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wondo
05-30-2014, 01:51 PM
I picked this up on Ebay; its a newpaper sports page from 1915 - just a few days before the Jack Johnson / Jess Willard heavyweight title fight. Great picture of Johnson (used in the 1921 R&J card), but the caption Reads:

Latest Photograph Showing How Fat Champion Is

It goes onto say that Willard's odds of winning must be significantly higher now after the Johnson shape has been revealed. This article was in the The North American, a Philadelphia newspaper.

This was the height of the Great White Hope era of boxing and the newspaper's stance certainly reflects it. Johnson did lose the fight, but he was 37 years old.

D. Bergin
05-30-2014, 01:58 PM
Johnson really wasn't in good shape for that fight, by his earlier standards. He really took Willard AND the Cuban heat for granted.

sebie43
05-30-2014, 02:00 PM
That is a very cool article, and the caption wording is pretty funny