Jack Johnson (boxer) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jack Johnson
Johnson in 1915
Statistics
Nickname(s)	Galveston Giant
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 1⁄2 in (184.2 cm)
Reach	74 in (188 cm)
Born	(1878-03-31)March 31, 1878 Galveston, Texas, U.S.
Died	June 10, 1946(1946-06-10) (aged 68) Franklinton, North Carolina, U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	95
Wins	72
Wins by KO	38
Losses	11
Draws	11
No contests	3

John Arthur Johnson (March 31, 1878 – June 10, 1946), nicknamed the "Galveston Giant", was an American boxer who, at the height of the Jim Crow era, became the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion (1908–1915). Widely regarded as one of the most influential boxers of all time, his 1910 fight against James J. Jeffries was dubbed the "fight of the century". According to filmmaker Ken Burns, "for more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious African-American on Earth". Transcending boxing, he became part of the culture and history of racism in the United States.

In 1912, Johnson opened a successful and luxurious "black and tan" (desegregated) restaurant and nightclub, which in part was run by his wife, a white woman. Major newspapers of the time soon claimed that Johnson was attacked by the government only after he became famous as a black man married to a white woman, and was linked to other white women. Johnson was arrested on charges of violating the Mann Act—forbidding one to transport a woman across state lines for "immoral purposes"—a racially motivated charge that embroiled him in controversy for his relationships, including marriages, with white women. Sentenced to a year in prison, Johnson fled the country and fought boxing matches abroad for seven years until 1920 when he served his sentence at the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth.

Johnson continued taking paying fights for many years, and operated several other businesses, including lucrative endorsement deals. He died in a car crash on June 10, 1946, at the age of 68. He is buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. On May 24, 2018, Johnson was formally pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Early life

Johnson was born on March 31, 1878, the third child of nine born to Henry and Tina Johnson, formerly enslaved persons who worked service jobs as a janitor and a dishwasher. His father had served as a civilian teamster of the Union's 38th Colored Infantry. He was described by his son as the "most perfect physical specimen that he had ever seen", although Henry had been left with an atrophied right leg from his service in the war.

Growing up in Galveston, Texas, Johnson attended five years of school. As a young man, Johnson was frail, though, like all of his siblings, he was expected to work.

Although Johnson grew up in the South, he said that segregation was not an issue in the somewhat secluded city of Galveston, as everyone living in the 12th Ward was poor and went through the same struggles. Remembering his childhood, Johnson said: "As I grew up, the white boys were my friends and my pals. I ate with them, played with them and slept at their homes. Their mothers gave me cookies, and I ate at their tables. No one ever taught me that white men were superior to me."

After Johnson quit school, he began a job working at the local docks. He made several other attempts at working other jobs around town until one day he made his way to Dallas, finding work at the race track exercising horses. Jack stuck with this job until he found a new apprenticeship with a carriage painter by the name of Walter Lewis. Lewis enjoyed watching friends spar, and Johnson began to learn how to box. Johnson later declared that it was thanks to Lewis that he became a boxer.

At 16, Johnson moved to New York City and found living arrangements with Barbados Joe Walcott, a welterweight fighter from the West Indies. Johnson again found work exercising horses for the local stable, until he was fired for exhausting a horse. On his return to Galveston, he was hired as a janitor at a gym owned by German-born heavyweight fighter Herman Bernau. Johnson eventually put away enough money to buy boxing gloves, sparring every chance he got.

At one point, Johnson was arrested for brawling with a man named Davie Pearson, a "grown and toughened" man who accused Johnson of turning him in to the police over a game of craps. When both of them were released from jail, they met at the docks, and Johnson beat Pearson before a large crowd. Johnson then fought in a summer boxing league against a man named John "Must Have It" Lee. Because prize fighting was illegal in Texas, the fight was broken up and moved to the beach, where Johnson won his first fight and a prize of one dollar and fifty cents.

Boxing career

Johnson made his debut as a professional boxer on November 1, 1898, in Galveston, when he knocked out Charley Brooks in the second round of a 15-round bout, billed for “The Texas State Middleweight Title". In his third pro fight on May 8, 1899, he faced "Klondike" (John W. Haynes, or Haines), an African American heavyweight known as "The Black Hercules", in Chicago. Klondike (so called as he was considered a rarity, like the gold in the Klondike), who had declared himself the "Black Heavyweight Champ", won on a technical knockout (TKO) in the fifth round of a scheduled six-rounder. The two fighters met twice again in 1900, with the first rematch resulting in a draw, as both fighters were on their feet at the end of 20 rounds. Johnson won the third fight by a TKO when Klondike refused to come out for the 14th round. Johnson did not claim Klondike's unrecognized title.

Joe Choynski

On February 25, 1901, Johnson fought Joe Choynski in Galveston. Choynski, a popular and experienced heavyweight, knocked out Johnson in the third round. Prizefighting was illegal in Texas at the time and they were both arrested. Bail was set at $5,000, which neither could afford. The sheriff permitted both fighters to go home at night so long as they agreed to spar in the jail cell. Large crowds gathered to watch the sessions. After 23 days in jail, their bail was reduced to an affordable level and a grand jury refused to indict either man. Johnson later stated that he learned his boxing skills during that jail time. The two would remain friends.

Johnson attested that his success in boxing came from the coaching he received from Choynski. The aging Choynski saw natural talent and determination in Johnson and taught him the nuances of defense, stating: "A man who can move like you should never have to take a punch".

Top contender

Johnson beat former black heavyweight champion Frank Childs on October 21, 1902. Childs had twice won the black heavyweight title and continued to claim that he was the true black champion despite having lost his title in a bout with George Byers and then, after retaking the title from Byers, losing it again to Denver Ed Martin. He also claimed the unrecognized black heavyweight title as well. Johnson won by a TKO in the 12th round of the scheduled 20-rounder, when Childs's seconds signaled he could not go on, claiming a dislocated elbow. The defeat by Johnson forever ended Childs's pretensions to the black heavyweight crown.

World colored heavyweight champ

By 1903, though Johnson's official record showed him with nine wins against three losses, five draws and two no contests, he had won at least 50 fights against both white and black opponents. Johnson won his first title on February 3, 1903, beating Denver Ed Martin on points in a 20-round match for the World Colored Heavyweight Championship. Johnson held the title until it was vacated when he won the world heavyweight title from Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia on Boxing Day 1908. His reign of 2,151 days was the third longest in the 60-year-long history of the colored heavyweight title. Only Harry Wills at 3,103 days and Peter Jackson at 3,041 days held the title longer. A three-time colored heavyweight champion, Wills held the title for a total of 3,351 days.

Johnson defended the colored heavyweight title 17 times, which was second only to the 26 times Wills defended the title. While colored champ, he defeated colored ex-champs Denver Ed Martin and Frank Childs again and beat future colored heavyweight champs Sam McVey three times and Sam Langford once. He beat Langford on points in a 15-rounder and never gave him another shot at the title, when he was either colored champ or the world heavyweight champ.

Johnson, Jeanette and Langford

Johnson fought Joe Jeanette a total of seven times, all during his reign as colored champion before he became the world's heavyweight champion, winning four times and drawing twice (three of the victories and one draw were newspaper decisions). In their first match in 1905, they had fought to a draw, but in their second match on November 25, 1905, Johnson lost as he was disqualified in the second round of a scheduled six-round fight. Johnson continued to claim the title because of the disqualification.

After Johnson became the first African-American Heavyweight Champion of the World on December 26, 1908, his World Colored Heavyweight Championship was vacated. Jeanette fought Sam McVey for the title in Paris on February 20, 1909, and was beaten, but he later took the title from McVey in a 49-round bout on April 17 of that year in Paris for a $6,000 purse. Sam Langford subsequently claimed the title during Jeanette's reign after Johnson refused to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against him. Eighteen months later, Jeanette lost the title to Langford.

