Jack Johnson

World Heavyweight Champion 1908-1915

Pro Record 68-10-10 (49)

Jack Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas, on 31st March 1978. As a youngster, his first experience of fighting was the Ignominious “Battle Royal”, a vicious activity were ten black youngsters were thrown into a ring to fight until only one remained. This was all for the entertainments of a white crowd something Johnson never forgot. Later when he became champion he would dress in a suit like a gentleman, have gold teeth and even dated white woman all to the annoyance of his detractors.

Johnson ran away from home at the tender age of twelve and began working on the docks. In his teenage years, he would enter fights at fairgrounds, after realising he could outbox most opponents he returned to his hometown Galveston, and turned professional in 1897 aged nineteen. Over the next few years, he built up a local reputation while continually calling out current champion James J. Jeffries. Jeffries said he would never share the ring with a Negro, a comment he would live to regret.

Johnson fought on with impressive wins over all the legitimate contenders. The title had since changed hands, Canadian, Tommy Burns was now the champion and had beaten all America had to offer, he set sail on a European tour were he won five bouts (all by knockout). Johnson had followed the Canadian to Europe in hot pursuit of a crack at the title. Burns finally succumb to the pressure and they fought in Sydney, Australia, on Boxing Day 1908. Burns was the smallest heavyweight in history and was no match for the ravenous Johnson, the champion was floored twice and it seemed Johnson could have ended it whenever he wanted. After all the years of racial abuse, the challenger relished his opportunity and toyed with the Canadian, taunting him throughout the contest. Finally the fight was stopped in the fourteenth and history was made Johnson was the first black heavyweight champion, putting to bed the myth that a black man could not compete on the same level as a white man.

Johnsons victory did not go down well in America, they looked upon Johnson as insolent, he went against all their ethics, displaying arrogance and dating white woman were just a few of the new champions exploits. America started the search for the next “White Hope”. They put forward middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel. Ironically, the contest took place almost a year to the day before Ketchel was shot dead. Both are supposed to have agreed to let the bout go the distance, in turn they would both earn a second purse. However, Ketchel put the champion on the canvas in the twelfth, Johnson was so incensed he arose and hit his opponent so hard, legend says; two of Ketchel’s teeth were embedded in the champion’s gloves. Next, the man whom once vowed never to share a ring with a Negro, James J. Jeffries, came out of retirement and faced Johnson in 1910. The bout took place in Reno, Nevada, and Jeffries would regret his comments, the champion was ruthless in his assault to retain the title. He defended his title once more then in 1912 fled the United States to escape a one-year jail sentence. The establishment seized on any excuse to bring down the champion. He was prosecuted under Mann Act, legislation that made it illegal to take woman over state lines for immoral purposes. It did not matter in Johnsons case if the woman were willing participants, While in exile he won twice in Paris, then according to his version of accounts, he agreed to take a dive against American, Jess Willard, if his jail sentence was overturned. Johnson went down in the twenty-sixth round in the contest in Havana, Cuba on 5th April 1915.

When he returned to the U.S he served his time, upon his release the following year Johnson once again found himself in the wilderness and frozen out of title contention. To its embarrassment, the boxing establishment closed ranks, unable to come to terms with the concept of a Black champion. He continued to box sporadically appearing in exhibitions matches until he was in his sixties. Jack Johnson died in a car accident in Raleigh, North Carolina on 10th June 1946, aged 68. There are boxing historians who place Jack Johnson above Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis in the all-time list of heavyweight greats. Johnson was the first black heavyweight champion; he remained a thorn in the side of all champions who avoided him for eleven years because of his colour, until he eventually got his title shot aged thirty. Many belief he would have been champion much younger had he not been avoided for so long.

Photo from the collection of the National Archives.