I am almost positive there is a well established tendency to romanticize and overestimate the black fighters of both Burley's and Langford's eras. Back when there had not been very many heavyweight champions yet was when Johnny became champion. He was larger than most champs of the era. He is not as big as the champs now.
Yet he has an inside game, one of the greatest inside games ever. This is precisely what most fighters today stand the least chance of dealing effectively with. No one else they are familiar with as opponents has a great inside game. No one. For that reason alone Johnny would be set to storm through the contemporary heavyweight scene successfully. This single skill set should effectively compensate for his size shortfall against some of the behemoths. His natural toughness and courage exceeds anything they are used to. Watch out, boys, he's a man eater. A great defensive fighter is still going to be just that in any era. He may get it done ugly, but I believe he will get it done most of the time. If he has the ring generalship to force a lot of clinching, he should beat most of the behemoths. Generally, it does not take a genius of generalship to put on a clinching show. Even Ruiz was able to do it effectively at top level. I feel confident Johnson would mangle Ruiz at his own game.
I like the chances of hardly any truly old time heavyweights. I only like the chances of Johnson, Dempsey and Tunney. Those three stood far above all their contemporaries and predecessors up until Louis.
There was the odd character like Langford who was an even better P4P fighter than any of the other three, but at 5'7" was not really big enough to fight in today's era as a heavyweight, irregardless of his ability to do it with impunity of old. No one convinces me Langford has a reasonable chance against Joshua or Wilder. I believe Langford would have had little to no chance against Willard. It is just the size differential. Langford was vastly more talented, but what could he do to Willard?
Langford beat better HW's than Willard, why couldnt he have beaten the big man?
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