Join Rainy Day Boxing for an in depth career tribute to arguably the best fighter pound for pound of all time, the ‘Boston Tar Baby’, Sam Langford.
Narrated by Eli Harris
https://www.facebook.com/eli.harris2
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“In all my pugilistic career, not before and not afterwards, have I received a blow that struck me with such force. I found him one of the toughest adversaries I ever met in the ring. Sam had the greatest right cross the ring ever saw, past or present, and when he laid it in, the party was over. I can still hear the wind whistling as his right hand passed by my face. Langford's right cross would have reached Dempsey's jaw a split second before Dempsey's left hook could reach old Sam. He was the toughest little S.O.B. that ever lived.” – Jack Johnson
“There’s a big smoke back home called Jack Johnson who is unbeatable. He licked me in Massachusetts last year and he’s improving every month.” -Sam Langford
“The hell I feared no man. There was one man, he was even smaller than I, I wouldn't fight him because I knew he would flatten me, I was afraid of Sam Langford." – Jack Dempsey
“Dempsey to my mind is still the champion of the world. He is my idea of a fighter, as he carried the battle to his opponent and never did back away" – Sam Langford
“It was like being hit with a baseball bat. He hit you so hard you didn't feel it. I fought most of the heavyweights, including Dempsey and Johnson, but Sam could stretch a guy colder than any of them. He'd say I'm sorry son, I didn't mean to hit you so hard. And he meant it, he never realized how hard he could punch. He is a demon, I thought I had a chance with him, but I guess I didn’t figure at all. I stayed 11 rounds with Johnson, but this fellow gets me in the first.” – Jim Flynn
“Langford is consistent, has the punch, knows the game and can whip them all right now, one after the other. Johnson knows this and is sidestepping his fellow fighter at every turn of the road.” – John L Sullivan
"He'd break my shoelaces every time he hit me, and I was tickled to death to get the hell out of there. Langford vs Dempsey, both in their prime would have been bad news for Dempsey. I'll go further and declare that Langford would have waded through every champ we've had including Joe Louis." – Gunboat Smith
“Talk about hitting! I've met some hard punchers in my time, and all I can say is that the hardest blows any of them ever landed on me were like a slap in the face compared with those bone-crushing wallops of Langford. When Sam hit you in the body, you'd kind of look around half expecting to see his glove sticking out of your back. When he'd hit you on the chin, well, when that happened you didn't think at all until they brought you back to life again." – Harry Wills
“Jack was afraid of Langford. He beat Sam once when he was only a middleweight, but he wouldn't have anything to do with him when Sam got bigger and better. Sam would have been champion any time Johnson had given him a fight. And Johnson knew it better than anybody " – Joe Jeanette
“In my book he was just about the greatest of them all. Nobody will ever know how many fighters Sam had to carry. If he didn't agree to carry them he wouldn't get any work. I have plenty respect for Joe Louis as a hitter, but I can't see him hitting Sam hard enough to make him mad" – Abe Attell
omg here we go again . just stop
Thank you for bringing attention to this all time GREAT.
I. Bet he'd demolish Mayweather lol
Fignters back then were tough, brutal and skilled also
Who is that man looking at the camera at 5:15 in the foreground? (Second from the left, with the white hat.) He is seriously tall! If Langford was 5' 7", this guy must have been comfortably 6' 6" which was crazy-tall for the early 1900s (as I understand it)
❤ this story they should made a movie outta this
The footage does not match the narrative.
What a fighter 🙏
This has to be the greatest and saddest Boxing story I've ever heard.
Jack Dempsey wouldn't give Jack Johnson a chance at the title because he was black!
7:28 Ketchum VS. Johnson. That was one of the most obvious dives I've ever seen. Johnson started falling before his fist came close. Knowing Johnson and his pride without any lack of self respect, more than likely he'd been threatened with his life if he didn't throw the fight.
I’ve been researching prize fighting from the late 1800s and it feels so good to see this video. So many boxers have been forgotten. As a Mexican American I was filled with joy when I ran into Mexican pete Everette. He was a heavyweight who fought great names like Jack Johnson, James J Jeffries, Bob Armstrong, harry willis, Joe Choynski which are also fighters with great stories that deserve a video. Mexican Pete never became a champion and it would be over 120 years later that we would see the first and only Mexican heavyweight champ.
So good he never won a world title at any weight.
Killer video bro.
The Boston Tar Baby, who ever said Boston was racists?
whats the song in the beginning
Sam Langford would've annihilated Mayweather.
Great channel Mr. Harris
Love to hear stories like this. Boxing hype then was similar to what it is now. You always had those guys who would say that SL or Joe C or someone else hit like a mule. I would not want to fight such a guy. They could not pay me enough money to fight SL. This of course is all Carny stuff. It was fight hype at its best. Another way to put it was boxings side show. I talked to many old fighters, and they all agreed. If you put up the money, they would take the fight. And many wht fighters did fight blk fighters even though there was supposed to be a color line. If the money was there the fight took place. SL good fighter with a good record, true or not, since records were very inaccurate back then. Did JJ and JD avoid him, laughable.
A complete travesty that this man didn’t fight for the title.
He's Mike Tyson in those days,
Yeah,same here never heard of him before,he deserves to be recognised
He's smaller than Tyson
Oh man,I love him to bits now,bless him,R.I.P Sam, you're the Man ❤️🙏
Dempsey avoided this man, only because at the time dempsey wasn't as experienced. It makes perfect sense not to fight someone who is a professional while you're still an amateur.
damn jack johnson had to take the fall that knockout was fake7:32
Thanks for this video. Unsung hero.
I find this is a very Good history about Boxing.
But please just call him A Canadian.
And stop please with the American African.
He is neither.
And please Americans, if a person is black, just call them Black Americans ?
I doubt many people want to move to Africa from the States…….
I sorry Sam didn't get his shot but that happens to a lot of fighters past and present.
GOOD OL CANADIAN BOY! WHO HAPPENS TOO BE BLACK!!, SMART ONES WILL GET THAT! GBYAA!!!!!!!!!!!!
Really is a travesty when incredible fighters don't get the recognition or rewards they are so deserved of like Sonny Liston
When I hear the woke kids saying that they’re oppressed and the system is against them and look at this? Dude…
What if these kids said this garbage to these MEN.
Holy shit his nose is huge. I wonder if he was born like that or its been smashed in from fighting. Not trying to be derogatory either.