No, not that Jack Johnson

(UPDATED WEDNESDAY AM) - The second part of the Jack Johnson film was mostly about persecution, early 20th-century social and racial mores, and freedom vs. intolerance. Very little was about boxing. That's fine with me, mostly, except that I felt that Burns rushed through Johnson's loss to Willard in 1915. (Holy God, they fought 25+ rounds then? Outdoors in over-100-degree Cuban heat?)

I faintly mistrusted Burns during the part about Johnson's defeat. Since so little of the documentary's second half dealt with Johnson in the ring, it seemed like he should have spent more time on the actual fight. It seemed like Burns may not have wanted Johnson's decline as a pugilist to overshadow his persecution by Federal authorities. Furthermore, though he denied that Johnson threw the fight, he didn't really support that contention with any evidence or anecdotes. It's worth questioning because Burns had already noted that Johnson -- a man whose personal integrity is crucial to the film -- had taken direction during an earlier fight. (Tangential to this: Nick Tosches' portrayal of Charles "Sonny" Liston, who certainly took a dive as his career was ending, is totally enthralling and easy to find for cheap at Green Apple and elsewhere.)