History of the Heavyweights part 6 (Jack Johnson)

[SuzieQ49]

agreed kid achilles. just because someone is not a good fighter doesnt mean he can't like a mule. the reason why a guy like roper didnt have a high KO percentage was due to the fact he was not a good fighter or great all around puncher. When roper faced skilled top contenders, it was a lot harder for him to land his big punches home because they were better defensivley and smarter. Roper had a lot of force in his punches, but they were slow, not accurate, and he didnt put together good combinations. roper was simply a hard hitting journeyman.

was roper a good fighter? no. but the man could hit and the reason why he got a title shot vs louis was he beat good contenders pasty perroni and jorge brescia. Roper certainly was not a bum like u are impyling, and a tough hard working exerpeinced journeyman like roper deserves a lot of credit for going right after louis, rather than just falling over like any bum could do and take the money and go home. roper earned louis respect and showed louis that he better not take him lightly because he was no bum. roper had balls.


Roper had nearly 100 fights when he fought louis. he had been fighting for years. its not a false assumption to make when i say 'roper knew all the tricks of the trade', because he defintley had picked up a thing or two in his 15 years in the ring entering the louis fight.

heres what joe louis said about the fight "the fight was over fast but ill be dammed if roper didnt nearly knock me down with a left hook in the first round. he was a southpaw but changed up his style in the middle of the first round. first he'd lead with a left and then he'd change up his style and lead with a left. i said to myself '**** let me get this tricky guy out of the way' so i kayoed him in the first round."

[smasher]

agreed kid achilles. Roper certainly was not a bum like u are impyling, and a tough hard working exerpeinced journeyman like roper deserves a lot of credit for going right after louis, rather than just falling over like any bum could do and take the money and go home. roper earned louis respect and showed louis that he better not take him lightly because he was no bum. roper had balls.


he defintley had picked up a thing or two in his 15 years in the ring entering the louis fight.

So he goes after Louis and gets obliterated in one round. Whoopee. "Roper had balls." Why? Because he was overmatched and got starched in one round? You might as well call any fighter that doesn't just fall over and take the money, a fighter with balls.

As for "picking up a thing or two" in 15 years, yeah I would think so. Another generic non-commital positive spin statement.

Call a spade a spade. Louis obliterated an overmatched, un-ranked stumblebum. Don't heap accolades on a guy for getting blasted out in one round.

You never answered my question. Who would you consider a bum that fought for the heavyweight championship?

[smasher]

If Joe Louis said Jack Roper could punch, I'm sure he could punch. You talk as if anyone with a huge punch would have a winning record when there's guys even today who could knock out a horse but don't have the complete package to be successful in boxing. No one's saying that Roper was a good fighter, just that the guy could swat.

I don't know why you insist on arguing otherwise, what's the point? Do you want someone to concede that Roper couldn't hit worth a damn when that'd be a lie?

Did you ever consider that Louis may have been embarrassed by the fact that he demolished the over matched Roper so he generously threw an accolade his way?

I'm not saying every puncher has a winning record, but let's get serious here. The guy's KO record is anemic over a lengthy career against many un-ranked fighters. A fighter's reputation as a puncher should be based on more than one fighter's generous accolade.

Joe Louis isn't above reproach. He fought some bums in his career. Accept that.

[LondonRingRules]

=======Joe Louis isn't above reproach. He fought some bums in his career. Accept that.==============

** Will do when I see Ali fans acknowledge he was beat up by a glass jawed little cracked out amateur fighter. Joe never disgraced his title.

[smasher]

=======Joe Louis isn't above reproach. He fought some bums in his career. Accept that.==============

** Will do when I see Ali fans acknowledge he was beat up by a glass jawed little cracked out amateur fighter. Joe never disgraced his title.

Leave it to you to take a discussion on Jack Roper and swing it around into a slur on Muhammad Ali. What's the obsession?

[LondonRingRules]

Leave it to you to take a discussion on Jack Roper and swing it around into a slur on Muhammad Ali. What's the obsession?

** There are few fighters who's careers are above reproach. Joe is one of them. The sooner the diaper brigade learns this the better things will be for lesser greats like Ali.

[smasher]

** There are few fighters who's careers are above reproach. Joe is one of them. The sooner the diaper brigade learns this the better things will be for lesser greats like Ali.

As soon as the geritol generation accepts that greatness didn't end with the rotary phone...

[smasher]

my wife can see two fighters and pick who she sees as the winner of a fantasy fight, and she rarely ever watches any of my fights...

...and she would have a 50% chance of being right!

[butterfly1964]

** There are few fighters who's careers are above reproach. Joe is one of them. The sooner the diaper brigade learns this the better things will be for lesser greats like Ali.

how about the fact that a close to prime louis was smashed by a washed up max "friggin" schmeling!! lol!

i guess you have nothing to say about that, do you?

[RockyMarcianofan00]

how about the fact that a close to prime louis was smashed by a washed up max "friggin" schmeling!! lol!

i guess you have nothing to say about that, do you?

yea he was prime 1937 ya know 2 years before he won the title for his near 10 year title reign