Peter Jackson and Jack Johnson, by W.W. Naughton, 1911

 1911-05-28 The San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, CA) (page 44)

Jackson and Johnson Had Different Style of Boxing
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By W. W. Naughton

It is very evident that Peter Jackson, former champion of Australia, had most admirers among California's patrons of boxing and that he is still remembered as a pleasant, well behaved fellow and a Class A heavyweight.

In an article written some little time ago I took occasion to say that I did not care to hazard an opinion as to whether Peter Jackson, in his day, was a greater fighter than Jack Johnson is in his day. I have explained time and again that there is no way of settling an argument of that kind satisfactorily. But the arguments keep cropping up just the same.

A correspondent who frankly utters the opinion that Jackson would have demolished Johnson in ten rounds and who just as frankly declares that he can't for the life of him see why I am not of the same way of thinking asks me to describe for his personal benefit wherein Johnson compares with Jackson as a fighter.

To begin with, the two famous colored exponents of the glove game do not compare. I mean they had not a thing in common. They presented a striking contrast and that is why I can't make up my mind how a fight between them would have come out if they had flourished contemporaneously.

Peter Jackson, in my idea, was the most finished of all the boxers developed under the Mace system. He was a marvelous judge of distance, a wonderfully sure hitter and he had tremendous reach. He could send in a straight left that it seemed impossible for an opponent to get out of the way of. He could draw a man's fire and meet him with a right cross that would land squarely on ear or chin.

He knew to a dot when to unload with a left at the body or a right at the heart and he knew to a nicety when to block or draw back from a lead or counter.

But he was a mechanical fighter, albeit a rapid, heady one. He knew nothing outside of what the Mace system taught, whereas this man Johnson is a natural fighter with a stock in trade of punches that the Mace system, if employed to-day, could not provide against.

It may be that Jackson with his splendidly timed straight left would keep Johnson at bay and cut him to pieces gradually.

But if he failed to do so?

If Johnson worked close to Jackson as he did to Jeffries?

If Johnson courted clinches and began uppercutting Jackson with a free left and right in turn as he did Jeffries?

What then?

Therefore I repeat I don't know.

Jackson was a great fighter and Johnson is another. But they belonged to different ages and different schools, and for the life of me I can't say whether old Peter's straight-from-the-shoulder-stand-away work would have carried the day against Johnson's clinging tactics and his grape-vine punches.

While on the subject I would like to refer to Jackson's fight with Jeffries in San Francisco. It has been said quite often that Jackson was but a wraith of the Peter Jackson of other days when he fought the boilermaker.

Well, while results proved that Jackson was not as good as formerly--just as the result at Reno showed a falling away in Jeffries--it must be said that Peter's confidence in his own prowess was not impaired. He came to San Francisco from England looking for a match with Jeffries and he went systematically to work to gain his desire. He convinced the matchmakers of the Olympic Club of San Francisco that he was in earnest and that he had firm belief in his ability to trim the rising young boilermaker, and he was the most self-satisfied man on earth when called upon to sign articles.

Nor did he think that the defeat by Jeffries meant the end of his career. This was shown when Eugene Van Court, a strong personal friend of Jeffries, approached Peter after the fight and said: "Jeffries told me to give you his respects and tell you not to be downcast over losing the fight."

"You tell Jeffries to look out for himself and not to mind me," said Peter with a snort. "The sweetest message Jeffries could send me would be word that he is willing to fight me again."

1906-04-26 Jack Johnson W-PTS15 Sam Langford [Lincoln Athletic Club, Chelsea, MA, USA]

1906-04-27 The Boston Journal (Boston, MA) (page 9)

LANGFORD LOSES IN GAME FIGHT
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Sam Langford was beaten badly by Jack Johnson at Chelsea last night, but earned the cheers of his admirers and many more besides by a superb exhibition of grit and courage that makes other local exhibitions of gameness in the ring fade almost into insignificance.

He was there all through the fifteen rounds, and saved a lot of money for his friends who had bet that he would last ten rounds, twelve rounds or stay the limit. But it is a question if he were wire, for the beating he took is enough to seriously impair his strength and health.