During his reign as world champion, Johnson never again fought Jeanette, despite numerous challenges, and avoided Langford, who won the colored title a record five times. In 1906 Jack Johnson fought Sam Langford. Langford took severe punishment and was knocked down 3 times; however, he lasted the 15-round distance.

On November 27, 1945, Johnson finally stepped back into the ring with Joe Jeanette. The 67-year-old Johnson squared off against the 66-year-old Jeanette in an exhibition held at a New York City rally to sell war bonds. Fellow former colored heavyweight champ Harry Wills also participated in the exhibition.

World heavyweight champion

Johnson's efforts to win the world heavyweight title were initially thwarted, as at the time world heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries refused to face him, and retired instead. However, Johnson did fight former champion Bob Fitzsimmons in July 1907, and knocked him out in two rounds.

Johnson finally won the world heavyweight title on December 26, 1908, a full six years after lightweight champion Joe Gans became the first African American boxing champion. Johnson's victory over the reigning world champion, Canadian Tommy Burns, at the Sydney Stadium in Australia, came after following Burns around the world for two years and taunting him in the press for a match. Burns agreed to fight Johnson only after promoters guaranteed him $30,000. The fight lasted fourteen rounds before being stopped by the police in front of over 20,000 spectators, and Johnson was named the winner.

After Johnson's victory over Burns, racial animosity among whites ran so deep that some, including renowned American author Jack London, called for a "Great White Hope" to take the title away from Johnson. While Johnson was heavyweight champion, he was covered more in the press than all other notable black men combined. The lead-up to the bout was peppered with racist press against Johnson. Even the New York Times wrote of the event, "If the black man wins, thousands and thousands of his ignorant brothers will misinterpret his victory as justifying claims to much more than mere physical equality with their white neighbors." As title holder, Johnson thus had to face a series of fighters each billed by boxing promoters as a "great white hope", often in exhibition matches. In 1909, he beat Tony Ross, Al Kaufman, and the middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel.

The match with Ketchel was originally thought to have been an exhibition, and in fact it was fought by both men that way, until the 12th round, when Ketchel threw a right to Johnson's head, knocking him down. Quickly regaining his feet, and very annoyed, Johnson immediately dashed straight at Ketchell and threw a single punch, an uppercut, a punch for which he was famous, to Ketchel's jaw, knocking him out. The punch knocked out Ketchell's front teeth; Johnson can be seen on film removing them from his glove, where they had been embedded.

"Fight of the Century"

In 1910, former undefeated heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries came out of retirement to challenge Johnson, saying "I am going into this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a Negro". He had not fought in six years and he also had to lose well over 100 pounds in order to get back to his championship fighting weight. Efforts to persuade Jeffries to "retrieve the honor of the white race" began immediately after the Burns-Johnson fight. Initially Jeffries had no interest in the fight, being quite happy as an alfalfa farmer. On October 29, 1909, Johnson and Jeffries signed an agreement to "box for the heavyweight championship of the world" and called promoters to bid for the right to orchestrate the event.

In early December 1909, Johnson and Jeffries selected a bid from the nation's top boxing promoters—Tex Rickard and John Gleason. The bid guaranteed a purse of $101,000 to be divided 75% to the winner and 25% to the loser, as well as two-thirds of the revenues collected from the sales of the right to film the fight (each boxer received one third of the equity rights).Although it was well understood that a victory for Jeffries was likely to be more profitable than a victory for Johnson, there were no doubts that the event would produce record profits. Legal historian Barak Orbach argues that in "an industry that promoted events through the dramatization of rivalries, a championship contest between an iconic representative of the white race and the most notorious [black fighter] was a gold mine."

Jeffries mostly remained hidden from media attention until the day of the fight, while Johnson soaked up the spotlight. John L. Sullivan, who made boxing championships a popular and esteemed spectacle, stated that Johnson was in such good physical shape compared to Jeffries that he would only lose if he had a lack of skill on the day of the fight. Before the fight, Jeffries remarked, "It is my intention to go right after my opponent and knock him out as soon as possible." While his wife added, "I'm not interested in prizefighting but I am interested in my husband's welfare, I do hope this will be his last fight." Johnson's words were "May the best man win."

Racial tension was brewing in the lead up to the fight. Behind the racial attitudes which were being instigated by the media was a major investment in gambling for the fight, with 10–7 odds in favor of Jeffries.

The fight took place on July 4, 1910, in front of 20,000 people, at a ring which was built just for the occasion in downtown Reno, Nevada. Jeffries proved unable to impose his will on the younger champion and Johnson dominated the fight. By the 15th round, after Jeffries had been knocked down twice for the first time in his career, Jeffries' corner threw in the towel to end the fight and prevent Jeffries from having a knockout on his record.

Johnson later remarked he knew the fight was over in the 4th round when he landed an uppercut and saw the look on Jeffries face, stating, "I knew what that look meant. The old ship was sinking." Afterwards, Jeffries was humbled by the loss and what he'd seen of Johnson in their match. "I could never have whipped Johnson at my best", Jeffries said. "I couldn't have hit him. No, I couldn't have reached him in 1,000 years."

The "Fight of the Century" earned Johnson $65,000 (over $2 million in 2022 dollars) and silenced the critics, who had belittled Johnson's previous victory over Tommy Burns as "empty", claiming that Burns was a false champion since Jeffries had retired undefeated. John L. Sullivan commented after the fight that Johnson won deservedly, fairly, and convincingly:

The fight of the century is over and a black man is the undisputed champion of the world. It was a poor fight as fights go, this less than 15-round affair between James J. Jeffries and Jack Johnson. Scarcely has there ever been a championship contest that was so one-sided. All of Jeffries much-vaunted condition amounted to nothing. He wasn't in it from the first bell tap to the last ... The negro had few friends, but there was little demonstration against him. (Spectators) could not help but admire Johnson because he is the type of prizefighter that is admired by sportsmen. He played fairly at all times and fought fairly. ... What a crafty, powerful, cunning left hand (Johnson) has. He is one of the craftiest, cunningest boxers that ever stepped into the ring. ... They both fought closely all during the 15 rounds. It was just the sort of fight that Jeffries wanted. There was no running or ducking like Corbett did with me in New Orleans (1892). Jeffries did not miss so many blows, because he hardly started any. Johnson was on top of him all the time.... (Johnson) didn't get gay at all with Jeffries in the beginning, and it was always the white man who clinched, but Johnson was very careful, and he backed away and took no chances, and was good-natured with it all ... The best man won, and I was one of the first to congratulate him, and also one of the first to extend my heartfelt sympathy to the beaten man.

Riots and aftermath

The outcome of the fight triggered race riots that evening—the Fourth of July—all across the United States, from Texas and Colorado to New York and Washington, D.C. Johnson's victory over Jeffries had dashed white dreams of finding a "great white hope" to defeat him. Many whites felt humiliated by the defeat of Jeffries.

Blacks, on the other hand, were jubilant, and celebrated Johnson's great victory as a victory for racial advancement. Black poet William Waring Cuney later highlighted the black reaction to the fight in his poem "My Lord, What a Morning". Around the country, blacks held spontaneous parades and gathered in prayer meetings.

Race riots erupted in New York, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Atlanta, St. Louis, Little Rock and Houston. In all, riots occurred in more than 25 states and 50 cities.

Film of the bout

The Johnson–Jeffries Fight film received more public attention in the United States than any other film to date and for the next five years, until the release of The Birth of a Nation. In the United States, many states and cities banned the exhibition of the Johnson–Jeffries film. The movement to censor Johnson's victory took over the country within three days after the fight.

Two weeks after the match former President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid boxer and fan, wrote an article for The Outlook in which he supported banning not just moving pictures of boxing matches, but a complete ban on all prize fights in the US. He cited the "crookedness" and gambling that surrounded such contests and that moving pictures have "introduced a new method of money getting and of demoralization". The controversy surrounding the film directly motivated Congress to ban distribution of all prizefight films across state lines in 1912; the ban was lifted in 1940.

