JACK JOHNSON VS THE GREAT WHITE HOPE AMERICAN BOXING HISTORY REVISITED

1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast · Apr 11, 2025 · 30m

On July 4th, 1910. in Reno, Nevada, a fight for the Heavyweight Championship of the World took place between Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries. Jack Johnson was a black man- the first black man to hold the heavyweight title in boxing, which he had won two years before. His lifestyle was, by 1910 standards, flagrant- he was frequently seen acting indecently in the company of white blond prostitutes, he drank and gambled to excess, and he liked fast sports cars. In the past two years a number of white boxers had tried him and all of them had lost. In 1909, white boxing fans turned toward a retired…