Johnson's words right after the knockout to Willard.

I reckon he lost fair to,but i guess the picture of him seeminly holding his hands to shield his eyes,is enough for some fools to think it was fixed.
Why would he wait so damn long to throw the fight first of all,and alsomany boxers on the deck after going down,have moved there hands and arms,its just they could not get up,as they were stunned.

 

There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that the KO was legit.

 

...I'm sure there would be if his surname was Dempsey.

 

Johnson winged it, until some illegal footage of the fight was found (in the early 80s I believe) showing Johnson was indeed knocked out fair and square.

 

Totally agree ,this was a genuine knock out,imo.Johnson sold a story to nat Fleischer ,saying he laid down for Willard, Nat didnt beleive it and neither do I.
Johnson tried his best ,had the better of the early rounds ,then he began to fade,the temperature was very hot ,he was 37 and under trained ,the good life had caught up with him,a motivated prime Willard took his lumps and out lasted him.Thats my take on it..A Genuine ko.I think the majority of posters on here would agree Johnson was kod legitimately.The question is what was the reason ,or motive ,if you will for this posting? I leave it for the Forum to decide.

 

Well personaly I rank Johnson higher than Dempsey on my all time heavyweights list but that is besides the point.

 

Of course it's well known that Johnson changed his tune when the photograph which purported to show him shielding his eyes was released. Nobody was better aware than Johnson of the interstate boxing films ban, being the one responsible for it coming into being to begin with.

Even before the Willard/Johnson film came to light, Nat Fleischer torpedoed Johnson's claim in "50 Years at Ringside" by showing Billy Conn affect the same posture with his gloves under the nighttime sky in Yankee Stadium, when Louis knocked him out for the second time.

 

Interestingly enough Johnson was on his way to see this fight when he was killed as his car spun off the road,he had been refused food in a diner ,and roared away in a rage ,hit gravel and lost control. One paper said "Jack Johnson died today crossing the white line for the last time".