In 2005, the film of the Jeffries–Johnson "Fight of the Century" was entered into the United States National Film Registry as being worthy of preservation.

The six fights for which the major films were made, starring Johnson, were:

1. Johnson–Burns, released in 1908
2. Johnson–Ketchel, released in 1909
3. Johnson–Jeffries, released in 1910
4. Johnson–Flynn, released in 1912
5. Johnson–Moran, released in 1914
6. Johnson–Willard, released in 1915

Maintaining the color bar

The color bar remained in force even under Johnson. Once he was the world's heavyweight champ, Johnson did not fight a black opponent for the first five years of his reign. He denied matches to black heavyweights Joe Jeanette (one of his successors as colored heavyweight champ), Sam Langford (who beat Jeanette for the colored title), and the young Harry Wills, who was colored heavyweight champ during the last year of Johnson's reign as world's heavyweight champ.

Blacks were not given a chance at the title allegedly because Johnson felt that he could make more money fighting white boxers. In August 1913, as Johnson neared the end of his troubled reign as world heavyweight champ, there were rumors that he had agreed to fight Langford in Paris for the title, but it came to naught. Johnson said that Langford was unable to raise $30,000 for his guarantee.

Because black boxers with the exception of Johnson had been barred from fighting for the heavyweight championship because of racism, Johnson's refusal to fight African-Americans offended the African-American community, since the opportunity to fight top white boxers was rare. Jeanette criticized Johnson, saying, "Jack forgot about his old friends after he became champion and drew the color line against his own people."

Johnson v. Johnson

When Johnson finally agreed to take on a black opponent in late 1913, it was not Sam Langford, the current colored heavyweight champ, that he gave the title shot to. Instead, Johnson chose to take on Battling Jim Johnson, a lesser-known boxer who, in 1910, had lost to Langford and had a draw and loss via KO to Sam McVey, the former colored champ. Battling Jim fought former colored champ Joe Jeanette four times between July 19, 1912 and January 21, 1913 and lost all four fights. The only fighter of note who he did beat during that period was the future colored champ Big Bill Tate, whom he KO-ed in the second round of a scheduled 10-round bout. It was Tate's third pro fight.

In November 1913, the International Boxing Union had declared the world heavyweight title held by Jack Johnson to be vacant. The fight, scheduled for 10 rounds, was held on December 19, 1913 in Paris. It was the first time in history that two blacks had fought for the world heavyweight championship.

While the Johnson v. Johnson fight had been billed as a world heavyweight title match, in many ways, it resembled an exhibition. A sportswriter from the Indianapolis Star at the fight reported that the crowd became unruly when it was apparent that neither boxer was putting up a fight.

Jack Johnson, the heavyweight champion, and Battling Jim Johnson, another colored pugilist, of Galveston, Texas, met in a 10-round contest here tonight, which ended in a draw. The spectators loudly protested throughout that the men were not fighting, and demanded their money back. Many of them left the hall. The organizers of the fight explained the fiasco by asserting that Jack Johnson's left arm was broken in the third round. [...] During the first three rounds he was obviously playing with his opponent. After that it was observed that he was only using his right hand. When the fight was over he complained that his arm had been injured. Doctors who made an examination, certified to a slight fracture of the radius of the left arm. The general opinion is that his arm was injured in a wrestling match early in the week, and that a blow tonight caused the fracture of the bone.

Because of the draw, Jack Johnson kept his championship. After the fight, he explained that his left arm was injured in the third round and he could not use it.

Title loss

On April 5, 1915, Johnson lost his title to Jess Willard, a working cowboy from Kansas who started boxing when he was twenty-seven years old. With a crowd of 25,000 at Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana, Cuba, Johnson was knocked out in the 26th round of the scheduled 45 round fight. Johnson, although having won almost every round, began to tire after the 20th round, and was visibly hurt by heavy body punches from Willard in rounds preceding the 26th-round knockout.

Johnson is said by many a year after the fight to have spread rumors that he took a dive, but Willard is widely regarded as having won the fight outright. Many people thought Johnson purposely threw the fight because Willard was white, in an effort to have his Mann Act charges dropped. Willard ironically responded, "If he was going to throw the fight, I wish he'd done it sooner. It was hotter than hell out there."

Post-championship

After losing his world heavyweight championship, Johnson never again fought for the colored heavyweight crown. His popularity remained strong enough that he recorded for Ajax Records in the 1920s. Johnson continued fighting, but age was catching up with him. He fought professionally until 1938 at age 60 when he lost 7 of his last 9 bouts, losing his final fight to Walter Price by a 7th-round TKO. It is often suggested that any bouts after the age of 40—which was a very venerable age for boxing in those days—not be counted on his actual record, since he was performing in order to make a living.

He also indulged in what was known as "cellar" fighting, where the bouts, unadvertised, were fought for private audiences, usually in cellars or other unrecognized places. There are surviving photographs of one of these fights. Johnson made his final ring appearance at age 67 on November 27, 1945, fighting three one-minute exhibition rounds against two opponents, Joe Jeanette and John Ballcort, in a benefit fight card for U.S. War Bonds.

Boxing style

Throughout his career, Johnson built a unique fighting style of his own, which was not customary in boxing during this time. Though he would typically strike first, he would fight defensively, waiting for his opponents to tire out, becoming more aggressive as the rounds went on. He often fought to punish his opponents over the course of the bout rather than going for the knockout, and would continuously dodge their punches. He would then quickly strike back with a blow of his own. Johnson often made his fights look effortless, and as if he had much more to offer, but when pushed he could also display some powerful moves and punches. There are films of his fights in which he can be seen holding up his opponent, who otherwise might have fallen, until he recovered.

Personal life

Johnson earned considerable sums endorsing various products, including patent medicines, and had several expensive hobbies such as automobile racing and tailored clothing, as well as purchasing jewelry and furs for his wives. He challenged champion racer Barney Oldfield to an auto race at the Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn dirt track. Oldfield easily defeated Johnson. Once, when he was pulled over for a $50 speeding ticket, he gave the officer a $100 bill; when the officer protested that he couldn't make change for that much, Johnson told him to keep the change as he was going to make his return trip at the same speed. In 1920, Johnson opened the Club Deluxe, a Black and Tan night club in Harlem; he sold it three years later to a gangster, Owney Madden, who renamed it the Cotton Club.

Johnson's behavior was looked down upon by the African-American community, especially by the black scholar Booker T. Washington, who said it "is unfortunate that a man with money should use it in a way to injure his own people, in the eyes of those who are seeking to uplift his race and improve its conditions, I wish to say emphatically that Jack Johnson's actions did not meet my personal approval and I am sure they do not meet with the approval of the colored race."

Johnson flouted conventions regarding the social and economic "place" of blacks in American society. As a black man, he broke a powerful taboo in consorting with white women and would verbally taunt men (both white and black) inside and outside the ring. When asked the secret of his staying power by a reporter who had watched a succession of women parade into, and out of, the champion's hotel room, Johnson supposedly said "Eat jellied eels and think distant thoughts".

In 1911, Johnson, through an acquaintance, attempted to become a Freemason in Dundee. Although he was admitted as a member of the Forfar and Kincardine Lodge No 225 in the city, there was considerable opposition to his membership, principally on the grounds of his race, and the Forfarshire Lodge was suspended by the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Johnson's fees were returned to him and his admission was ruled illegal.

In July 1912, Johnson opened an interracial nightclub in Chicago called Café de Champion.

Johnson wrote two memoirs of his life: Mes combats in 1914 and Jack Johnson in the Ring and Out in 1927.

In 1943, Johnson attended at least one service at the Angelus Temple in Los Angeles, California. In a public conversion, while Detroit, Michigan, burned in race riots, he professed his faith to Christ in a service conducted by evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. She embraced him as "he raised his hand in worship".

