Why did Willard get a title shot at JJohnson?

And you have to acknowledge that both are based on story telling, not evidence.

There is a difference between lifting a cow over your head and carrying a 200lbs dead animal for 10 miles at a swift pace.

 

The only deer which could go into the 400 pound class are the Mule Deer and that would be a absolute monster. Even dressed out no man is carrying that load for any distance. Dressed out 200 pounder, now you are talking, doable by a conditioned man.

I have packed out Moose in difficult terrain, same goes for a Grizzly hide which weigh approx 150-200 pounds and that stuff wears you down pretty good. Still doable if you are not a grandpa. A excellent frame pack is a must.

I am calling BS on the Foreman /Cow story. A decent size cow goes 800 pounds and up, no way is he cleaning that. I cannot be bothered to look up the world record on a clean/overhead press but I am fairly certain it is not near 800 pounds and that is a barbell where you get a great grip not some akward fur.

 

Young griffo could catch a fly between his thumb and fore finger, release it, catch it again, swallow it, **** it out... and it would fly away the next day.

Anyone who claims Willard could carry a dead weight (200lbs, over 10 miles) is mistaken.

 

A Calf is other story than.

That is not impressive imo.

 

Oh yeah, and no one could really fight 45 rounds in the sun. I don't believe it. Gans and Nelson were fictional characters. The films were made by the same people that later, when much older, faked the moon landing later.

 

IT WAS A FIX.just like alot of fights of that time,PLUS he was the bigest white guy they could find at the time to save Boxing and the world from the big bad scary black guy.(White america,s thinking at the time)
Ive just finished reading a book called WHITE HOPE ,about the contenders of the time.the thing that strikes me is that willard was one of the least deserving of a shot and the real sad thing is that sam langford never got a shot cause he would of reigned supream and would of paved the way for other gifted black boxers of to come througth.

 

From all I've seen, heard and read over time I think that Johnson tired out in that fight. On the other hand that's not your question. I think it was a weak field. A big man like Willard was likely to have better luck against Johnson than someone like Tommy Burns. In the end the big surprise may have been that Willard had the stamina he had.

 

This makes a nice story for the liberal-minded overseeking oppressions' villians and victims but reality does not always work out with such melodrama.

Johnson's claim is fully discredited by all empirical and hearsay evidence.

 

Johnson couldn't put the big guy away, got tired, got dropped.

That's pretty much it. If it'd been a 12 or 15 round bout it would've been Johnson by a landslide, but that's not what they went for.

 

I am a fan of Johnson's abilities ,but beleive that the fight was kosher,a dissipated Jack tried his best to put away the Giant Kansan,tired himself out in the process and wilted in the tropical heat.Finally going down from a right hand that looked good enough to drop anyone.

 

It is also telling that pro Johnson posters who are knowledgable about him like myself and McVey are prety unanimous that the fight was on the level.

Was Willard the best of the white hopes?

Probably not but he might have been the only one who could have beaten Johnson on that day.