Jeanette Gets Revenge on McVey

On April 17, 1909, African-American heavyweight boxer Joe Jeanette met World Colored Heavyweight Boxing Champion Sam McVey for the title in a fight to the finish.  Before the classic bout was complete, the men would box for 49 rounds over 3 hours and 30 minutes.

From February 5, 1903, when he beat “Denver” Ed Martin to December 26, 1908, when he beat Tommy Burns for the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, the great Jack Johnson held the World Colored Heavyweight Boxing Championship.  Black boxers were not allowed to fight for the World Boxing Championship, so the best fighters of the era fought each other frequently for “colored championship”.

Jack Johnson did not remove the color barrier, when he became champion.  Johnson relinquished the World Colored Heavyweight Boxing Champion and defended his title only against “white hope” contenders.  Sam McVey won the bout with a 20 round decision over Joe Jeanette in Paris, France on February 20, 1909.

Considered two of the best black heavyweights in the world, the men fought for the title again in April 1909.  The 5’10”, 190 pound Jeanette was a tough challenge.  The powerful McVey stood about the same height but weighed between 205 and 220 pounds.  His right hand dropped many men over the years.

Despite the little coverage giving these bouts, most newspapers covered “the best bout ever seen in France since John L. Sullivan and Charlie Mitchell”.  The men fought to the point of exhaustion to claim the highest title they could hope to attain.

McVey started strong and gave Jeanette a tremendous beating.  McVey’s powerful right hand pounded Jeanette’s head relentlessly.  Jeanette barely staggered back to his stool to end the twenty-first and twenty-second rounds.  However, Jeanette continued to recover, while McVey’s effort to knock out Jeanette began to take its toll on McVey.

 By the fortieth round, McVey started to slow down.  Jeanette took advantage of McVey’s weakened condition by crowding him and effectively striking inside close range.  Jeanette’s attack began to show and McVey was staggered several times.  The fiftieth round had just started, when McVey’s corner threw in the sponge to save McVey from being knocked out.

Jeanette won the World Colored Heavyweight Championship and a $6,000.00 purse.  Sam McVey would win the title in the future from his most famous rival Sam Langford.

After Jack Johnson’s reign, black American boxers were frozen out of all title shots.  Many like Sam McVey fought in Europe to escape the prejudice and bias in the United States.

Sam McVey continued fighting in Europe before coming back to America during World War I.  Later in his career, McVey began training fighters as well as continuing to fight himself.  Despite good pay days in Europe, McVey spent money as quickly as he made it.  McVey died penniless in New York City on December 23, 1921 from pneumonia.  McVey was only 37 years old.

Joe Jeanette challenged Jack Johnson to the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship to no avail.  Jeanette would lose the World Colored Heavyweight Championship to Sam Langford on September 6, 1910.  Jeanette lived to a ripe old age of 78.

What struck you about this story?  You can leave a comment or ask a question about this or any post on my Facebook page and Twitter profile.

Source:  The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.) April 18, 1909 edition, p. 2

Pin It