Marriages

Johnson was married three times. All of his documented wives were white. Johnson met Etta Terry Duryea, a Brooklyn socialite and former wife of Clarence Duryea, at a car race in 1909. The couple got married on January 18, 1911. Duryea died on September 11, 1912.

In the summer of 1912, Johnson met Lucille Cameron, an 18-year-old girl from Minneapolis who relocated to Chicago, at his nightclub Café de Champion. Johnson hired her as his stenographer, but shortly after Duryea's funeral, they were out in public as a couple. They married on December 3, 1912, 3:00 in the afternoon. Cameron filed for divorce in 1924.

Johnson met Irene Pineau at the race track in Aurora, Illinois in 1924. After she divorced her husband the following year, they were married in Waukegan in August 1925. Johnson and Pineau were together until his death in 1946. When asked by a reporter at Johnson's funeral what she had loved about him, she replied: "I loved him because of his courage. He faced the world unafraid. There wasn't anybody or anything he feared."

Prison sentence

On October 18, 1912, Johnson was arrested on the grounds that his relationship with Lucille Cameron violated the Mann Act against "transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes". Her mother also swore that her daughter was insane. Cameron, soon to become his second wife, refused to cooperate and the case fell apart. Less than a month later, Johnson was arrested again on similar charges.

This time, the woman, named Belle Schreiber, with whom he had been involved in 1909 and 1910, testified against him. In the courtroom of Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the future Commissioner of Baseball who perpetuated the baseball color line until his death, Johnson was convicted by an all-white jury in June 1913, despite the fact that the incidents used to convict him took place before passage of the Mann Act. He was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.

Johnson skipped bail and left the country, joining Lucille in Montreal on June 25, before fleeing to France. To flee to Canada, Johnson posed as a member of a black baseball team. For the next seven years, they lived in exile in Europe, South America and Mexico. Johnson returned to the U.S. on July 20, 1920. He surrendered to federal agents at the Mexican border and was sent to the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth to serve his sentence in September 1920. He was released on July 9, 1921.

Presidential pardon

In 2018, President Donald Trump granted Johnson a posthumous presidential pardon after recurring proposals to grant one had been shot down by previous branches under previous administrations. A bill which requested that President George W. Bush pardon Johnson passed the House in 2008, but failed to pass in the Senate. In April 2009, Senator John McCain, along with Representative Peter King, film maker Ken Burns and Johnson's great-niece, Linda Haywood, requested a presidential pardon for Johnson from President Barack Obama. In July of that year, Congress passed a resolution calling on President Obama to issue a pardon.

In 2016, another petition for Johnson's pardon was issued by McCain, King, Senator Harry Reid and Congressman Gregory Meeks to President Obama, marking the 70th anniversary since the boxer's death. This time, the petitioners cited a provision of the Every Student Succeeds Act, signed by the president in December 2015, in which Congress expressed that this boxing great should receive a posthumous pardon, and a vote by the United States Commission on Civil Rights passed unanimously a week earlier in June 2016 to "right this century-old wrong."

Mike Tyson, Harry Reid and John McCain lent their support to the campaign, starting a Change.org petition asking President Obama to posthumously pardon the world's first African-American Heavyweight boxing champion for his racially motivated 1913 felony conviction.

After various attempts by the former WBC president, Jose Sulaiman, who reached out to presidential administrations dating back to Ronald Reagan's, in April 2018, President Donald Trump announced that he was considering granting a full pardon to Johnson after speaking with a World Boxing Council committee, along with actor Sylvester Stallone. Trump pardoned Johnson on May 24, 2018, 105 years after his conviction, during a ceremony which included special guests Mauricio Sulaiman (WBC President), Hector Sulaiman (President of the Board of Advisors of Scholas Occurrentes), Sylvester Stallone (actor), Deontay Wilder (then current WBC Champion) and Lennox Lewis (WBC Former Champion).

Monkey wrench

A persistent hoax on social media claims that Johnson invented the monkey wrench and it was named a monkey wrench as a racial slur. Johnson did receive a patent for improvements which he made to the monkey wrench, but the first patent for a monkey wrench was awarded in the 1840s, around 35 years before he was born.

Death

On June 10, 1946, Johnson was involved in a car crash on U.S. Highway 1 near Franklinton, North Carolina (36°5′41.96″N 78°27′40.81″W / 36.0949889°N 78.4613361°W / 36.0949889; -78.4613361) after driving angrily away from a segregated diner that had refused to serve him. His friend survived the high-speed collision with a telegraph pole but an injured Johnson was taken to the nearest black hospital, St. Agnes Hospital, 25 miles away in Raleigh where he died. He was 68 years old.

Johnson was buried next to his first wife, Etta Duryea Johnson who died in 1912, at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. His grave was initially unmarked, but later it was marked with a large stone which only bore the name "Johnson". This marker was added to with a new marker after Ken Burns released a film about Johnson's life in 2005. Johnson's (new, smaller) gravestone reads [top] "Jack / John A. Johnson / 1878-1946" [front] "First black heavyweight / champion of the world". Johnson's signature is on the back of the stone.

Legacy

Johnson was an inaugural 1954 inductee to The Ring magazine's Boxing Hall of Fame (disbanded in 1987), and was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2005, the United States National Film Preservation Board deemed the film of the 1910 Johnson-Jeffries fight "historically significant" and put it in the National Film Registry.

During his boxing career, Jack Johnson fought 114 fights, winning 80 matches, 45 by knockouts.

In the short term, the boxing world reacted against Johnson's legacy. But Johnson foreshadowed one of the most famous boxers of all time, Muhammad Ali. In fact, Ali often spoke of how he was influenced by Jack Johnson. Ali identified with Johnson because he felt America ostracized him in the same manner because of his opposition to the Vietnam War and affiliation with the Nation of Islam.

In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Jack Johnson on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.

In 2012, the City of Galveston dedicated a park in Johnson's memory as Galveston Island's most famous native son. The park, called Jack Johnson Park, includes a life-size, bronze statue of Johnson.

Popular culture

The first filmed fight of Johnson's career was his bout with Tommy Burns, which was turned into a contemporary documentary, The Burns-Johnson Fight, in 1908.

Folksinger and blues singer Lead Belly referenced Johnson in a song about the Titanic: "Jack Johnson wanna get on board, Captain said I ain't hauling no coal. Fare thee, Titanic, fare thee well. When Jack Johnson heard that mighty shock, mighta seen the man do the Eagle rock. Fare thee, Titanic, fare thee well" (The Eagle Rock was a popular dance at the time). In 1969, American folk singer Jaime Brockett reworked the Lead Belly song into a satirical talking blues called "The Legend of the S.S. Titanic." There is no convincing evidence that Johnson was in fact refused passage on the Titanic because of his race, as these songs allege.

Johnson's story is the basis of the play The Great White Hope and its 1970 film adaptation, starring James Earl Jones as "Jack Jefferson" and Jane Alexander as his love interest. Both Jones and Alexander won Tonys and were nominated for Oscars.

Also in 1970, Jimmy Jacobs and Bill Cayton brought together much of the rare archive footage of Johnson which they had saved and restored, and made the film Jack Johnson, with Johnson's words voiced by Brock Peters, and music by Miles Davis. Davis' score later became the 1971 album named after the boxer. It features the actor Peters (as Johnson) saying:

I'm Jack Johnson. Heavyweight champion of the world.
I'm black. They never let me forget it.
I'm black all right! I'll never let them forget it!

In 2005, filmmaker Ken Burns produced a two-part documentary about Johnson's life, Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, based on the 2004 nonfiction book of the same name by Geoffrey C. Ward, and with music by Wynton Marsalis. The book won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year (2006).

Jack Johnson's life was the subject of a three-part series of the podcast History on Fire by historian Daniele Bolelli.

