Hart vs. Johnson

[Cap]

Here's a write-up on the Marvin Hart-Jack Johnson fight. Seems like Hart wasn't the chump he's been portrayed after all. No doubt this was the best performance of his career, one of those rare nights that fighters have where everything works right and they feel strong as a horse.

Cap

[JCWeb]

As this fight is discussed in the Jack Johnson biography, "Unforgivable Blackness," it appears to have been a controversial decision perhaps influenced by the crowd's cheering for Hart. Johnson apparently outboxed Hart and dominated the early rounds, with Hart coming on toward the end. Well-known ref George Siler (who is in the Title Bout game, of course) was quoted as saying that "the opinion of all fair minded witnesses [was] that Johnson beat Hart." The one criticism of Johnson's performance seems to have been that he was not aggressive enough in the later stages of the fight once Hart began asserting himself.

[steamboat brand, palooka]

Before I even read JC WEBs reply, I had the feeling that if this fight was waged in modern times, the account would look strangely more "Johnson winning fight". Obviously I can't say this FOR SURE, but I bet there were many fights in that time where the black fighter clearly defeated the white fighter, then the white referee gave the white fighter the decision, to which the white crowd cheered wildly.
Cap, Hart may not have been a chump, but I wouldn't bet that he was as impressive in this fight as it sounds like he was.

[Cap]

Well, until the film turns up to refute this, I'm going to believe what I read in that article. Johnson wasn't known as a "defensive genius" for nothing. He didn't like to lead, preferred to counter. In some fights he loafed, because he truly believed he was the greatest thing since sliced bread. It wouldn't be the first time or last that the favourite didn't give it his all in a fight. Hart wanted it more than Johnson did that night. If they fought again, no doubt Johnson would've tried harder.

Cap

[David Ball]

I looked up some press coverage surrounding Hart's fights with Johnson, Burns and Root. Before the Johnson fight the National Police Gazette reported that Hart intended to fight Kid McCoy and Johnson, then take on Jeffries. It wrote that he might beat McCoy, who was over the hill, "may even put it all over Johnson" but would have no chance at all to beat Jeffries.

After the Johnson fight the widely syndicated commentator George Siler wrote that "all fair minded witnesses" believed Johnson had won the fight and that Hart's poor showing had derailed any attempt to match him with Jeffries, leading to Jeffries' retirement for lack of viable opposition. In July, 1905, after Hart had claimed the title Siler wrote, "Undoubtedly the best big man in the business at present is Jack Johnson, and Hart shows excellent judgment in drawing the color line."

The Root-Hart fight was in the works when Jeffries retired, and the impression I get, though I didn't see anything that quite spells it out, is that the promoters simply jumped on the opportunity to turn it into a championship match with Jeffries refereeing and awarding the title, which Jeff was glad to do since they met his price (and he insisted on being paid up front, too). It's striking that even the previews of the Burns-Hart fight in some cases say nothing about the championship being up for grabs.

Coming after a string of great champions, Hart certainly did suffer from the Holmes-Charles syndrome, but I don't have the sense that he was nearly the fighter Ezzard Charles and Larry Holmes were.

[jofre]

Originally Posted by Cap

Here's a write-up on the Marvin Hart-Jack Johnson fight. Seems like Hart wasn't the chump he's been portrayed after all. No doubt this was the best performance of his career, one of those rare nights that fighters have where everything works right and they feel strong as a horse.

Cap

Check out this article by boxing historian Matt Donnellon.

http://www.ibroresearch.com/Articles/hart_marvin.htm

[jofre]

The following article was retyped and submitted by Matt Donnellon. Another interesting take from another source. A little more colorful heading than the previous article. The writers were something else in those days!
************************************************** ****
Retyped in its entirety.
SOURCE: TRENTON NEWS
March 29, 1905
************************************************** *****
JOHNSON YELLOW
IN FIGHT WITH HART

Negro Lost "Washwoman"
Battle at Conclusion of
Twenty Rounds

San Francisco, March 29 - Marvin Hart will have the chance of meeting James J. Jeffries for the Heavyweight Championship next summer. The rugged Louisville fighter secured a decision over Jack Johnson, the negro heavyweight, in a 20-round bout at Woodward's Pavillion last night, but neither pugilist showed any championship form. Hart was the worst punished of the two, and the negro fought a fight which he showed himself at times capable of he should have won handily. Referee Greggains gave the decision to Hart because of his gameness and aggressiveness. The spectators were of the opinion that Johnson was suffering from a streak of bright yellow. Whenever he did fight, he made Hart look like an amateur.
The Louisville man's aggressiveness seemed to rattle Johnson and his courage would ooze. There was not a knockdown in the whole fight, and with the exception of the ninth round there was little of pugilistic moment. The last ten rounds resembled each other. Johnson pegged away with straight lefts and rights, which cut Hart's face, while the Kentucky colonel walloped away with right swings to the body and head. Referee Greggains, speaking of the mill, said:
"Hart won because he was the aggressor throughout the fight. He wanted to fight continually. Johnson in my opinion, dogged it."
Johnson was a 2 to 1 favorite when the fight began. After the first few rounds Johnson let Hart do most of the leading, except in the ninth round, when with lefts and rights the negro punished Hart badly.
Johnson showed the best form in the first round and landed several hard rights on the body in the clinches. He also drove a couple of swings home on Hart's head. The second round was more lively, with Johnson showing his best form. He smashed Hart's kidneys, which caused the Louisville man to gasp. Johnson landed left and right hooks to the jaw as the round closed. Hart put two hard rights to the heart during the round.
Hart was aggressive in the third round, but was unable to land any effective blows. Johnson kept away and apparently did not want to extend himself.
The men worked into several clinches in the fourth round and there were one or two hot exchanges, but without any damage.
Hart tried to work in close during the fifth round, but Johnson blocked his leads.
The sixth round started like a real prize fight. Hart rushed, but Johnson put him back with a straight left and followed it with another, which was the hardest blow struck during the fight. They came into clinches, Hart trying to get in close.
Round seven was Johnson's. He hooked his left to Hart's jaw repeatedly and as the round closed Johnson snapped two rights to the jaw.
The eighth and ninth rounds were lively and Johnson's admirers thought that the negro would surely do the trick. His boxing superiority and strength were evident. He did some quick two-hand punching and Hart bled freely. Hart was still aggressive and sought to land some hard blows in the clinches, but got several hard wallops for his trouble.
Johnson jammed him in the corner in the tenth round. There were some good exchanges in the eleventh round and Hart was still eager and game.
The negro slowed visibly in the next three rounds and seemed perturbed at the way Hart was assimilating punishment. The bourbon kept wading in and in the fifteenth and sixteenth rounds drove Johnson around the ring with fierce swings to the head and body.
Johnson showed better form in the seventeenth round and he hammered his opponent hard and often. Hart was tired at the close.
Hart was the aggressor in the last three rounds and kept piling in with hard rights to the body. Johnson acted as though he was tired and his seconds kept calling him to hit it up. Hart made a target of the negro's ribs. The fight closed with little doing and the referee, because of Hart's aggressiveness, gave him the decision.

[Mr Big]

I remember reading an excerpt from a book about Johnson, in which he allegedly claimed that he carried Ketchel, (a possibility, given the fact that he knocked Stanley out immediately after being floored by the middleweight champion), took a dive against Willard, (would have made more sense to have hit the canvas long before fighting 25 rounds in the hot Cuban sun), and that Marvin Hart, "beat him good." If Jack Johnson said that Marvin Hart, "beat him good", than I am prone to believe that he did just that!