LangfordTakes Title From Burns Does He Defend Against Johnson?

My hunch is he would have. I don't envision him ducking Johnson if the shoe were on the other foot.

 

I'd have to look at the fight record in the back of my book but I believe it was 6-4 in Sam's favor and there was one more unconfirmed win over Tate in his favor listed there as well. The first fight between the pair didn't take place until Sam was already on the downside of his career and the majority of them would have occurred after he was already blind in one eye.

 

I'm not sure which picture you're talking about. Any chance you can post it?

 

Id have to check but i think thats bob armstrong.

 

Thanks for posting. I don't know that I've seen that photo before. But, I can't see the big fellow well enough to help. Sounds like Steve must know who it is though.

 

Probably not.

Langford wasn't the sort of man to ruffle feathers. He wouldn't have gone for an all-black heavyweight championship fight because it wouldn't have appealed to the (white, racist) boxing public.

Johnson was the sort of man to ruffle feathers. He does not have the excuse that he was kow-towing to the white establishment when he refused to fight Langford. He just didn't want to take the risk.


(Not that Johnson's alone in ducking challengers. Of all the champs from Sullivan onward, only a young John L. Sullivan fought everybody. And even then, he semi-retired in later life and avoided black challengers from that point forward.)

 

"Probably not.

Langford wasn't the sort of man to ruffle feathers. He wouldn't have gone for an all-black heavyweight championship fight because it wouldn't have appealed to the (white, racist) boxing public."

Langford wouldn't have gone for all all-black heavyweight championship fight? You're joking, right?

 

I'm sure he'd want to have an all-black championship fight in an ideal world. The question is whether he'd push for it in the social (and financial) environment of the times.

 

Interesting points. I get the sense Langford would agree to a Johnson fight as he would like to get even.

And then, to his eternal chagrin, a beautifully conditioned Jack Johnson would edge him out of a very gutsy fight over 45 rounds.

 

"The question is whether he'd push for it in the social (and financial) environment of the times."

He and his manager did push for it, for years. Would I be correct in assuming you haven't read my book about Sam Langford?