Was Harold Johnson undeserving...

I find this the same lame criticism of Harry Wills. "He just sat on his rating." So let me get this straight: Its ok for a champion to abuse his championship by sitting on it and fighting weak competition but when a guy fights his way to a #1 rating and marks time while his managers are stalking a title its a crime? Hes not doing everything he needs to? The simple fact that hes fighting tooth and nail to force Moore to defend against him is the point. Is there a higher mountain to climb that Im not aware of? The only guy I see that Johnson could have potentially fought was Anthony and frankly Im not sure why that fight didnt come off. If someone here can tell me its because Johnson ducked it and not Anthony then we can have a discussion. Everything else is just conjecture. Of the guys Moore was fighting Johnson was already beating the guys that beat them. You can sniff at a guy like Bowdry but why? He had wins over Hinnant, Anthony, and Ray. His only real glaring loss at the time were the two to Henry Hank who dropped back down to MW. When Hank finally decided to settle at LHW Johnson beat him. And frankly the entire discussion regarding Bowdry and that being a path to least resistence is ridiculous because immediately after Johnson beat Bowdry he was very public in stating that he wouldnt feel like a champion until he beat Moore. He pursued a bout with Moore even then and still Moore refused a unification. Moore simply wasnt going to fight Johnson. Period. In fact, when Moore fought Rinaldi the second time there was so much doubt about Moore's ability to make weight that Johnson was paid $5,000 to sit as an alternate and take Moores place if Moore failed to make weight. Johnson would have then fought Rinaldi for the undisputed championship. Johnson was ready and willing to fight, that isnt even up for dispute. Ive already laid out why guys like Durelle and Pompey werent realistic fights due to both losing more than winning after Moore and Durelle in particular abandoning the division. And while we are discussing those foreign fighters just keep mind who keeps saying in Moores defense that boxing is a business (which jaded term has no part in the lexicon of anyone who wants the best for boxing or athletic competition). What was Johnson supposed to do? Go to Germany or Italy in an era where those two countries has the most corrupt organizers in the history of the sport and fight for peanuts so he could get robbed? How many times did Hecht, Hoepner, Schoppner and Rinaldi fight in the USA were purses were higher than anywhere in the world? Ill help you: Hoeppner fought here once and lost via 2 round KO, Schoppner fought outside of Germany once and lost to Rinaldi, Rinaldi fought outside of Italy 13 times and only won two of those fights and if you watch anyone of his fights in Italy its easy to see why, Hecht fought outside of Germany twice, winning against a nobody in a France and losing to a nobody in Italy, Pompey's record away from home is equally bad. To pretend these guys were out there grinding to get their title shots is ridiculous. They were protected Europeans fighters of the era from the same tradition of Americans using them as soft touches. They had weaker competition, poorer training, etc. They simply werent as good. Had they come over here and fought you might have actually seen Johnson fight some of them. But America was the mecca. Europe was where champions went to vacation and pick up easy money. And frankly, I think the poll illustrates, not many people would have favored any of those guys chances over Johnson or feel they did more than him to deserve their shots.

 

But thats not really what I was saying was it? My argument was very simple. That idea that these guys were fighting each other to get their title shots while Johnson sat on the sidelines and watched was ridiculous. Durelle wasnt rated before his DRAW with Anthony. The same month he DREW with Anthony to somehow break into the ratings Johnson was made the number #1 contender. Durelle kept his ranking by stopping Hinnant... The same Hinnant that Johnson had obliterated with one punch six months earlier. Where is the motivation for the number 1 contender to fight a nobody who barely scraped into the ratings and then got knocked out immediately after by Anthony? After Anthony Durelle retreated to Canada and only stayed a fringe contender by the grace of beating Mike Holt? Ever see that fight? I have. Holt kicks the **** out of Durelle (which Durelle later admitted) when Durelle has Holt briefly down, or what would have been briefly Durelle literally walks up to Holt while hes on one knee with the referee standing right there and lands a full on right hand blast to the face. Then watch the referee do absolutely nothing, NOTHING, not even say anything Durelle. But Durelle was Canadian just like the ref and Holt was a foreign fighter... Durelle was nothing, Johnson had all of the leverage and wasnt going to go to Canada when he had the bargaining power. Thats why I say AFTER Durelle fought Moore... Because Durelle was nothing but a loser until giving the great Archie Moore hell BUT the problem is that immediately after fighting Moore Durelle abandoned the division. So yes, in context, my argument makes perfect since and is in no way monday morning quarterbacking. Nevermind the fact that again, Johnson Unlike the idea that a bunch of protected foreign soft touches that didnt deserve their ratings were justified in getting a title shot because they had win over a fringe contender here or there AFTER losing to Moore (nevermind that to a man they all lost more than they won once the bloom was off the rose.) But hey you guys wanna believe that Johnson wasnt the top guy for YEARS, wasnt ducked by Moore, wasnt more deserving of a shot than nobodies like Durelle, Ppmpey, and Rinaldi then so be it. I guess we are watching two different sports.

How did Durelles, Pompeys, and Rinaldis? See thats the problem with trying to argue apples to apples. If you want to compare Johnson to those three you lose out real quick as my poll illustrated. If you want to compare their opposition your argument falls apart as well. And at the end of the day you are left with one very striking fact: That for the better part of five years Johnson was Moores biggest threat and Moore refused to fight him. Even when Moore had his titles stripped and really had nothing to lose but prestige and everything to gain if, as his nuthuggers argue, he just had Johnsons number he still refused to fight Johnson and instead chose lesser competition and even then couldnt always win. Thats a pretty damning commentary on the arguments of those who think Moore was justified in ducking his mandatory.

Apparently the NBA correctly think you dont get rated at LHW for beating MWs (Sands). Thats just not the way it works. That was the only rated contender Pompey had fought. Hecht had beaten several contenders rated at LHW to that point. So while you may THINK Pompey was better his record doesnt illustrate that he was or should be rated higher which is why he wasnt, regardless of his win over then unrated Slade who had won 2 of his last 7 fights and who Harold Johnson had to soften up for Pompey to actually beat... See how that works. Theres that pesky name popping up again. But I guess Johnson was just sitting on the fence all that time wasnt he?