Several hip hop activists have also reflected on Johnson's legacy, most notably in the album The New Danger, by Mos Def, in which songs like "Zimzallabim" and "Blue Black Jack" are devoted to the artist's pugilistic hero.

In the trenches of World War One, Johnson's name was used by British troops to describe the impact of German 150 mm heavy artillery shells which had a black color. In his letters home to his wife, Rupert Edward Inglis (1863–1916), a former rugby international who was a Forces Chaplain, describes passing through the town of Albert:

We went through the place today (2 October 1915) where the Virgin Statue at the top of the Church was hit by a shell in January. The statue was knocked over, but has never fallen, I sent you a picture of it. It really is a wonderful sight. It is incomprehensible how it can have stayed there, but I think it is now lower than when the photograph was taken, and no doubt will come down with the next gale. The Church and village are wrecked, there's a huge hole made by a Jack Johnson just outside the west door of the Church.

Jack Johnson was painted several times by Raymond Saunders.

In Joe R. Lansdale's 1997 short story The Big Blow, Johnson is featured fighting a white boxer brought in by Galveston, Texas's boxing fans to defeat the African American fighter during the 1900 Galveston Hurricane. The story won a Bram Stoker Award and was expanded into a 2000 novel.

Johnson is a major character in the 2005 novel The Killings of Stanley Ketchel by James Carlos Blake.

The Royale, a play by Marco Ramirez, uses the life of Jack Johnson as inspiration for its main character, Jay Jackson. It premiered in March 2016 at Lincoln Center Theater directed by Rachel Chavkin, and was nominated for a Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Play, Outstanding Director of a Play, and a Special Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble.

The book Crossing the Color Line: Stanley Ketchel's Challenge for Jack Johnson's Heavyweight Crown, released in 2021, details Johnson's fight with middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel.

Professional boxing record

All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

Professional record summary

93 fights	54 wins	11 losses
By knockout	34	6
By decision	15	4
By disqualification	5	1
Draws	8
No contests	3
Newspaper decisions/draws	17

