be interesting to hear some of your opinions on him. how good do you view him ? was he sick when johnson beat him and how much better could he have done ? did he defend the world heavyweight title twice on one night ??..or was that just newspaper false hype of two exhibitions ? was he the first champ to bring a world heavyweight title to the u.k. (and ireland) ? also, i read he was another that became penniless after his career was over...he was buried in an unmarked grave and his funeral was attended by four people.
It's an odd one. He looks better on film working with modern eyes than many of his contemporaries but was not highly thought of in his own era, perhaps unfairly as he such a small heavyweight - and was judged as a heavyweight. Tommy Ryan, who i'd consider as keen an observer of fighters as that era produced, called him a "joke of a champion." Hard words. Also, when Ketchel dispatched Papke the first time (having also beaten Thomas a second time, Thomas weighing in at around Tommy's weight), Stanley was being lined up to take on Burns, and many favoured him. I personally don't think that he was sick when he faced Johnson but there's nothing to really suggest he was in Johnson's class anyway.
