Why Johnson didn't fought black fighters while beinh KW champion?

It was a combination of factors.

A. He could make more money for the most part fighting the latest hopeless white hope.

B. The only fighters who posed any apreciable risk to his title were black.

C. Factors outside the ring such as his arest and exile acted to prevent certain key fights from being made.

The truth lies somwhere between these three factors.

 

Verry verry har to say.

Most of the purses put up for a Johnson Langford fight were derisory relative to the risk involved. Most of them were about a tenth of what Johnson was getting for fighting guys like Kaufman and Ketchel.

Aside from that I am certain that Johnson regarded Langford as a verry serious risk to his title and was in no hurry to fight him. Especialy not after the troble he had to go to to obtain the title in the first place.

I think if anything could have induced Johnson it would have been money. By that I mean either:

1. A verry large purse for fighting Langford,
2. An end to the disproportionately big pursed being put up to fight white hopes,
3. or more likley a combination of the two.

I also think that Johnson showed more interest in cashing in on a Langford fight later in his career. He knew that he had milked the white hope craze for about as much as he was going to, and promotors abroad were starting to put up big offers for fights with Langford and McVea.

Maybe just maybe if Johnson had not been charged under the Mann act terms would have been agreed for something.

 

Both Janitor and McGrain have basically summed it up.

For an African American to get a shot at the greatest title in the world during the early 1900's, he had to either be a crowd favorite or a man who had the right connections. Being the best wasn't enough as men like Peter Jackson, Harry Wills, Sam Langford and George Godfrey all discovered.

 

1) Because he had already dominated all black competition before he got the World's title belt. Dominated the top three contenders Langford, Mcvea & Jeanette & lost one(1) out of 13 fights to these guys(Jeanette) for the Colored title belt. What else is there to prove ?

He didn't want to since the Title(which took him five(5) years of exhaustive hustling for) was far,far too valuable to give dangerous fighters 15,16 17, 20,etc,..... chances to beat him.

2)The climate made it to his advantage financially to demolish these less risky "White Hopes" even though he could probably also get a good payday for fighting the very best Black Contenders. But Why? He had already dominated them.

3) As James Earl Jones described, in Unforgivable Blackness, Johnson seemed to relish in his role as "THE Big Bad Boogey Man" to White America. Although it did cost him a bit of unhappiness/struggle at times.

The man beat everyone.Period. And hopefully Congress/President will give him his posthumous pardon soon.

And yes there have been several other pointless threads(but fun sometimes) whining about the same thing.

 

Jack Johnson , " two negroes dont draw".
Jack O Brien got his biggest career purse for his 6 round no decision bore snore against Johnson, $10,225.50, contrast this with the $7628.75 he received for defeating Fitzsimmons.Plus a "long clean scar from a glancing right uppercut that tore the flesh from the bone". This is for Janitor, re O Brien," as recently as 1936 ,when he was 59 ,he got into the ring at Pompton Lakes,New Jersey and boxed a round witrh Joe Louis, he made the Negro look rather silly for the first minute"

 

Not so. There were big time crowds in Europe to see MvCey, Jeanette, and Langford fight. So much for the two negros's don't draw.

At the very least, I feel Johnson should have had a re-match contract after the draws vs O'Brien, and Jim Johnson. Johnson had offers to fight these three in either Europe or Australia for $30,000.00-$50,000.00 but balked.

Johnson also shut out the best white hope in Gunboat Smith, who defeated a more prime version of Langford, and the white hopes Johnson gave title shots to.

 

Yes, but let us examine the dates.

Johnson beat a teen-aged Sam McVey.

Johnson beat a green Jeanette who was .500 fighter.

Johnson beat a 156 pound version of Sam Langford, who was a far cry from the 175-190 pound heavyweight destroyer. Boxing books will not tell you that, but it is true. While the names on Johnson's resume are impressive, the circumstance that he beat them was not.


Oddly enough when the size, experience level and weights of Johnson's better opponents were even, he was a loser, drew, or won via close margin. Its true.

Indeed he lost to Choynski, Griffin, Klondike, and Hart...because these guys were not teenagers like Sam Mcvey, .500 fighters with limited experience like Jeanette, or too light as Langford was.

As champion he drew with a 163 pound O'Brien, and journeyman Jim Johnson. Johnson did edge Frank Moran, but Moran was not as good as the Choysnki's, Griffn, and Hart's were in my book. Pehraps Moran was a better than Klondkie.

 

In some ways times change, in others they don't. The biggest draw usually wins. There was no where near the amount of money to be made off Johnson fighting black fighters.

 

Gunboat Smith shut himself out.

Johnson offered him a title shot on a plate and he chose to wait untill Johnson was older with the result that Willard got there first.

 

THE FIGHT WITH O BRIEN WAS NOT A DRAW IT WAS A 6 ROUND NO DECISION.SOURCE FOR $50,000.00 offerred for a match with Mcvey,Jeannette or Langford.BURNS GOT £6000 when he defended against Johnson.$30,000 in US,Johnson received $5000

 

Johnson received $121,000 for fighting Jeffries,,in contrast A F Bettinson the promoter of the National Sporting Club of Britain offered Johnson £3000 to defend against Langford,that would have been about $9,000.