Most of the punishment was on the head, and so may not have the injurious effect that a severe drubbing on the body would have. Sam didn't have a chance on earth to win, for he was outweighed about thirty-five pounds, and Johnson was too clever, too fast, too heavy, too strong and too powerful in punching for him.

Sam went down three times. On the first occasion it looked as if he slipped or stumbled to his knees, as the accompanying punch was not heavy. He was knocked down with a powerful left hook in the middle of the sixth round and lay on his face. He was down just nine seconds, according to Timekeeper Murphy, a thoroughly honest man, and the referee, Maffit Flaherty, who says he was on his feet at the call of nine, and according to several watches in the hands of men around the ring.

Down Again.

Later on in the same round he was down again for nine seconds. On the first knockdown it looked as if he couldn't continue. But he arose within the specified ten seconds. The second time he went to the floor from a right hand smash on the jaw. He wasn't in such a bad way and arose all right. Johnson tried his best to give him his quietus, but was exhausted and weak from punching and couldn't land the knockout.

It was a one-sided fight. It was all Johnson all the way. Sam did well on his left stabs and showed at times an inclination to shoot the right over for Jack's jaw. But he was outclassed too much naturally to make it any kind of an even fight.

Johnson's showing was commented on by everybody who declared that his challenges to Jeffries were preposterous. He would have been an easy mark for the champion had he been taken on.

Johnson was esquired by Joe Walcott, Kid Murray, Jack McCloskey and Santy Ferguson and George Dixon gave advice from the corner. George Byers, Andy Watson and other friends were in Sam's corner.

Unholz Disappoints.

In the opening preliminary Deny Ryan of Cambridge defeated Custer Dow in two rounds in a slam-bang slashing fight. Custer took the place of Tommy Murray who did not appear. In the other preliminary Rudolph Unholz, the champion of South Africa, showed a wonderful physique and won over Kid Murry, one of Jack Johnson's assistants. Unholz did not make much of a hit and will hardly be considered for a main bout. He fought a fellow who was a good deal taller. He was aggressive and ambitious but he is not high class.


1906-04-27 The Evening Times (Pawtucket, RI) (page 2)

JOHNSON FAILS TO KNOCK OUT SAM LANGFORD
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Jack Johnson of Texas, the big colored heavyweight, who claims the heavyweight championship of the world, tried with might and main for 15 rounds last night at the Lincoln Club, Chelsea, to knock out Sam Langford of Cambridge. Considering the fact that Langford was nearly 40 pounds lighter and fully a foot shorter this does not add to the credit of Johnson, but must be considered quite a performance for Langford, and this great middleweight will probably have greater difficulty in getting matches than he has had in the past. True, during the 15 rounds that the pair were at it, Langford was hammered as no fighter ever has been hammered in the same number of rounds, but the fact remains that Johnson could not knock him out, and whether it was due to Langford's ability to take punishment or Johnson's absence of a knockout punch has nothing to do with the matter, but it is hard to see a champion in a heavyweight of 195 pounds who cannot stop a middleweight, at the heaviest in this time.

The battle itself was about as wicked an event as has been seen in a long while, and was too one-sided to be of interest, the only thing that could possibly be imagined as a cause for the enthusiasm that was aroused being Langford's gameness and his staying the full 15 rounds.

Previous to the starting of the battle the betting was all that Langford would or would not stay the distance. For a while in the early rounds Langford showed beautifully, using his left in a wonderful manner, but after about the fourth round Johnson began hooking his left to the body and swinging right and left wickedly to the head. In the sixth round Johnson rushed Langford to the ropes, smashed him about the body and wound up with a terrific left hook to the jaw, and Langford went to the mat for the count, laying on his face and apparently all out. But he regained his feet and hugged through the round, but Johnson, with his superior weight and strength, shook Langford off and whaled him viciously and dropped him to the mat again for a few seconds.

From then on the fight was too one-sided to be interesting. Johnson closed Langford's left eye and gave him the worst licking a man ever took in the Chelsea ring, and there was never a chance for Langford, though he was game to the finish and flashed occasionally. Langford's face was a sight at the end of the contest, and it is a question as to just how the licking he received last night will affect him in the future.

