I had a look at this the other day just to see if I could find any evidence at all of a decent camp for Johnson post-Jeffries. This one seems to be the pick of a bad bunch. Ten days before the fight, his condition was in great question: "Some of Johnson's past performances cannot be forgotten, and we have seen Willard. Any follower of the fight game knows that if Johnson is in anything like peak condition he can polish Willard off easily and never unduly exert himself in the achievement. Should Willard win he will have to thank the black man's manner of life more than his own prowess...pictures taken in camp show [Johnson] to be a very ordinary and very fat looking black man...with no trace of the athlete in his architecture...but if by some miracle Johnson is anywhere near his old form, Mr Willard can go back to punching cows..." Chicago Day Book But an interesting thing occured in the final week of the fight, as Johnson started to look sharp in training. He became a favourite with American betters (although the Cubans knew the detail, backing Willard to the hilt. "The big champion's condition is improving fast. He weighed just 228lbs yesterday...in his glove work he was hitting clean and boxing strong, and showed good judgement - with headwork as good as in any of his fights. Willard has become a big favourite with the Cubans and they are going to back him with coin...Willard tapered of his training yesterday... Johnson, too, let down somewhat in his strenuous campaign eliminating from his daily program the bag punching...but he boxed 8 fast rounds...the talk about Johnson being "hog-fat" are not true. He may have been when he arrived here but he has worked of that extra flesh wonderfully well and is now in good shape, although nothing like the time he met Jeff in Reno...the betting here is about 2 and one half-1 on Johnson." The Washington Herald. Also in the Herald is an interesting write up by Fitz where he picks Johnson to win by KO in 4! Fitz seems a huge fan of Johnson by this point (Fitz is now 55) which I found interesting. So Johnson seems to have worked hard at this fight, partly due to the fear factor with several newspapers including articles about Johnson's fear of losing the title, although he still came in in less than perfect condition. Anyone know if he was sharp for any of the other post-Jeffries battles? How about Moran? How do you think Johnson would have handled Willard in his prime? As an aside, I read a lot of write ups of Johnson's past title defences, and nowhere is O'Brien mentioned. I don't think it was a title defence, or billed as such.
Probably cuts him to shreds and batters him from pillar to post, BUT still Willard's going to be hard to beat over a long distance. Willard soaked up punishment well. Maybe Willard has enough of the punishment and pulls out after 15+ rounds of abuse though. Interesting, and confirms what I've been pointing out from time to time (to Mendoza, of course) ...... a 6-ROUND NO DECISION BOUT would hardly be viewed as a serious championship contest, at that time, or any time since. Or so I suspect.
I think that Johnson declined verry suddenly after the Jeffries fight, and I don't think he was ever realy on top form again. What little I have found suggests that he did not put much preparation in for the Moran fight. The Flynn fight was seen as a subpar performence at the time.
I don't think Johnson ever stops Willard (barring a fluke), but he would win widely on points. Willard's toughness and conditioning were exceptional, and Johnson wasn't really the type to push things hard enough to get him to retire before the distance. I think Jack would be content to dominate him on the cards.
Post fight ,Johnson said he had badly underestimated Willards durability,[and probably overestimated his own].he was fat for Moran,he has a roll of suet around his hips ,and his arse is fat.
A fat Jack Johnson was still in better shape than 99% of heavyweights. 226 lbs at 6'1 is pushing it though, especially in a fight scheduled for 45 rounds. Think of the shape Eddie Chambers was in at 220. Johnson had a stronger build of course.
