The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1909-04-01

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plaid coithes, noisy vest, q shirt OF
many colors, green or gray spats
| pointed patent leather shoes and a
big diamond headlight. He also lugs
around a young tree for cane and
fairly covers his knotty knuckles with
jeweled rings. He weighs about zoe
pounds. stripped to the bur His arms
are unusually long. like those of a
gorilla and the muscles OF his back and
chest are like punches OF steel wire
Johnson was born i'm Galveston
Tex, and win be 30 years old on March
81. He has been in the prize ring for
eight years, but IL was not until he met
Joe Choyniski, the California heavy
weight, in the fall OF 1901, that ne
showed any real worth as a pugllist.
After that he showed steady improve
ment and in 1908 he was matched with
Denver Ed Martin. They met In a
twenty round bout al Los Angeles, and
after a gruelling mill johnson got the
decision on points.
This victory was so well earned and
Johnson's performance was so agrees
sive that he was at once pitted against
Sam McVey. the big negro now all the
rage in Paris. McVey was tough
proposition, a hard hitter and fairly
clever, but. as in the battle with Mar
tin, Johnson displayed unusual skill
and received the referees verdict at
the end Of twenty rounds.
The big colored man did not have
many matches In 1904, and his OPP
ponents were all black men. He de-
feated Black Bill in a six round bout
nt Enf1 Hall IL mgNG
with McVey in Frisco he put the latter
to sleep in the twentieth round with
a heavy right hand clip on the point of
the jaw. After that he took the meas
ure of Frank ChFlds in a six-round bat
tie in Chicago and then knocked Dem
yer Ed Martin out in three rounds.
On March 2S. 1905, Johnson met
Marvin Hart in a twenty-round mill in
Frisco. 1t was hard fight and john
sons friends at the ringside declared
that he had won by a wide margin on
points, but the referee decided that
Hart was the winner amid tremend-
GUS cutlery. Johnson said that he had
been robbed, and that the gamblers
had fixed the referee, and was so dis
gusted with the methods on the coast
that he came east Immediately and re-
sumed his ring work in Philadelphia.
Johnson met Sam Langford, with
whom he is now matched to fight
twenty rounds at the National Sport
ing club Of London on May "a. This |
battle took place at Chelsea on April |
rs, 1905. Johnson weighed 10s pounds
and Langford only 1853. In the second |
round Langford caught the big fellow !
with "a tremendous rife De-
and knocked him to the floor. John |
son was so much more scientific than |
his small antagonist that the latter |
lost the battle on points.
Johnson's prowess prompted Alex |
McLain, Boston boxinn promoter. to |
take him to Australia in 1907, where |
Texas Jack made a clean sweep. He |
knocked out Peter Felix in one round |
ut Sydney and later sent Frank Lang |
TO dreamland in the seventh round, the |
fight taking place at Melbourne. Bin |
Squires, the Australian heavyweight |
champion, evidently knew what he was
about when he lodged the big negro's
challenge and hurriedly sailed for
America to make asmatch with Tommy
Burns. Johnson followed Squires here,
Out could not get a match, so in July,
1907, he made match with Bob Fitz-
simmons, the aged Cornishman, for six
'ounds in Philadelphia. Fitz said be-
ore the niH that he had an injured !
land, but he declined to disappoint the
'rowd at the ringside. AS soon as
ne toed the scratch 1t was seen that |
Robert was up against 1T, for Johnson
With his shifty cleverness, went around
lin like a copper around a barrel
hrowing in jabs, uppercuts and swings
ntil Fitz was in serious trouble. In
he second round Fitz was knocked
own and was in such a helpless state
hat the referee interfered.
BY defeating Fitzsimmons so easily
ohnson jumped into the limelight for
air, and all of the other big men
teered clear of him. John l.. Sulli-
an thought he could beat him, how
yer, with Kid Cutler his young spar
ing partner, so Johnson took him on,
he mill took place in Reading. Pa,
nd Cutler wasn't In 1t, for Big Jack
nothered him with punches and then
nocked him cold in the first round.
DON after Johnson met Sailor Burke
Bridgeport, in a six-round bout. :
nd Burke did the Tug Wilson act,
ropping to the floor repeatedly in
rder to escape Knockout
Johnson then went back to Frisco
nd finished the year by stopping Jim
lynn in the eleventh round. BY that :
me Sam Fitzpatrick was sure that
ohnson could beat Burns, but the lat
II ignored all challenges and went to
ngland. For just one year Johnson !
nd Fitzpatrick kept on Burns trail I
ntil the battered was cornered i'm Aus
ALA and was beaten to a standstill
fourteen rounds.
A big snow for 10 cents and SOU :