In the preliminaries, Johnnie Ryan knocked out Custer Dow in the second round and Rudolph Unholz of South Africa whipped Jimmy Martin of California, Jack Johnson's sparring partner, in a hard six-round battle.


1906-04-27 The Evening World (New York, NY) (page 12)

BIG JACK JOHNSON DEFEATS LANGFORD
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(Special to The Evening World.)

BOSTON, April 27.--Jack Johnson, the colored heavy-weight, of Galveston, won the decision over Sam Langford in their fifteen-round bout at the Lincoln Club, Chelsea, last night. Outweighed by at least forty pounds and a head shorter than Johnson, the Boston man was good and strong when the bout ended.

The sports generally, as well as Johnson, believed Langford would be down and out before ten rounds, and it looked in the sixth round as if they had guessed right, for Langford was sent to the floor for the count. He came back quickly, and when the round ended Johnson was in as bad a way as Langford.

1904-04-22 Jack Johnson W-KO20 Sam McVea [Mechanics’ Pavilion, San Francisco, CA, USA]

1904-04-23 The Daily Californian (Bakersfield, CA) (page 3)

KNOCKOUT FOR McVEY
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AFTER PLAYING WITH HIM ALL THE TIME JOHNSON SENT HIM TO THE MAT
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Oxnard Pugilist Helped to Corner at End of Twentieth Round of Wretched Battle.
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At Mechanics' Pavilion last night Jack Johnson knocked out Sam McVey in the twentieth round after a one-sided contest. It was Johnson's fight throughout and he would probably have won the decision in any event. McVey managed to struggle on until almost the end of the twentieth round when he went down before Johnson's blows and had to be carried to his corner. He was clearly inferior to Johnson throughout the battle. Before the fight it was announced that the winner would challenge Champion Jim Jeffries.

The main event was preceded by two preliminaries between Frank Fields and Arthur Williams and Fred Landers and Jack Dougherty. The first was won by Fields and the second by Landers.

Dick Sullivan refereed the preliminaries and Eddie Graney the main event.

A full report of the battle by rounds was received at the Louvre and a large crowd assembled there to read the returns. Before the fight there were a number of McVey backers in town but as the fight progressed it was seen that the Oxnard fighter was no match for Johnson. There was little or no money bet on the result and the fight was clearly very poor and uninteresting exhibition from start to finish and few believe that Champion Jeffries will consider for an instant any challenge from the winner, especially as he has positively declared that he will not fight any negro.

Johnson fought at 190 and McVey at 207.


1904-04-23 The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, CA) (page 11)

JACK JOHNSON KNOCKS OUT McVEY IN THE TWENTIETH ROUND
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HEAVY-WEIGHT CONTEST IS POOREST SEEN IN THIS CITY IN MANY YEARS
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Spectators Applaud Satirically the Feeble Efforts of the Colored Gladiators and Then Silently Retire From the Scene of the Alleged Battle---McVey Shows No Qualifications as a Boxer
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Twenty seconds before the close of the twentieth round in their fight in Mechanics' Pavilion last night Jack Johnson knocked out Sam McVey. This brought to a close one of the poorest fights ever seen in this city. It marked the first exhibition of the Shasta Club, which butted into the boxing same here only to give it a decided setback.

For a time the spectators applauded satirically the feeble swings and jabs of the boxers. Then they jeered the alleged gladiators, and finally many of them made their way out of the building, leaving a small proportion of the attendance to sit out each tiresome round.

McVey proved possessed of but one quality necessary in the make-up of a fighter. He could and did take a lot of punishment without flinching. Beyond this he did nothing. For round after round he did not land a blow on the elusive Johnson, and his mighty right arm, with its ridges of thews and sinews, might as well have been strapped to his side for all the use he made of it.

McVEY CANNOT PUNCH.

He did not land an effective blow throughout the fight, Johnson never giving him an opportunity to get set. With all his strength and ruggedness, he showed no signs of aggressiveness, and will never make a fighter.

Johnson showed all the cleverness for which he is noted. He landed an incredible number of blows on McVey's head, but he never followed up his advantage. He had his opponent in distress several times, but he refused to take a chance and backed away out of danger. All sorts of remarks were directed at the boxers, but the one that brought down the house was uttered by some one at the ringside, who said: "Cease this brutality." As hardly a good blow had been struck for ten rounds the humor of the remark pleased the weary spectators.

