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"It was a clean knockout and the best man won. It was not a matter of luck. I have no kick coming." Jack Johnson after he lost his world heavyweight title via 26th-round KO to the massive hard-hitting 'Pottawatomie Giant' Jess Willard in Havana in 1915.
The once-invincible Johnson appeared far older than his 37 years. “Time had done its work,” the Associated Press reported. “It had been the opinion of Johnson and many of his friends that he did not have to be in the best of condition to whip Willard, underrating the latter’s splendid condition and youthful stamina.” After the fight, referee Jack Welch said: "If I had been compelled to give a decision at the end of the twenty-fifth round, it would have been Johnson's by a wide margin. Up to the twentieth round, Willard had one won only one round by a real margin and two or three others by the slightest shade. In the thirteenth and fourteenth, I was almost sure Johnson would knock Willard out, but Willard showed that his jaw and body were too tough. Johnson put up a wonderful fight to the twentieth round, but age stepped in then and defeated him."
Johnson initially handled the defeat with grace.
Nine months later, however, Johnson dramatically changed his tune and controversially claimed he had thrown the fight.
“Nobody ever took Johnson’s charges of fakery seriously,” promoter Jack Curley said years later. “He was well past his prime, fat and dissipated, and he was worn down and knocked out by a strong, game and well-conditioned opponent.”
"It was a clean knockout and the best man won. It was not a matter of luck. I have no kick coming." Jack Johnson after he lost his world heavyweight title via 26th-round KO to the massive hard-hitting 'Pottawatomie Giant' Jess Willard in Havana in 1915.
The once-invincible Johnson appeared far older than his 37 years. “Time had done its work,” the Associated Press reported. “It had been the opinion of Johnson and many of his friends that he did not have to be in the best of condition to whip Willard, underrating the latter’s splendid condition and youthful stamina.” After the fight, referee Jack Welch said: "If I had been compelled to give a decision at the end of the twenty-fifth round, it would have been Johnson's by a wide margin. Up to the twentieth round, Willard had one won only one round by a real margin and two or three others by the slightest shade. In the thirteenth and fourteenth, I was almost sure Johnson would knock Willard out, but Willard showed that his jaw and body were too tough. Johnson put up a wonderful fight to the twentieth round, but age stepped in then and defeated him."
Johnson initially handled the defeat with grace.
Nine months later, however, Johnson dramatically changed his tune and controversially claimed he had thrown the fight.
“Nobody ever took Johnson’s charges of fakery seriously,” promoter Jack Curley said years later. “He was well past his prime, fat and dissipated, and he was worn down and knocked out by a strong, game and well-conditioned opponent.”
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