Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Posts about 19th and early 20th Century boxing.
On December 8, 1903, Sam Langford fought the reigning lightweight boxing champion in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. Prior to fighting Langford, most boxing experts felt Joe Gans could not be beaten in a legitimate bout. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Gans was able to break the color barrier by winning the World Lightweight Boxing Championship. Sam Langford is often considered
Sam McVey, who was considered the Idol of Paris, during his boxing career from 1902 to 1921, is largely forgotten today. One of the greatest black heavyweights of his time, he was frozen out of fighting for the world title even after Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns in 1908. McVey lost to Jack Johnson three times early in his career
While doing research, I found this picture of the Manassa Mauler training for his July 4th, 1919 title fight with Jess Willard, the World Heavyweight Boxing Champions. Willard had knocked out the great Jack Johnson in 1915 to become champion. Willard was a giant of a man at 6’06” and 235 pounds. He posed a threat to anyone based on size alone. However,
After Jack Johnson became champion, a lack of strong contenders caused public pressure to mount on James J. Jeffires, the retired former heavyweight champion, to end his retirement and fight Johnson. Jeffries was considered the first and most credible of the “White Hope” contenders. In his prime, Jeffries probably couldn’t beat Johnson. At 35 years of age and nearly 300
Jack Johnson has always been a tough subject for me. I admire his courage and strength in confronting hatred and bigotry in a time when doing so put his life in danger. He refused to conform and accept a position of inferiority to white Americans. Yet, like many human beings he was a flawed man. He beat his first wife