CONTEST ENDS SUDDENLY.

The sudden end of the contest proved a surprise. There had been but little work done from the twelfth to the nineteenth round. In the latter Johnson took a chance and staggered McVey with rights and lefts to the head. McVey was nearly out, the principal damage being done him by a hard left to the body. When he came up for the last round his head had hardly cleared and Johnson went at him again.

He landed repeatedly to the head of the Oxnard man, and then scored quickly with a right and left to the jaw. The force of the blows turned McVey completely around and he fell a huge, limp mass, face downward on the paddock floor. He lay there breathing heavily until he had been counted out, when his seconds assisted him to his corner.

The attendance was small, the receipts of the gallery being only $850. Joe Walcott and the Dixie Kid, who are to fight at Colma next Friday night, were introduced by Billy Jordan.

JOHNSON STARTS WELL.

Johnson started in the first round as though he had made up his mind to win decisively. He was after McVey at once with right and left to the head and knocked the Oxnard man down with a clean left to the jaw. He caught McVey coming in and slightly off his balance. This was near the end of the round. Johnson went after him again in the second round, sending in rights and lefts with great regularity. McVey seemed to shake up Johnson early in the third round with a right to the body and then missed some wild swings to the head. Johnson landed two hard rights to the body in the fourth round. Johnson varied the fifth round by trying first for the head and then for the body.

Johnson staggered McVey in the sixth round with a right to the head, but the bell stopped proceedings before he could do any further damage.

The fight slowed down to a snail's pace in the seventh and eighth rounds and the crowd yelled to "throw them out." Johnson livened things up in the ninth round, staggering McVey with a right to the head. Most of the fighting done during the evening was in this round. Johnson wrestled McVey down in the tenth round and kept up his piston rod left.

Johnson was busy in the eleventh round but did little damage. In the twelfth he had McVey groggy again, but let him come to. There was no fighting from this point on to the nineteenth and twentieth rounds.

In the preliminaries, Frank Fields stopped Arthur Williams in the fifth round. Williams was knocked down and lost track of the count, although he was able to go on. Fred Landers knocked out Jack Dougherty in the fourth round with a right to the jaw. In the second round Dougherty was sent down for the count of seven. He then knocked Landers down twice, both boxers staggering about the ring in a dazed condition. The gong saved Dougherty in the third round, but in the fourth he retired.

Eddie Graney refereed the main fight.

1903-04-16 Jack Johnson W-PTS10 Sandy Ferguson [Essex Athletic Club, Boston, MA, USA]

1903-04-17 Boston Morning Journal (Boston, MA) (page 10)

COLORED BOXER VICTOR OVER SANDY FERGUSON
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Big Jack Johnson from California Given Decision in Main Bout at Essex Show--Boxing News and Gossip.
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Jack Johnson, the big California colored heavyweight, and Sandy Ferguson of Chelsea, met in the main bout at the Essex Athletic Club last night. The bout went the limit, ten rounds, and Johnson was he winner on points. Ferguson bent all his efforts to staying to the end and only in one round, the ninth did he make any pretense of doing anything but clinching and hugging.

Johnson tried hard enough, but as it takes two to make a contest, he found his task very difficult. Johnson did not make a very good impression, however, although against a man who would show some spirit he would undoubtedly exhibit better. He tried hard to get his right over on to Ferguson's jaw, but Sandy protected his face very zealously.

Johnson created rounds of laughter when he climbed through the ropes, for he emulated Polly Chase. He was clad in pink pajamas. "Wot's dem tings?" yelled one fellow to another. "Ah, g'wan," said he, "dose ar' his stable clo'es." Johnson's black face showed clear above the pink. He is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds. Ferguson, too, is a big man and weighed over 200 pounds.

For the first few rounds there was nothing doing at all. Johnson started on the aggressive, but on every lead he found Ferguson ready to block, and then clinch and hug. That went on for four rounds, when to the surprise of all Sandy essayed to lead. It was a tame bout till the seventh, when Johnson cut loose and shook up the Chelsea strong boy with lefts and rights to the head. Previous to that most of his attack had been directed to the body. After that he varied his leads more, but Ferguson was too cunning to mix it up with him.

