Send In The Great White Hope..?

Dempsey, Quarry, Coetzee and Botha.

Johnson's constant holding wouldn't have been very effective against them.

 

Dempsey has the best chance, but I wouldn't favour any of them

 

Ew - why are we doing this still in 2021?

As just an innocent thought experiment without the baggage of certain bygone social attitudes meant to be attached to it, okay...I kind of get it, but... we could also just not. We're not that bereft of new ideas of ways in which to discuss classic boxing, surely.

 

Can I pick someone else if the aim is to actually beat Johnson? Fury. See how much Johnson likes 280lbs laying on him every time he holds.

 

I wouldn't pick any of those to beat the 1910 Johnson.

 

Dempsey for sure, he's much better / faster / better puncher than anyone Johnson beat. Quarry could do it, and would qualify as the best Johnson fought. Conn would be interesting, Johnson would have to press him, he's too swift.

 

Dempsey, Sharkey and Conn

 

None of the above were white hopes. Well Botha fits.

 

I've tended to be at odds with high ratings of Johnson and Dempsey over the years, and I think they rate almost equal as heavyweight greats in the 10-14 spot somewhere. But I also think they would've made unbelievably fantastic rivals in style and personality if they'd been placed in another era together where a fight would be...more likely. I can see it being down to the wire pyrrhic victory kind of stuff. Frazier/Ali like. I don't really get the thread motivation. I mean, like IB, in a way I get it but in another way, I don't. Post Marciano is one thing but post Klitschko, Klitschko, Fury and Usyk, I really don't get it. Incidentally, I just found out something crazy about Louis...

 

I don't see any harm here,sometimes it seems people get intimidated that they may be being un pc .Its like some kind of guilt ridden hysteria affects them.Fergy posted this with the best of intentions and I'm sure that's how we will all respond.

 

Honestly I’d like to see how a PRIME Jeffries would have done

 

Actually a Johnson-Usyk matchup would be more compelling than the guys you mentioned. He is much bigger than
JJ, and a southpaw, and an excellent boxer. I think he'd quite easily beat JJ whereas Botha, Conn have no chance, Quarry
is debatable, and surely Dempsey would be a favorite.

 

Me too!

 

I was answering ops question, i didn't decide the list.