O'Brien vs Johnson. Who won? Was there talk of a re-match?

The answers to the questions were;
(a) Pick 'em fight-probably a draw is a fair result.
(b) No clamour for a return.

 

This seems a fair assessment.

 

It was a no-decision fight. The consensus seems to be that it was a draw. The referee evidently said (if he had been allowed to render a decision) it would have gone to Johnson. So there you go.

 

This fight fell under the public radar for a number of reasons.

A. Farcical.
B. Short in terms of rounds.
C. Lacklustre.
D. Title not likley to change hands barring a miracle (O'Brien putting Johnson down for the ten count in a 6 round fight).
E. Even in the event of miracle, nobody would have rocognised it.

 

No, but if there had been that miracle knockout by O'Brien, THEN there would definitely have been talk of a rematch!

 

Not even the racist white press?

 

It's my impression they had allready put their spin on the real fight.
Then again Johnson had only himself to blame ,he could have showed up in shape and got stuck in to O Brien,in which case in even a 6 rounder I think Philadelphia Jack would have had trouble seeing out the 6 rounds.
O Brien's next outing seems to confirm this, being kod in 3 by Ketchel.

 

Is it just possible that, had O Brien possessed a stiffer punch,Johnson might have been more concerned about avoiding, "incoming traffic" ?
He is reported in more than one paper as grinning in reply to the punches O Brien landed.
If it had been a puncher in there with him , a Fitz or a Jeffries, I venture to suggest that Johnson's defence might have been appreciably tighter.
Why do you suppose Johnson is thought to have had such a great defence ?
An opinion shared by boxers --Corbett , Jeanette,Carpentier,Ted Kid Lewis, Burns ,Sharkey , and writers --

Fleischer, Davis ,Daniel,Igoe,Batchelor,Roberts,Heinz,Runyon,Farr,Odd ,etc.

Perhaps these are all wrong,and you are right?

What other explanation can there be? :huh

 

Given that you have often stated, that Johnson's chin was suspect ,and that you now state that "Johnson was not hard to hit during the outfighting".
Is it not strange that from 1901 until 1915 no one managed to capitalise on these glaring deficiencies and actually stop Johnson ?

I find in incomprehensible that a fighter with such suspect defence and a weak chin, should go 14 years without being kod,and then, only after 26 hard fought rounds when he was 17lbs over his best weight and 37 years old.

Even more puzzling, is the fact that he then went a further 11years without being stopped until , he was 48years old, in fact.

This would seem incompatible with the opinions you hold ,and ,would lead me to surmise that there is a glaring anomaly staring us in the face.
I wonder what it can be? :huh

 

Kill Whitey!

 

He is the most vastly overrated of the heavyweight champions in terms of effectiveness and actual skill.

 

Well of course!
And the 61 men he beat and the 40 he knocked out? They must have been total ****.


Now, what did you think of the fight footage?

 

I do think that is a good point, and ordinarily i would accept this.

My problem is with this particular report, which constantly refers to Johnson landing, but O'Brien winning the round. From the Report, O Brien went down at least once and possibly two or three times in the fight. And he never had trouble with JOhnson once. I agree that it is likely that O Brien landed and threw more punches but he was the only one troubled.

I have never really seen a 6 rounder where one fighter, Knocks down the other once (or possibly 3 times), and where the other is acknowledged not to have troubled the other at any point, yet the fighter that was knocked down deserves the decision. It just doesnt add up. When you factor in that, as somebody else said, the referee awarded the fight to Johnson, you need to consider also that everybody hated Johnson and was looking for any old angle to find someone white to beat him or build up against him, yet they didnt clamour for the rematch. That in itself says something. I mean Munro got a shot at Jeffries for a supposed knockdown, you would think a solid draw with O brien would have at least got him a chance to get some press about challenging Johnson to a rematch.