This one puzzles me .... Johnson-Hart-Burns-Johnson

????

It’s not applying a modern template/standards to a turn of the century fight IF that’s what you’re trying to say.

Repeat, who else, as ref (and promoter in this instance) exactly stipulated to Johnson as to how he should fight in order to win based on a singular criteria?

Subbing in Hart for Ali obviously meant that Hart (and his preferred “style”) was the guy that the sole judge on that occasion was heavily biased toward.

If Johnson’s corner told him to do more it
could very well have meant that they they knew he had to do well above what would normally be required to secure the win.

See Bivol vs Canelo.

Though winning going away going into the final round, had Biviol not won the last round against Canelo that fight would’ve been inexplicably called a draw on the cards.

So sub Hart in for Canelo also, if you like.

Both Greggains and most, if not all spectators, were heavily pro Hart before first bell.

Greggains was the anomaly in his own time who corruptly interrupted Johnson’s well established trajectory toward the title.

Johnson beat the **** out of Hart but Marvin was awarded the fight for “aggression”, albeit by and large ineffective.

Anyone saying that Johnson probably should have been DQ’d in other fights for excessive holding/clinching are actually the ones trying to applying modern standards to an early era fight.

I’ve never slept on Tommy Burns. I’ve sung his praises many times and not least for the fact that he did face Johnson - something Jeffries couldn’t muster himself to do until he was hounded back from out of retirement to reclaim the title for the White population.

Noah Brusso was not Sam Langford but he was of similar height, terrifically well reached and carried some serious pop for his size - traits somewhat similar to Sam’s.

He was also Canadian and I like Canadians, so there’s that to be getting on with also.

Tommy Burns - the Caucasian Sam Langford?

Okay, not quite but he has been underrated and was more than the footnote literature often paints him as - he was also a very brave little mother ****er.