Boxing Historical Archive GPT - first golden nugget (Johnson vs Ketchel)

[them_apples]

Sorry this is wrong, Johnson predicted he would beat Ketchel inside14 rds , and bet on himself to do so.
The punch that," supposedly knocked Johnson down," was a right cross,not a left hook.
The film shows Johnson falling before the punch arrives.
Below is a decent quality copy of the fight.
Jack Johnson vs Stanley Ketchel Full Fight Highlights​

Primary Sources

1. Jack Johnson In the Ring and Out (1927)
   • Johnsons autobiography where he claims Ketchel forgot the arrangement in their exhibition and tried to win for real, prompting Johnson to knock him out.
2. Jack Johnson Ma Vie et Mes Combats (serialized in La Vie au Grand Air, 1910)
   • Earlier French memoirs where Johnson gives a version of his fights, including Ketchel.
3. Jack Johnson Mes Combats (1914)
   • Revised French publication; repeats Johnsons perspective on his major bouts.
4. Jack Johnson Prison Memoir (written 1920 21 in Leavenworth)
   • Fragmentary manuscript, includes reflections on fights like Ketchel.
5. Contemporary Newspaper Reports (1909)
   • Ringside accounts described the fight looking like an exhibition until Ketchel’s knockdown attempt. All agree the knockout was authentic and violent.

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Secondary Sources & Testimony

1. George Little (Johnsons former manager) Legal confession (c. 1910s)
   • Claimed the Ketchel fight (along with Kaufmann and Jeffries) was fixed, but that Ketchel strayed from the plan.
2. Promoter Jim Coffroths Agreement (cited in later histories)
   • Reported document with Johnson, Coffroth, Kaufmann, and Little agreeing Kaufmann would go the distance to hype Ketchel as a credible challenger.

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Historians & Biographers

1. Nat Fleischer The Ring writings & historical notes
   • Repeated Johnsons story that Ketchel broke faith and was punished for it.
2. Randy Roberts Papa Jack: Jack Johnson and the Era of White Hopes (1983)
   • Argues the fight was largely an exhibition until Ketchel got bold, at which point Johnson ended it for real.
3. Ken Burns / Geoffrey C. Ward Unforgivable Blackness (2004, book & documentary)

• Presents Johnsons own claim of a double cross and shows the surviving film footage.

1. Mike Silver The Arc of Boxing (2008)

• Uses the Johnson Ketchel fight as an example of Johnsons dominance; emphasizes that Johnson restrained himself until Ketchel tried to upset the script.

let me know if you have any issues with the sourcing, I can get back to you. and yes I know the shot missed, but this is something even books get wrong.

[them_apples]

- - JJ was ducking, and he was off balance when arising, hence he ducked into the legit KD...

Much ado about nutin'...

it wasn't a legit knockdown. I even suspect the sourcing is all coming from Johnson at the end of the day, as he also looks like he's selling the knockdown a bit too. Or maybe he was on purpose to justify him sleeping Ketchel (high probability)

[them_apples]

also factor in, the archive has access to sources FROM sources, meaning it traces the source from another source. This is where it get's tricky, but this is after all - what people do when trying to source things. For example, "Mes Combats" is a French Translation written by Johnson on his memoires, and is likely the "source" for other books written after

This is the trials and tribulations of any historian though, and cannot be dealt with, with total accuracy and can be a bit disheartening. I totally agree many things are myths once you figure out the source.