John Arthur Johnson (March 31, 1878 - June 10, 1946) was an American boxer and possibly the best heavyweight of his generation. He was the first black world champion in 1908-1915 and became notorious for his relationship with white-skinned women. In the boxing world, he is better known as Jack Johnson. It is considered one of the most famous African Americans in the world.
John Johnson's statistics are impressive. From 1902-1907, the boxer won more than 50 matches, including against other African-American boxers such as Joe Jeannette, Sam Langford and Sam McVey. Johnson's career was legendary - for 47 years of fighting, he was knocked out only three times, but his life was full of problems.
Johnson, during his lifetime, was not fully recognized as a champion, and supporters of extremism were constantly looking for "great white hope" to rob him of his title. They agreed with heavyweight champion James Jeffrey to conduct a fight with Johnson in Reno, Nevada, in 1910. However, their “hope" was defeated in the fifteenth round.
John Johnson Biography
This great fighter had a quality that helped him stay both in the ring and outside it. As a boxer, he achieved some of his greatest victories by being close to defeat. Outside the ring, he was subjected to the worst attacks of the racists of America, and in response showed his arrogant position and publicly violated racial taboos.
After the end of his boxing career, the great fighter, nicknamed the Galveston Giant, as an amateur cellist and violinist, a connoisseur of Harlem's nightlife, eventually opened his own Club Deluxe nightclub on the corner of 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue.
Died in a car accident near Raleigh, North Carolina, in June 1946.
John Johnson was 184 cm tall. He performed in the heavy weight category (over 90.718 kg - 200 pounds). He was a pretty big boxer. John Johnson's weight is 91 kg.
early years
The future champion was born in Galveston, Texas, March 31, 1878. He was the second child and first son of Heinrich and Tina Johnson, former slaves and faithful Methodists who earned enough to raise six children (five of their children and one adopted child lived with the Johnsons).
Parents taught them to read and write. He had five years of formal education. However, he rebelled against religion. He was kicked out of the church when he declared that God does not exist and that the church governs the lives of people.
Carier start
In the first fight that Jack Johnson spent at age 15, he won in the 16th round.
He became a professional in about 1897, participating in battles in private clubs and making more money than he had ever seen. In 1901, Joe Chojnsky, a small but powerful Jewish heavyweight, came to Galveston and defeated Johnson in the third round. They were both arrested for "participating in an illegal competition" and imprisoned for 23 days. Chojnsky began training John in prison and helped him develop his style, especially for the battle with larger opponents.
Professional boxing career
As a fighter, John Johnson had a different style from what other boxers showed. He used a more consistent manner of fighting than was customary at that time: he acted mainly in defense, expecting a mistake, and then used it to his advantage.
Johnson always started the fight carefully, slowly building up more aggressive style from round to round. He often fought, trying to punish his opponents, and not knock them out, endlessly avoiding their blows and striking with quick attacks.
John Johnson's style was very effective, but he was criticized in the "white" press, calling it cowardly and treacherous. Nonetheless, heavyweight world champion Jim "Gentleman" Corbett, who was white, used similar methods ten years ago. And he was highly praised by the white press as "the smartest in boxing."
Battle for the championship
By 1902, John Johnson had won at least 50 battles against white and black opponents. He won his first title on February 3, 1903, defeating Ed Martin's Denver for 20 rounds in the color heavyweight championship.
His attempts to win the full title were thwarted as world heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries refused to meet with him. Blacks could take other titles from whites, but the heavyweight championship was so respected, and the title was so coveted that blacks were not considered worthy to fight for it. Johnson, however, was able to fight with former champion Bob Fitzsimmons in July 1907 and knocked him out in the second round.
In the end, he won the world heavyweight title on December 26, 1908. Then he fought with Canadian champion Tommy Burns in Sydney (Australia) after Johnson followed him everywhere, mocking the press about the match.
The fight lasted 14 rounds before it was stopped by the police. The title was awarded to Johnson by decision of the judge (TKO). During the fight, Johnson in the ring scoffed at Burns and his team. Every time Burns could fall, Johnson held him back, beating him even more.
"Great White Expectations"
After Johnson's victory over Burns, racial hostility among whites was so strong that even a socialist like writer Jack London urged Great White Hope to take away his title from John Johnson, who roughly called the “inhuman monkey”.
As the holder of the title, Johnson had to face a number of fighters exposed by boxing promoters as "great white hopes." In 1909, he defeated Victor McLaglan, Frank Moran, Tony Ross, Al Kaufman, and middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel.
The match with Ketchel reached the last, twelfth round, when Ketchel hit Johnson with a blow to the head from the right. Gradually raising his legs, Johnson was able to attack Ketchel with a direct blow to the jaw, knocking out a few teeth.