Sandy was less cautious in the ninth and made a brave showing in swapping punches. He did well, too, only he was repaid for his exertions by more activity on the colored man's part. The tenth and last round was also fairly lively, but Johnson led at a big rate, as he had through all the preceding rounds, and got the verdict without a whimper.

Sam Langford, colored, and Bob Allen, colored, made a laughable bout. Allen swapped with Sam in the first round, and also the last, but Langford had a clear lead. Some of the members asked for a draw, but Referee Donnelly told them they should be ashamed of themselves. Young Lawless won from Young Bernstein and Eddie Carr and Young Lynch went a fast draw.


1903-04-17 The Boston Daily Globe (Boston, MA) (page 8)

JOHNSON'S JABS
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They Rather Worried Sandy Ferguson.
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Chelsea Boxer Could Have Drawn, but He Lost.
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Jack Johnson was given the decision over Sandy Ferguson in 10 rounds at the Essex A. C. last night. Johnson was the aggressor all through the contest, and he landed many a hard left and right on Sandy's stomach and face. Ferguson appeared to be afraid of Johnson until the ninth round, when he cut loose and reached Johnson's jaw several times.

Johnson's showing last night was not that of a champion, and had Ferguson more heart he would have easily evened matters with Johnson. It was a fast bout, and Ferguson was the receiver general of about all the punches that landed.

In the opening preliminary Eddie Carr and Johnny Lynch boxed a six-round draw. Young Lawless forced Young Bernstein to quit in three rounds. Sam Langford and Bob Allen put up a hot six-round bout, and Langford was declared the winner. Dan Donnelly was referee and Denny Murphy was timekeeper.


1903-04-17 The Evening Times (Pawtucket, RI) (page 2)

SANDY FERGUSON STAYED THE LIMIT
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Boston, April 17.--"Sandy" Ferguson of Chelsea, who is as well known by several other titles disappointed many of the followers of boxing when he stayed with Jack Johnson, the "Pauline Chase" of the ring, also of California, for 10 rounds at the Essex A. C. last evening. When the bout was arranged for it would have been an easy matter to pick up any amount of money that the big fellow from Chelsea would not go the distance, and many went to the club last evening firm in the conviction that the mill would not last long.

But they were mistaken, for "Sandy" managed to stay the 10 rounds and on only 1½ days' training, and he was comparatively fresh at the end of the contest. True, he did little boxing, his specialty being stalling and blocking, but at one time he got real angry, and did swing on a few blows. Johnson, too, failed to show as well as was expected, and though he did all the work for the distance, he was unable to phase "Sandy," and many are wondering how he earned his title of colored heavyweight champion.

Johnson made his real hit of the evening when he entered the ring just before 10 o'clock, gayly gowned and dollied in pink pajamas, and wearing a highly checked gold cap. He was followed by Joe Walcott, resplendent in diamonds, and smoking a long black cigar, forming a combination hard to beat. Ferguson's attire was more modest and less attractive.

Previous to the bout it was shown by the referee that the best of feeling prevailed between the pair, and it seemed so for a while, until Ferguson forgot himself and cut loose. The contest could hardly be called good, as the work was rather slow. Ferguson absolutely refused to mix it up for a while, and Johnson did all of the forcing and leading. "Sandy" was content to get into a clinch, and the referee had hard work to separate them.

In the first few rounds "Sandy" did not hit a clean punch, Johnson all the while sinking lefts into the stomach and rights to head, which did not seem to bother the Chelseaite in the least. Ferguson landed perhaps half a dozen clean punches during the 10 rounds. Johnson finally received the decision.

In the semi-final bout Bob Allen and Sam Langford, a couple of colored boxers, mixed it up fast for six rounds, the latter giving the old-timer a bad gaffing. "Stonewall" was game enough, but clearly out of the running, for it was only exercise for Langford. The Young Lawless-Young Bernstein bout was stopped in the second round as the latter persisted in rushing in, football style, instead of boxing.