when he was under 200 pounds, pre- lineal title.

 

I guess I nailed it then and you agree with every word!