Jack Johnson vs Frank Moran

[LondonRingRules]

Johnson was stripped by the French well in advance of his fight with Battling Jim, LRR, as it was in late Oct/early Nov of that year when the reports of that decision were made public on this side of the pond.

A couple of quick examples printed in the NY Times on Oct 29th and Nov 6th of 1913;

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive...669D946296D6CF

and...

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive...679D946296D6CF


Also, I saw a French advertisement that was published from just before the Johnson-Johnson fight, and after it was translated to English, it seemed to indicate that the fight was only a scheduled ten round go. In their post fight writeup the NY Times also refer to it as a "ten round affair" and give no indication at all that it was stopped before the scheduled distance was up. Regardless, though, if the fight was fought on the soils of a country that clearly didn't consider it a title fight and it not being promted as one over there, I have no idea why it's gone into the record books as that.

** More excellent research there. Must have some blood hound/newpaper blood mix in ya.

Problem being that Boxrec has made Johnson a movable set of goal posts, his record constantly being tweaked or changed. I've read articles claiming Johnson quit and box rec keeps changing the fight from 10-20 rds, perhaps in an ongoing war of editors.

Here's the description de jour they are currently using about the Battling Johnson fight:

"" One ringside report said that the spectators loudly protested that the men were not fighting and demanded their money back. Jack Johnson said he injured his left arm in the third round and could not use it. Post-fight examination revealed a slight fracture of the radial in his left arm. In August it had been widely reported by Joe Woodman that Johnson had agreed to terms to fight Sam Langford in Paris. ""

Also read reports that Johnson broke it alternately in a wrestling exhibition or circus exhibition prior. I'm hoping that title agreement with Langford can be fleshed out. It must've been a great deal of frustration knowing how close he was to a title shot against two beatable fighters in Burns and Johnson only to have them sail away to distant ports. Luther McCarty also seemed to have a title agreement just prior to his tuneup against Pelkey, and in Unforgivable Blackness the claim is Johnson was also in negotiations with Wills.

So much fighting lore lost with the scratch of those fights.

[MarkScott]

I think this fight occurred a few days before the start of WW 1. I don't think the fighters ever got paid.

http://www.amazon.com/Joe-Gans-Biography-American-Champion/dp/0786439947/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239462188&sr=1-1