Willard -vs- Johnson. Rare post fight footage.

Good post.
I enjoyed the round 26 breakdown.

 

Nice to talk with you, good luck here ,no doubt you will sort the wheat from the chaff.I hope when you've done so I am among the wheat!

 

It was equally hot in both corners for the Robinson v Maxim fight too ,but one was taking the fight to his opponent and one ,[Maxim,] was fighting a cautious battle behind his jab, hence the heat was more of a factor for SRR than the plodding Maxim.
I remember you and I having a debate about Johnson v O Brien and you said, well O Brien was past his best,I pointed out that they were the same age! You replied fighters age at different rates.
Willard was 3 years and 9 months younger so nearly 4 years younger with just 24 fights under his belt which comprised 204rds .Johnson was 37 with 58 known fights that amounted to 651 rounds! Willard was in the best shape of his life Johnson the worst.We both know you made your post because of your well known dislike of Johnson its been recognized here for ages.You would have made the same comment had it been Dempsey v Tunney saying they were near the same age but omitting that Dempsey had more mileage on his clock and was past prime.
The reason would be because you dislike Dempsey as much as you dislike Johnson and invariably knock both of them.
Two blind spots you possess.
Well your pitiful attempt at sarcasm has been answered by me. Your petard hoisted by yourself !

 

I'll believe Adam Pollack certainly,I'll also take into account the corner men being in shirtsleeves and undershirts and some of the crowd being jacketless.

 

Roll on next year when I go to Havana myself!

 

So, one fought a smart long fight given the conditions and the other risked it all on the short game... Differing strategies playing out to the smarter fighter who was able to stick to their fight plan.

My comment was in regards to too much being made of the age difference, not that there was an age difference. In the end, this is another example of Johnson's flagging professionalism, something that was seen in other fights. I'm sure he had his reasons for distraction (as so many athletes and professionals have had) but it must be calculated into an evaluation as an ATG.

I wish I had known I had such dislike for Johnson. It would have saved me all that time and money finding Pollack's double set, the first of which arrives today.

 

Johnson had no chance of going 45rds he had to commit himself to stopping Willard, anyone with any sense would know that.
Your dislike of Johnson is an open secret , just as your antipathy towards Dempsey is. If you were in any doubt about either you could have a poll or merely trawl your own content.
Please stop with the innocent act its nauseating.

 

If you are nauseated by your perceived insights regarding someone you don't remotely know, I hope you stay away from the newspapers.

I'm not even bothering carrying on this tangent of the discussion as, like you so often profess, I don't really give a f*ck.

I do wish you a good day, tho. 75 pages into Pollack's The Rise and a ripping good read with a refreshingly modern, sober take on the times.

 

Steering away from the ad hominem... exactly how true is the above statement?

Both fighters had gone only as far as 20 rounds before in their careers, but Johnson was far more experience in going over ten rounds. And Johnson had just gone 20 rounds 10 months before Havana against Frank Moran. And he had no problem with the Jeffries and Flynn bouts being scheduled for 45, 3 and 5 years previous respectively.

Willard's only experience at the 20 round distance was a losing effort to Smith. Other than that, he had only gone 12 before, in another losing effort.

So, where exactly, outside of Johnson's miserable shape in Havana (which was predicted or assumed in signing for the distance?), does Willard come in play as the beneficiary of the 45 round distance? One would usually pick the larger fighter to wilt over such a distance, correct? Certainly the one who had already failed at his two longest fights.

Maybe I have a lot to learn in Book 2. If so, I am looking forward to being enlightened.

 

Both books are absolutely, brilliant.I hope you enjoy them!

 

Seamus,

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From what I can find, it seems the fight was made in October 2014 for 20-45 rounds. It wasn't until February that folks start talking strictly about a 45 rounder. Another details is that some say Johnson hardly trained and did no roadwork, while others say he risked training too hard, running 5 miles a day just for warmup. Can't wait to read Pollack's take but that is many pages in future.

 

Fleischer attended daily Johnson's and Willards training camps. Johnson was not taking Willard seriously at all. He was not in shape and in addition years of wine and women in Europe has softened him greatly. Willard in comparison was fit to fight the world that day. His trainers had him doing roadwork for months through the roughest terrain they could find.

 

Collecting his purse from Barney Curley, Johnson said he hadn't believed there was a man capable of surviving his onslaught if he really went after him.

Curley asked Johnson how he felt,"pretty blue,I haven't any kick coming,I met a young big boy and he wore me down,I didn't dream there was a man alive who could go fifteen rounds with me once I started after them"
"here's something you didnt know ","Jess ruined my golden smile",moving to the light and parted his bruised lips,showing a gap where two of his gold capped teeth had been knocked out.
"It was a left crack that did it.I felt them drop down on my tongue and my pride wouldn't let me spit them out I knew what a howl would go up if they saw them in the sunlight,so I did the next best thing,I swallowed them"


In training Willard was beating the p*ss out of sparring partner Walter Monahan, Johnson was clowning with Bob Armstrong and Sam McVey, Johnson was swimming instead of doing roadwork and the reporter for the NY Herald said, he was" fat to the point of a paunch and breathing heavily and with difficulty after even light exercise".Johnson placed $25hundred on himself, he had tried to bet$10,000 but no one would take it,he told his wife he would win before the 20th round.Damon Runyon was ringside he said the temperature will be 105 by the time the fight starts
at1. 0 clock