James J Jeffries comes out of allmost 6 years slothful retirement ,sheds nearly 100 pounds of lard ,takes on the reigning Champion the superlative defensive master Jack Johnson, and walks though everything Johnson can throw at him ,finally wearing down the Galveston Giant ,to score a ko in the 15th round courtesy of a thudding r ib breaking left hook to the body ,and a finishing booming right to the Negros jaw,it is some minutes before Johnson is able to rise,when he does he mutters ," incredible,I hit him with every thing,but he kept coming ,I dont beleive that man is flesh and blood". A fairy tale ,of course,but where would Jeffries stand today if it had become reality?.would he be the unnassailable numero uno? With a place reserved on Mount Olympus? Maybe Mendoza can tell us?
You could argue him at the top spot, as he would have beaten a top 3 or 4 all time heavyweight. I am just glad it didn't happen that way, and the good guy won.
mcvey, I thought I might get a response when I wrote that. I believe Johnson was the most socially important fighter ever. Louis and Ali run close behind. Johnson was the first black heavyweight champion. Than means his life was harder than any heavyweight champion, period. He faced hate, during a time when people were frequently being killed for "coming out of their place." Johnson did not have a kiss ass attitude, apologizing for being black and thanking the establishment for letting him participate. Johnson showed he had a right to be, and a right to pursue what he wanted. How was Johnson all that arrogant?: Because he would publically pursue white women? Or he liked to work out in public, and show his skills? How many top fighters don't? Because he taunted opponents that couldn't win? He was being billed as an inferior that was supposed to lose to his more supreme opponent. Who wouldn't taunt the superior race trying to dethrone him? Then you have the Johnson vs. Jeffries fight, where black people probably weren't allowed to sit with white people, and had to listen to the fight from a distance. Where a man was called out of retirement to regain the title for white America. I'll also say that Jeffries may have wanted to compete again, and that was not entirely based on race. Almost every champion tried to regain the title. Jeffries did admit to accepting this fight based on race though. So, as I said, I'm glad the good guy won.
