Why did Jack Johnson never defend his title against Sam Langford? From the stories I've heard/read Johnson defeated Langford in an earlier bout. It was said that Johnson defeated Langford rather handily. Yet years later, as champion, Johnson seemingly wanted no part of Langford. Some have said that Johnson claimed he could only make money against white fighters was why he never faced a black challenger, but I've come to believe that maybe Johnson barely escaped the earlier Langford bout with a victory. Hence his reluctance to face him as champion. Does anyone have information about this?
Second - was the Johnson/Ketchel bout really an exhibition? From the footage I've seen it looks like anything but. Look kind of like a hard contested bout. Was Johnson claims that this was an exhibition fight and that Ketchel caught him off guard and knocked him down his way of explaining the reason he was put on his butt by a middleweight? Was he just trying to save face?
Second - was the Johnson/Ketchel bout really an exhibition? From the footage I've seen it looks like anything but. Look kind of like a hard contested bout. Was Johnson claims that this was an exhibition fight and that Ketchel caught him off guard and knocked him down his way of explaining the reason he was put on his butt by a middleweight? Was he just trying to save face?
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