All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Age	Location	Notes
93	Win	54–11–8 (20)	Brad Simmons	KO	2 (10)	28 Apr 1931	53 years, 28 days	Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
92	Loss	53–11–8 (20)	Brad Simmons	PTS	10	4 Mar 1931	52 years, 338 days	Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
91	Win	53–10–8 (20)	Rough House Wilson	DQ	3 (10)	19 Jul 1928	50 years, 110 days	Douglass Park, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
90	Loss	52–10–8 (20)	Bill Hartwell	RTD	6 (10)	15 May 1928	50 years, 45 days	Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
89	Loss	52–9–8 (20)	Bearcat Wright	KO	5 (10)	16 Apr 1928	50 years, 16 days	Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
88	Loss	52–8–8 (20)	Brad Simmons	PTS	10	6 Sep 1926	48 years, 159 days	101 Ranch Arena, Enid, Oklahoma, U.S.
87	Loss	52–7–8 (20)	Bob Lawson	RTD	7 (12)	30 May 1926	48 years, 60 days	Coliseum, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
86	Win	52–6–8 (20)	Pat Lester	PTS	15	2 May 1926	48 years, 32 days	Plaza de Toros, Nogales, Sonora, Mexico
85	Win	51–6–8 (20)	Homer Smith	PTS	10	22 Feb 1924	45 years, 328 days	Théâtre Saint-Denis, Montreal, Canada
84	Win	50–6–8 (20)	Jack Thompson	NWS	12	20 May 1923	45 years, 50 days	Havana, Cuba
83	Win	50–6–8 (19)	Farmer Lodge	KO	4	6 May 1923	45 years, 36 days	Havana, Cuba
82	Win	49–6–8 (19)	George Roberts	KO	3	17 May 1920	42 years, 47 days	Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
81	Win	48–6–8 (19)	Bob Wilson	KO	3	18 Apr 1920	42 years, 18 days	Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
80	Win	47–6–8 (19)	Marty Cutler	KO	6 (25)	28 Sep 1919	41 years, 181 days	Mexico City, Mexico
79	Win	46–6–8 (19)	Tom Cowler	PTS	15	10 Aug 1919	41 years, 132 days	Plaza de Toros, Mexico City, Mexico
78	Win	45–6–8 (19)	Bob Roper	PTS	10	22 Jun 1919	41 years, 83 days	Mexico City, Mexico
77	Win	44–6–8 (19)	Bill Flint	KO	2 (10)	12 Feb 1919	40 years, 318 days	Teatro de la Gran Via, Madrid, Spain
76	Win	43–6–8 (19)	Blink McCloskey	RTD	6 (20)	5 Feb 1918	39 years, 311 days	Teatro Circo Price, Madrid, Spain
75	Win	42–6–8 (19)	Arthur Cravan	KO	6 (20)	23 Apr 1916	38 years, 23 days	Plaza de Toros Monumental, Barcelona, Spain
74	Win	41–6–8 (19)	Frank Crozier	TKO	7 (10)	23 Mar 1916	37 years, 358 days	Gran Teatro de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
73	Loss	40–6–8 (19)	Jess Willard	KO	26 (45), 2:20	5 Apr 1915	37 years, 5 days	Oriental Park, Havana, Cuba	Lost world heavyweight title
72	Win	40–5–8 (19)	Jack Murray	KO	3 (10)	10 Jan 1915	36 years, 285 days	Sociedad Sportiva Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
71	Win	39–5–8 (19)	Frank Moran	PTS	20	27 Jun 1914	36 years, 88 days	Vélodrome d'Hiver, Paris, France	Retained world heavyweight title
70	Draw	38–5–8 (19)	Battling Jim Johnson	PTS	10	19 Dec 1913	35 years, 263 days	Élysée Montmartre, Paris, France	Retained world heavyweight title
69	Win	38–5–7 (19)	Fireman Jim Flynn	DQ	9 (45)	4 Jul 1912	34 years, 95 days	East Las Vegas, Las Vegas, New Mexico, U.S.	Retained world heavyweight title
68	Win	37–5–7 (19)	James J. Jeffries	TKO	15 (45), 2:20	4 Jul 1910	32 years, 95 days	Reno, Nevada, U.S.	Retained world heavyweight title
67	Win	36–5–7 (19)	Stanley Ketchel	KO	12 (20)	16 Oct 1909	31 years, 199 days	Mission Street Arena, Colma, California, U.S.	Retained world heavyweight title
66	Win	35–5–7 (19)	Al Kaufman	NWS	10	9 Sep 1909	31 years, 162 days	Coffroth's Arena, San Francisco, California, U.S.	World heavyweight title at stake; (via KO only)
65	Draw	35–5–7 (18)	Tony Ross	PTS	6	30 Jun 1909	31 years, 91 days	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.	Retained world heavyweight title
64	Draw	35–5–6 (18)	Philadelphia Jack O'Brien	NWS	6	19 May 1909	31 years, 49 days	National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.	World heavyweight title at stake; (via KO only)
63	Win	35–5–6 (17)	Tommy Burns	TKO	14 (20)	26 Dec 1908	30 years, 270 days	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, Australia	Won world heavyweight title
62	Win	34–5–6 (17)	Ben Taylor	TKO	8 (10)	31 Jul 1908	30 years, 122 days	Cosmopolitan Gymnasium, Plymouth, England
61	Win	33–5–6 (17)	Fireman Jim Flynn	KO	11 (45), 1:30	2 Nov 1907	29 years, 216 days	Coffroth's Arena, San Francisco, California, U.S.
60	Win	32–5–6 (17)	Sailor Burke	NWS	6	12 Sep 1907	29 years, 165 days	Smith's Theater, Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
59	Win	32–5–6 (16)	Charles Cutler	KO	1 (6)	28 Aug 1907	29 years, 150 days	Lauer's Park, Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.
58	Win	31–5–6 (16)	Bob Fitzsimmons	KO	2 (6)	17 Jul 1907	29 years, 108 days	Washington Sports Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
57	Win	30–5–6 (16)	Bill Lang	TKO	9 (20)	4 Mar 1907	28 years, 338 days	Richmond Race Course, Melbourne, Australia
56	Win	29–5–6 (16)	Peter Felix	KO	1 (10), 2:20	19 Feb 1907	28 years, 325 days	Gaiety Athletic Hall, Sydney, Australia	Retained world colored heavyweight title
55	Draw	28–5–6 (16)	Joe Jennette	NWS	10	26 Nov 1906	28 years, 240 days	Auditorium, Portland, Maine, U.S.	World colored heavyweight title at stake; (via KO only)
54	Win	28–5–6 (15)	Jim Jeffords	NWS	6	8 Nov 1906	28 years, 222 days	Lancaster Athletic Club, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
53	Win	28–5–6 (14)	Joe Jennette	NWS	6	20 Sep 1906	28 years, 173 days	Broadway Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
52	Draw	28–5–6 (13)	Billy Dunning	NWS	10	3 Sep 1906	28 years, 156 days	Millinocket, Maine, U.S.
51	Win	28–5–6 (12)	Charlie Haghey	KO	2 (12)	16 Jun 1906	28 years, 77 days	Gloucester Athletic Club, Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S.
50	Win	27–5–6 (12)	Sam Langford	PTS	15	26 Apr 1906	28 years, 26 days	Lincoln Athletic Club, Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S.	Retained world colored heavyweight title
49	Win	26–5–6 (12)	Black Bill	KO	7 (10)	16 Apr 1906	28 years, 16 days	Peerless Athletic Club, Pittston, Pennsylvania, U.S.
48	Win	25–5–6 (12)	Joe Jennette	PTS	15	14 Mar 1906	27 years, 348 days	Germania Maennerchor Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.	Retained world colored heavyweight title
47	Win	24–5–6 (12)	Joe Jennette	NWS	3	16 Jan 1906	27 years, 291 days	Sharkey Athletic Club, New York City, New York, U.S.
