Jack Johnson question...?

Question

I have watched the Johnson Williard fight a few times. It appears that Johnson dominated that fight until he was knocked out after the 25th round (or so). Did he throw that fight in your opinion? I think he may have. He was a great champion.
(Please, only informed answers only).

Answer 1

James ~
In my opinion,On April 15, 1915 in Havana, Cuba as Jack is laying there on his back shielding his eyes from the sun (it was a outdoor fight) and then comfortably get up after the referee counts ten would make one wonder. How about the fact that Jack would not follow up with anything significant throughout the entire fight. Jack never threw his sledgehammer right hand after he landed his powerful jab either.

There have been rumors abound about if Jack threw the bout or not. The truth of the matter is Jack took Jess lightly and was of the opinion that Jess did not belong in the ring with him. Jess trained hard for the fight while Johnson was having a good time on the social scene.

The much bigger and seemingly stronger Willard was landing fierce body shots early in the fight and at one point hurt Johnson where Jack had to hold on. So in the 26th of a scheduled 45 rounds Jack just ran out of gas. After the bout Johnson started the rumor that he threw the fight and to that Jess replied "If he was going to throw the fight, I wish he would have done it sooner."

Answer 2

James, I'm not sure if you have a copy where you were able to watch the full first 25 rounds, but I've never been able to. From what I've seen, though, it does appear that Johnson was dominating the fight. However, I've seen many bouts where a fighter was knocked out after dominating the rest of the fight.

This looked like a legitimate knockout to me. Willard hit him with a right, and Johnson stepped into the punch. From the canvas, Johnson lifted his arm to block the sun, which means he was councious enough to notice the glaring sun and was able to move his arm, but that doesn't necessarily mean he would have been able to be back on his feet by a ten count.

Any fight can be ended by a single punch, no matter how great the fighter, and I think this was just another example of that.

Answer 3

Most definately. !. what happened to Willard after that fight . @. Compare the 2 an old man an a young talented genius. (Johnson invented the medicine ball). 3. How fit was Willard in coomparison. 4. If it was a flat on his back knockout why were his hands shielding his eyes from the sun. Compare the Lewis fight and Tyson which is what popped to my mind Tyson is shielding his eyes from the glare of the lights. Also Johnson admitted as much in the years to come.

Answer 4

If one watches the film of the Johnson-Willard bout it is clear that Willard simply hits Johnson on the chin with a long looping right hand that lands with full force and knocks him out. Mike Tyson, a historian as well as a heavyweight champion, on the HBO video "Tyson and the Heavyweights (1988)" agrees saying, "to me it just looks like he gets hit on the chin." The punch is in a downward angle right on the top of the chin that according to Rick Clark, a karate master who specializes in pressure point theory, a strike to this point -conception vessel 24- is a certain knockout blow. A right to the heart had weakened Johnson the previous round making the final blow to the chin even more shocking to the body. Johnson gets nailed hard and is knocked unconscious.

Answer 5

I think it is a possibility that Johnson threw that fight. He was trying to get back to America. He fled the country because he was being prosecuted for violating the Mann Act. Go on the Internet and find out more.

Answer 6

yes he threw the fight, he was under death threat not to come back with the title so he didn't. the glove shading the eyes photo tells it all, willard could NEVER beat johnson, johnson was the best of all time

Answer 7

i think jack johnson well past his best and not in good enough condition and in a sweltering heat lost to an inferior fighter.