Jack Johnson

Did anyone else catch the 2 part special on Jack Johnson on PBS last night.As a kid I heard my grand dad throw his name out there a few times when he was talking old school fighters but I never knew what a great boxer JJ was.Man,what a beast.All those fallen fighters.The thing that strikes me,is how all the white heavy weight champs used the fact that he was black as an excuse not to give him a fight,cuz they knew he was a force to be reckoned with.I also did not know the history of the race riots that followed him taking down the heavy weight champ in 1910.Interesting stuff.My grand dad may have been right when he would say "back in my day,when men where men". The second part is on next week,I believe Thur night if anyones interested.


Frank

 

If you liked that, you would love Hurricane if you havent already seen it. The film is about Rubin 'The Hurricane' Carter and how his career is halted because of black predudice. I though it was extrodianry. You should watch.

 

Nice clip, questionable music selection Looked like he moved pretty fast for a guy his size, & had a nice uppercut.

 

I have wtached the hurricane and yes its an excellent film ..


Jack johnson isnt he from NZ and sings like a GOd he he sorry couldnt resist

 

Anybody read the biography 'Unforgivable Blackness'? Anybody who's interested in Johnson should give it a read.

Em

 

Watched the you tube clip and even read some of the comments underneath. Interesting debate was occuring as Johnson was continually compared to fighters of a later era. Tyson and Ali were the names that appeared the most. Interesting. Obviously sincde they fought in completely different eras and much of the of the stuff that Johnson would do wouldn't even be permissible in today's era it isn't really a fair comparison. However if we were to examine the athletic ability of Jack Johnson his power and most importantly his defensive skills which were ahead of his time we can make a judgement.

In my opinion a fighter with Johnson's abilities would do very well in today's era as he would be conditioned to fighting uder the current ruleset. Not to mention his toughness. The fighters' back then often fought for 20 rounds or much more. Yes Johnson was truly one of the greats. It's nice to see him acknowledged on this site with a thread dedicated to him.

 

Taking eras into account, Johnson is possibly the most highly skilled heavyweight in history.

Developing-guess I've missed something in the Johnson films I've seen over the years. Most of what Johnson did would be legal now.Although you can't stand over a guy and smack him back down as he tries to get up anymore!