46	Win	24–5–6 (11)	Joe Jennette	NWS	6	2 Dec 1905	27 years, 246 days	National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
45	Win	24–5–6 (10)	Young Peter Jackson	NWS	12	1 Dec 1905	27 years, 245 days	Germania Maennerchor Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.	World colored heavyweight title at stake; (via KO only)
44	Loss	24–5–6 (9)	Joe Jennette	DQ	2 (6)	25 Nov 1905	27 years, 239 days	National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
43	Win	24–4–6 (9)	Joe Grim	NWS	6	24 Jul 1905	27 years, 115 days	National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
42	Win	24–4–6 (8)	Sandy Ferguson	DQ	7 (15)	18 Jul 1905	27 years, 109 days	Douglas Athletic Club, Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S.
41	Win	23–4–6 (8)	Morris Harris	KO	1 (3)	13 Jul 1905	27 years, 104 days	Broadway Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
40	Win	22–4–6 (8)	Black Bill	NWS	3	13 Jul 1905	27 years, 104 days	Broadway Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
39	Win	22–4–6 (7)	Jack Munroe	NWS	6	26 Jun 1905	27 years, 87 days	National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
38	Win	22–4–6 (6)	Walter Johnson	KO	3 (3)	9 May 1905	27 years, 39 days	Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
37	Win	21–4–6 (6)	Joe Jennette	NWS	3	9 May 1905	27 years, 39 days	Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
36	Win	21–4–6 (5)	Black Bill	TKO	4 (6)	2 May 1905	27 years, 32 days	Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
35	Win	20–4–6 (5)	Jim Jeffords	KO	4 (6)	25 Apr 1905	27 years, 25 days	Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
34	Loss	19–4–6 (5)	Marvin Hart	PTS	20	28 Mar 1905	26 years, 362 days	Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.
33	Win	19–3–6 (5)	Denver Ed Martin	KO	2 (20)	10 Oct 1904	26 years, 193 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.	Retained world colored heavyweight title
32	Win	18–3–6 (5)	Frank Childs	PTS	6	2 Jun 1904	26 years, 63 days	Apollo Hall, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Retained world colored heavyweight title
31	Win	17–3–6 (5)	Sam McVey	KO	20 (20)	22 Apr 1904	26 years, 22 days	Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.	Retained world colored heavyweight title
30	Win	16–3–6 (5)	Black Bill	NWS	6	15 Feb 1904	25 years, 321 days	Lenox Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
29	NC	16–3–6 (4)	Sandy Ferguson	NC	5 (6)	6 Feb 1904	25 years, 312 days	National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
28	Win	16–3–6 (3)	Sandy Ferguson	PTS	20	11 Dec 1903	25 years, 255 days	Colma, California, U.S.
27	Win	15–3–6 (3)	Sam McVey	PTS	20	27 Oct 1903	25 years, 210 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.	Retained world colored heavyweight title
26	Win	14–3–6 (3)	Sandy Ferguson	NWS	6	31 Jul 1903	25 years, 122 days	Penn Art Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
25	Win	14–3–6 (2)	Joe Butler	KO	3 (6)	11 May 1903	25 years, 41 days	Washington Sports Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
24	Win	13–3–6 (2)	Sandy Ferguson	PTS	10	16 Apr 1903	25 years, 16 days	Essex Athletic Club, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
23	Win	12–3–6 (2)	Sam McVey	PTS	20	26 Feb 1903	24 years, 332 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.	Retained world colored heavyweight title
22	Win	11–3–6 (2)	Denver Ed Martin	PTS	20	5 Feb 1903	24 years, 311 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.	Won world colored heavyweight title
21	Win	10–3–6 (2)	Fred Russell	DQ	8 (20)	4 Dec 1902	24 years, 248 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
20	Win	9–3–6 (2)	George Gardiner	PTS	20	31 Oct 1902	24 years, 214 days	Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.
19	Win	8–3–6 (2)	Frank Childs	TKO	12 (20)	21 Oct 1902	24 years, 204 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
18	Draw	7–3–6 (2)	Hank Griffin	PTS	20	20 Jun 1902	24 years, 81 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
17	Win	7–3–5 (2)	Jack Jeffries	KO	5 (20)	16 May 1902	24 years, 46 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
16	Win	6–3–5 (2)	Joe Kennedy	KO	4 (15)	7 Mar 1902	23 years, 341 days	Reliance Athletic Club, Oakland, California, U.S.
15	Draw	5–3–5 (2)	Hank Griffin	PTS	15	27 Dec 1901	23 years, 271 days	Reliance Athletic Club, Oakland, California, U.S.
14	Loss	5–3–4 (2)	Hank Griffin	PTS	20	4 Nov 1901	23 years, 218 days	Armory Hall, Bakersfield, California, U.S.
13	Draw	5–2–4 (2)	Mexican Pete Everett	PTS	20	14 Aug 1901	23 years, 136 days	Gold Coin Club, Victor, Colorado, U.S.
12	Draw	5–2–3 (2)	Billy Stift	PTS	10	26 Apr 1901	23 years, 26 days	Colorado Athletic Club, Denver, Colorado, U.S.
11	Loss	5–2–2 (2)	Joe Choynski	KO	3 (20)	25 Feb 1901	22 years, 331 days	Harmony Hall, Galveston, Texas, U.S.
10	Draw	5–1–2 (2)	Jim Scanlon	PTS	7 (20)	14 Jan 1901	22 years, 289 days	Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.
9	Win	5–1–1 (2)	Klondike Haynes	TKO	4 (20)	27 Dec 1900	22 years, 271 days	Phoenix Athletic Club, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
8	Draw	4–1–1 (2)	Klondike Haynes	PTS	20	25 Jun 1900	22 years, 86 days	Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.	style="text-align:left;"|Pre-arranged draw if lasting the distance
7	Win	4–1 (2)	Jim McCormick	DQ	6 (20)	20 Apr 1900	22 years, 20 days	Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.
6	ND	3–1 (2)	William McNeill	ND	4	9 Apr 1900	22 years, 9 days	Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.
5	ND	3–1 (1)	Jim McCormick	ND	15	21 Mar 1900	21 years, 355 days	Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.
4	Loss	3–1	Klondike Haynes	TKO	5 (6)	6 May 1899	21 years, 36 days	Howard Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	For inaugural black heavyweight title
3	Win	3–0	Cherokee	KO	? (6)	24 Jul 1898	20 years, 115 days	Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Ed Johnson	KO	5	20 Nov 1897	19 years, 234 days	Convention Hall, Galveston, Texas, U.S.	Retained Texas State middleweight title
1	Win	1–0	Charley Brooks	KO	2 (15)	1 Nov 1897	19 years, 215 days	Prof. Bernau's Gymnasium, Galveston, Texas, U.S.	Won Texas State middleweight title

Unofficial record

Professional record summary

93 fights	68 wins	11 losses
By knockout	34	6
By decision	29	4
By disqualification	5	1
Draws	11
No contests	3

Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column.