His later fight with middle-class star Jack “Philadelphia” O'Brien was a disappointment for Johnson: he could only achieve a draw.
"Fight of the century"
In 1910, former heavyweight champion James Jeffries resigned and said: "I am going to have this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a black man." Jeffries did not fight for six years and had to lose about 100 pounds (45 kilograms) in order to return.
The battle took place on July 4, 1910 in front of twenty-two thousand people, in a ring built specifically for this occasion in the center of Reno, Nevada. The fight became a hotbed of racial tension, and promoters pushed the crowd of white spectators to repeat "kill the black man." Johnson, however, proved stronger and more agile than Jeffries. In the fifteenth, final round, Johnson knocks down Jeffries twice.
In the “fight of the century”, Johnson earned $ 225,000 and silenced critics who derogatoryly called his previous victory over Tommy Burns “invalid”, claiming Burns was a fake champion since Jeffries resigned undefeated.
Riots and consequences
The result of the battle caused unrest throughout the United States - from Texas and Colorado to New York and Washington. Johnson’s victory over Jeffries destroyed the dreams of a “great white hope” that could defeat him. Many whites felt humiliated after Jeffries' defeat and were outraged by Johnson's arrogant behavior during and after the fight.
On the other hand, blacks rejoiced, marking Johnson's great victory.
Around them, they organized spontaneous parades, gathered at prayer meetings. These celebrations often provoked a furious response among white people. In some cities, such as Chicago, the police allowed celebrants to continue their celebrations. But in other cities, police and angry white-skinned residents tried to stop the fun. Innocent black people were often attacked in the streets, and in some cases, white gangs infiltrated black neighborhoods and tried to burn houses. Hundreds of blacks were killed or injured. Two whites were killed, several others were injured.
Defeat
On April 5, 1915, Jack Johnson lost the title to Jesse Willard. A boxer who began his career at almost 30 years old. At the Vedado Racecourse in Havana (Cuba), Johnson was knocked out in the twenty-sixth round of the planned 45-round battle. He could not beat the giant Willard, who imposed his battle style on him, and began to tire after the twentieth round. Jack was clearly injured by Willard's heavy blows to the body in previous rounds.
Personal life
Johnson early became a celebrity, regularly appearing in the press and then on the radio. He earned large sums by advertising various products, including patent medicines. He had expensive hobbies. For example, racing cars. Johnson bought jewelry and furs for his wives.
Once, when he was fined $ 50 (a large sum at that time), he gave the officer $ 100, telling him to take them into account when he returns at the same rate.
Johnson was interested in opera music and history - he was a fan of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Being a black man, he destroyed taboos, taking white women to accompany him, verbally mocking men (both white and black) in and out of the ring. Johnson was not shy of his affection for white women, loudly declared his physical superiority.
In late 1910 or early 1911, he married Etta Durie. In September 191, she committed suicide, and Johnson found a new wife - Lucille Cameron. Both women were white - a fact that caused serious indignation at that time.
After Johnson married Cameron, two ministers in the South recommended lynching him. The couple escaped via Canada to France shortly after marriage to avoid criminal prosecution.
In 1920, Johnson opened a nightclub in Harlem, and three years later sold it to white gangster Madden, who renamed it Cotton Club.
After several fights in Mexico, Johnson returned to the United States in July 1920. He was immediately handed over to federal agents for "transporting women on state lines for immoral purposes," because he sent his white friend, Bel Schreiber, a train ticket to get from Pittsburgh to Chicago. It was charged with intentional violation of the law aimed at stopping the interstate traffic of prostitutes. He was sent to Leavenworth Prison, where he served a year in prison. He was released on July 9, 1921.
last years of life
In 1924, Lucille Cameron divorced Johnson due to his infidelity. The next year, Johnson married an old friend of Irene Pino, this marriage lasted until his death.
Johnson continued to participate in the battles, but age made itself felt. After two defeats in 1928, he participated only in exhibition battles.
In 1946, Johnson died in a car accident near Raleigh, at the age of 68. He was buried next to his first wife at the Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. He did not leave children behind him.
Heritage
Johnson was included in the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1954, and is on the list of both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Hall of Fame.
In 2005, the United States National Film Conservation Council considered the 1910 Johnson-Jeffries film “Historically Significant” and placed it on the National Film Register.
Johnson's story is the basis of the play and the 1970 film The Great White Hope, with James Earl Jones as Johnson.
In 2005, film director Ken Burns produced a two-part documentary about Johnson's life, “Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.” The script was based on the 2004 self-titled book by Jeffrey C. Ward.
41st Street in Galveston, Texas is called Jack Johnson Boulevard.