Johnson's 1912 Defence Against Jeannette Cancelled By Commission

This is a fight that would certainly have improved his legacy. Especially had he dominated like expected. He could even have negated the langford fight by then taking on mcvey after he outpointed the boston terror.

His reign would then have more legitimacy post jeffries.

 

Cancel by commission? This sounds a bit like the rigged Dempsey vs. Wills affair that was voted down 2-1. If Johnson really wanted to offer Jeannette a title shot, multiple venues were available. If not in the USA, surely in England, France, or Australia where papers indicated big time promoters were willing to make the match.

Jeanette in 1912 would have been Johnson's most formidable opponent ever. A win here would have somewhat legitimized his championship title run.

A question to ponder is this? Who were the best opponents who were in their prime, or close enough to it that Johnson fought? Langford, Jeannette, and McVey do not qualify.

I would say Williard, Choynski, and Hart. Anyone agree or disagree?

 

Jack Johnson butt****ed Mendoza's grandma

 

His championship run leaves a lot to be desired but his resume does not.

 

Not so much flak by myself as a ceiling for his legacy. By jeffries he'd cleaned out his era so I understand his taking the foot off the gas. However I can't put him in my top 2 with only a 6 year spell as the best hw out there (hart to jeffries) after that langford and mcvey ruled the division in a realistic sense whilst he became less of a boxer and more of a public figure.

 

Go f' yourself. And stop with the race card. Your a bitter old man who has nothing better to do. Johnson was champ from 1908-1915. If he wanted to risk his title vs Jeannette, the fight could have been made during this time line in multiple venues.

 

Jesse McMahon was of course the father of Vince McMahon Senior, and grandfather of the current Czar of World Wrestling Entertainment. It took a long time for black champions to come to the fore in Vince Jr.'s WWF and WWE, and I think they may still be relatively few and far between. They didn't even have a black singles champion until Ahmed Johnson (Tony Norris) got the Intercontinental Title in 1996. (And promptly gave an interview to McMahon where he decried rampant discrimination in McMahon's company, and the industry in general. Ron Simmons had obtained the WCW Title four years earlier.)

What the McMahon brothers did to squelch Johnson-Jeanette in 1912 leads me to wonder if their descendants continue to carry on a family tradition now over a century old. The success of performers of African descent in that business has lagged far behind the success of such athletes in many competitive sports. (Of course I realize we're not discussing a competitive sport here, and market forces are something of a consideration, but it seems to me that a world title could have been credibly placed on Bobo Brazil or Ernie Ladd decades before Simmons got the honor of being the first.)