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Age	Location	Notes
93	Win	68–11–11 (3)	Brad Simmons	KO	2 (10)	28 Apr 1931	53 years, 28 days	Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
92	Loss	67–11–11 (3)	Brad Simmons	PTS	10	4 Mar 1931	52 years, 338 days	Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
91	Win	67–10–11 (3)	Rough House Wilson	DQ	3 (10)	19 Jul 1928	50 years, 110 days	Douglas Park, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
90	Loss	66–10–11 (3)	Bill Hartwell	RTD	6 (10)	15 May 1928	50 years, 45 days	Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
89	Loss	66–9–11 (3)	Bearcat Wright	KO	5 (10)	16 Apr 1928	50 years, 16 days	Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
88	Loss	66–8–11 (3)	Brad Simmons	PTS	10	6 Sep 1926	48 years, 159 days	101 Ranch Arena, Enid, Oklahoma, U.S.
87	Loss	66–7–11 (3)	Bob Lawson	RTD	7 (12)	30 May 1926	48 years, 60 days	Coliseum, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
86	Win	66–6–11 (3)	Pat Lester	PTS	15	2 May 1926	48 years, 32 days	Plaza de Toros, Nogales, Sonora, Mexico
85	Win	65–6–11 (3)	Homer Smith	PTS	10	22 Feb 1924	45 years, 328 days	Théâtre Saint-Denis, Montreal, Canada
84	Win	64–6–11 (3)	Jack Thompson	NWS	12	20 May 1923	45 years, 50 days	Havana, Cuba
83	Win	63–6–11 (3)	Farmer Lodge	KO	4	6 May 1923	45 years, 36 days	Havana, Cuba
82	Win	62–6–11 (3)	George Roberts	KO	3	17 May 1920	42 years, 47 days	Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
81	Win	61–6–11 (3)	Bob Wilson	KO	3	18 Apr 1920	42 years, 18 days	Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
80	Win	60–6–11 (3)	Marty Cutler	KO	6 (25)	28 Sep 1919	41 years, 181 days	Mexico City, Mexico
79	Win	59–6–11 (3)	Tom Cowler	PTS	15	10 Aug 1919	41 years, 132 days	Plaza de Toros, Mexico City, Mexico
78	Win	58–6–11 (3)	Bob Roper	PTS	10	22 Jun 1919	41 years, 83 days	Mexico City, Mexico
77	Win	57–6–11 (3)	Bill Flint	KO	2 (10)	12 Feb 1919	40 years, 318 days	Teatro de la Gran Via, Madrid, Spain
76	Win	56–6–11 (3)	Blink McCloskey	RTD	6 (20)	5 Feb 1918	39 years, 311 days	Teatro Circo Price, Madrid, Spain
75	Win	55–6–11 (3)	Arthur Cravan	KO	6 (20)	23 Apr 1916	38 years, 23 days	Plaza de Toros Monumental, Barcelona, Spain
74	Win	54–6–11 (3)	Frank Crozier	TKO	7 (10)	23 Mar 1916	37 years, 358 days	Gran Teatro de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
73	Loss	53–6–11 (3)	Jess Willard	KO	26 (45), 2:20	5 Apr 1915	37 years, 5 days	Oriental Park, Havana, Cuba	Lost world heavyweight title
72	Win	53–5–11 (3)	Jack Murray	KO	3 (10)	10 Jan 1915	36 years, 285 days	Sociedad Sportiva Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
71	Win	52–5–11 (3)	Frank Moran	PTS	20	27 Jun 1914	36 years, 88 days	Vélodrome d'Hiver, Paris, France	Retained world heavyweight title
70	Draw	51–5–11 (3)	Battling Jim Johnson	PTS	10	19 Dec 1913	35 years, 263 days	Élysée Montmartre, Paris, France	Retained world heavyweight title
69	Win	51–5–10 (3)	Fireman Jim Flynn	DQ	9 (45)	4 Jul 1912	34 years, 95 days	East Las Vegas, Las Vegas, New Mexico, U.S.	Retained world heavyweight title
68	Win	50–5–10 (3)	James J. Jeffries	TKO	15 (45), 2:20	4 Jul 1910	32 years, 95 days	Reno, Nevada, U.S.	Retained world heavyweight title
67	Win	49–5–10 (3)	Stanley Ketchel	KO	12 (20)	16 Oct 1909	31 years, 199 days	Mission Street Arena, Colma, California, U.S.	Retained world heavyweight title
66	Win	48–5–10 (3)	Al Kaufman	NWS	10	9 Sep 1909	31 years, 162 days	Coffroth's Arena, San Francisco, California, U.S.	World heavyweight title at stake; (via KO only)
65	Draw	47–5–10 (3)	Tony Ross	PTS	6	30 Jun 1909	31 years, 91 days	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.	Retained world heavyweight title
64	Draw	47–5–9 (3)	Philadelphia Jack O'Brien	NWS	6	19 May 1909	31 years, 49 days	National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.	World heavyweight title at stake; (via KO only)
63	Win	47–5–8 (3)	Tommy Burns	PTS	14 (20)	26 Dec 1908	30 years, 270 days	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, Australia	Won world heavyweight title
62	Win	46–5–8 (3)	Ben Taylor	TKO	8 (10)	31 Jul 1908	30 years, 122 days	Cosmopolitan Gymnasium, Plymouth, England
61	Win	45–5–8 (3)	Fireman Jim Flynn	KO	11 (45), 1:30	2 Nov 1907	29 years, 216 days	Coffroth's Arena, San Francisco, California, U.S.
60	Win	44–5–8 (3)	Sailor Burke	NWS	6	12 Sep 1907	29 years, 165 days	Smith's Theater, Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
59	Win	43–5–8 (3)	Charles Cutler	KO	1 (6)	28 Aug 1907	29 years, 150 days	Lauer's Park, Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.
58	Win	42–5–8 (3)	Bob Fitzsimmons	KO	2 (6)	17 Jul 1907	29 years, 108 days	Washington Sports Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
57	Win	41–5–8 (3)	Bill Lang	TKO	9 (20)	4 Mar 1907	28 years, 338 days	Richmond Race Course, Melbourne, Australia
56	Win	40–5–8 (3)	Peter Felix	KO	1 (10), 2:20	19 Feb 1907	28 years, 325 days	Gaiety Athletic Hall, Sydney, Australia	Retained world colored heavyweight title
55	Draw	39–5–8 (3)	Joe Jennette	NWS	10	26 Nov 1906	28 years, 240 days	Auditorium, Portland, Maine, U.S.	World colored heavyweight title at stake; (via KO only)
54	Win	39–5–7 (3)	Jim Jeffords	NWS	6	8 Nov 1906	28 years, 222 days	Lancaster Athletic Club, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
53	Win	38–5–7 (3)	Joe Jennette	NWS	6	20 Sep 1906	28 years, 173 days	Broadway Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
52	Draw	37–5–7 (3)	Billy Dunning	NWS	10	3 Sep 1906	28 years, 156 days	Millinocket, Maine, U.S.
51	Win	37–5–6 (3)	Charlie Haghey	KO	2 (12)	16 Jun 1906	28 years, 77 days	Gloucester Athletic Club, Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S.
50	Win	36–5–6 (3)	Sam Langford	PTS	15	26 Apr 1906	28 years, 26 days	Lincoln Athletic Club, Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S.	Retained world colored heavyweight title
49	Win	35–5–6 (3)	Black Bill	KO	7 (10)	16 Apr 1906	28 years, 16 days	Peerless Athletic Club, Pittston, Pennsylvania, U.S.
48	Win	34–5–6 (3)	Joe Jennette	PTS	15	14 Mar 1906	27 years, 348 days	Germania Maennerchor Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.	Retained world colored heavyweight title
47	Win	33–5–6 (3)	Joe Jennette	NWS	3	16 Jan 1906	27 years, 291 days	Sharkey Athletic Club, New York City, New York, U.S.
46	Win	32–5–6 (3)	Joe Jennette	NWS	6	2 Dec 1905	27 years, 246 days	National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
45	Win	31–5–6 (3)	Young Peter Jackson	NWS	12	1 Dec 1905	27 years, 245 days	Germania Maennerchor Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.	World colored heavyweight title at stake; (via KO only)
44	Loss	30–5–6 (3)	Joe Jennette	DQ	2 (6)	25 Nov 1905	27 years, 239 days	National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
43	Win	30–4–6 (3)	Joe Grim	NWS	6	24 Jul 1905	27 years, 115 days	National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
42	Win	29–4–6 (3)	Sandy Ferguson	DQ	7 (15)	18 Jul 1905	27 years, 109 days	Douglas Athletic Club, Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S.
41	Win	28–4–6 (3)	Morris Harris	KO	1 (3)	13 Jul 1905	27 years, 104 days	Broadway Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
40	Win	27–4–6 (3)	Black Bill	NWS	3	13 Jul 1905	27 years, 104 days	Broadway Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
39	Win	26–4–6 (3)	Jack Munroe	NWS	6	26 Jun 1905	27 years, 87 days	National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
38	Win	25–4–6 (3)	Walter Johnson	KO	3 (3)	9 May 1905	27 years, 39 days	Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
37	Win	24–4–6 (3)	Joe Jennette	NWS	3	9 May 1905	27 years, 39 days	Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
36	Win	23–4–6 (3)	Black Bill	TKO	4 (6)	2 May 1905	27 years, 32 days	Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
35	Win	22–4–6 (3)	Jim Jeffords	KO	4 (6)	25 Apr 1905	27 years, 25 days	Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
34	Loss	21–4–6 (3)	Marvin Hart	PTS	20	28 Mar 1905	26 years, 362 days	Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.
33	Win	21–3–6 (3)	Denver Ed Martin	KO	2 (20)	10 Oct 1904	26 years, 193 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.	Retained world colored heavyweight title
32	Win	20–3–6 (3)	Frank Childs	PTS	6	2 Jun 1904	26 years, 63 days	Apollo Hall, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Retained world colored heavyweight title
31	Win	19–3–6 (3)	Sam McVey	KO	20 (20)	22 Apr 1904	26 years, 22 days	Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.	Retained world colored heavyweight title
30	Win	18–3–6 (3)	Black Bill	NWS	6	15 Feb 1904	25 years, 321 days	Lenox Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
29	NC	17–3–6 (3)	Sandy Ferguson	NC	5 (6)	6 Feb 1904	25 years, 312 days	National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
28	Win	17–3–6 (2)	Sandy Ferguson	PTS	20	11 Dec 1903	25 years, 255 days	Colma, California, U.S.
27	Win	16–3–6 (2)	Sam McVey	PTS	20	27 Oct 1903	25 years, 210 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.	Retained world colored heavyweight title
26	Win	15–3–6 (2)	Sandy Ferguson	NWS	6	31 Jul 1903	25 years, 122 days	Penn Art Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
25	Win	14–3–6 (2)	Joe Butler	KO	3 (6)	11 May 1903	25 years, 41 days	Washington Sports Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
24	Win	13–3–6 (2)	Sandy Ferguson	PTS	10	16 Apr 1903	25 years, 16 days	Essex Athletic Club, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
23	Win	12–3–6 (2)	Sam McVey	PTS	20	26 Feb 1903	24 years, 332 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.	Retained world colored heavyweight title
22	Win	11–3–6 (2)	Denver Ed Martin	PTS	20	5 Feb 1903	24 years, 311 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.	Won world colored heavyweight title
21	Win	10–3–6 (2)	Fred Russell	DQ	8 (20)	4 Dec 1902	24 years, 248 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
20	Win	9–3–6 (2)	George Gardiner	PTS	20	31 Oct 1902	24 years, 214 days	Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.
19	Win	8–3–6 (2)	Frank Childs	TKO	12 (20)	21 Oct 1902	24 years, 204 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
18	Draw	7–3–6 (2)	Hank Griffin	PTS	20	20 Jun 1902	24 years, 81 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
17	Win	7–3–5 (2)	Jack Jeffries	KO	5 (20)	16 May 1902	24 years, 46 days	Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
16	Win	6–3–5 (2)	Joe Kennedy	KO	4 (15)	7 Mar 1902	23 years, 341 days	Reliance Athletic Club, Oakland, California, U.S.
15	Draw	5–3–5 (2)	Hank Griffin	PTS	15	27 Dec 1901	23 years, 271 days	Reliance Athletic Club, Oakland, California, U.S.
14	Loss	5–3–4 (2)	Hank Griffin	PTS	20	4 Nov 1901	23 years, 218 days	Armory Hall, Bakersfield, California, U.S.
13	Draw	5–2–4 (2)	Mexican Pete Everett	PTS	20	14 Aug 1901	23 years, 136 days	Gold Coin Club, Victor, Colorado, U.S.
12	Draw	5–2–3 (2)	Billy Stift	PTS	10	26 Apr 1901	23 years, 26 days	Colorado Athletic Club, Denver, Colorado, U.S.
11	Loss	5–2–2 (2)	Joe Choynski	KO	3 (20)	25 Feb 1901	22 years, 331 days	Harmony Hall, Galveston, Texas, U.S.
10	Draw	5–1–2 (2)	Jim Scanlon	PTS	7 (20)	14 Jan 1901	22 years, 289 days	Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.
9	Win	5–1–1 (2)	Klondike Haynes	TKO	4 (20)	27 Dec 1900	22 years, 271 days	Phoenix Athletic Club, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
8	Draw	4–1–1 (2)	Klondike Haynes	PTS	20	25 Jun 1900	22 years, 86 days	Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.	Pre-arranged draw if lasting the distance
7	Win	4–1 (2)	Jim McCormick	DQ	6 (20)	20 Apr 1900	22 years, 20 days	Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.
6	ND	3–1 (2)	William McNeill	ND	4	9 Apr 1900	22 years, 9 days	Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.
5	ND	3–1 (1)	Jim McCormick	ND	15	21 Mar 1900	21 years, 355 days	Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.
4	Loss	3–1	Klondike Haynes	TKO	5 (6)	6 May 1899	21 years, 36 days	Howard Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	For inaugural black heavyweight title
3	Win	3–0	Cherokee	KO	? (6)	24 Jul 1898	20 years, 115 days	Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Ed Johnson	KO	5	20 Nov 1897	19 years, 234 days	Convention Hall, Galveston, Texas, U.S.	Retained Texas State middleweight title
1	Win	1–0	Charley Brooks	KO	2 (15)	1 Nov 1897	19 years, 215 days	Prof. Bernau's Gymnasium, Galveston, Texas, U.S.	Won Texas State middleweight title

See also

In Spanish: Jack Johnson (boxeador) para niños