Jack Johnson
He broke the heavyweight colour line in 1908.
- Born
- March 31, 1878, Galveston, Texas, US
- Died
- June 10, 1946 (aged 68)
- Nationality
United States- Height
- 184 cm (6′0″)
- Reach
- 191 cm (6′3″)
- Stance
- Orthodox
- Style
- Defensive counterpuncher
- Weight
- Heavyweight
- Active
- 1897–1931
The record
Professional; Wikipedia infobox figure, which counts newspaper decisions (94 bouts, one no-decision left unscored). Official record without newspaper decisions: 54-11-8, 17 ND, 4 NC. IBHOF lists 77-13-14, 19 ND (48 KO) in 123 bouts; records from this era are incomplete
The story
he son of a former slave, John Arthur Johnson grew up in Galveston, Texas, worked the docks and sharpened his skills in brutal 'battle royals'. For years he was denied a title shot because of his race, until Tommy Burns faced him in Sydney in 1908; police stopped the fight in the 14th round and Johnson became the first Black world heavyweight champion. His flashy lifestyle and marriages to white women provoked fury, and former champion James J. Jeffries came out of retirement in 1910 as a 'Great White Hope'. Johnson dominated him and stopped him in the 15th. After a 1913 conviction he fled abroad, defended the title in Paris and lost it to Jess Willard in Havana in 1915. He was pardoned in 2018, 72 years after his death.
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- World heavyweight champion (1908–1915)
- World colored heavyweight champion
- International Boxing Hall of Fame (1990)
- Posthumous presidential pardon (2018)
Defining fights
- 1906WINvs Sam Langford (PTS 15)
- 1908WINvs Tommy Burns (stopped by police in round 14, won world heavyweight title)
- 1909WINvs Stanley Ketchel (KO 12)
- 1910WINvs James J. Jeffries (TKO 15, Fight of the Century)
- 1915LOSSvs Jess Willard (KO 26, lost title)
Study his patience: Johnson fought defensively, let opponents tire, then struck back quickly. Drill block-and-return counters from a tight guard instead of chasing the knockout early.
