Jack Johnson
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John Arthur Johnson, nicknamed the "Galveston Giant", was an American boxer who, at the height of the Jim Crow era, became the first black world heavyweight boxing champion. His 1910 fight against Jam
Johnson in 1915
Johnson standing behind Choynski in Chicago in 1909
Jack Johnson, Sydney, c. 1908
Johnson in 1908 (photograph by Otto Sarony)
Jess Willard
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Jess Myron Willard was an American world heavyweight boxing champion billed as the Pottawatomie Giant. He won the world heavyweight title in 1915 by knocking out Jack Johnson.
Jack Johnson
…late 1914, two ambitious promoters—Jack Curley and Harry Frazee—began working to arrange a title fight between Johnson and 6-foot, 61⁄4-inch, 230-pound Jess Willard. The fight was set at the Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana, Cuba, on April 5, 1915, before a crowd of 25,000. At age 37, Johnson had a noticeable…
Willard in 1915
After Bull Young was killed by a blow from Jess Willard at Vernon Arena in 1913, in the 11th round of what was intended to be 20-round fight, California passed a law banning public boxing matches of longer than four rounds
Willard in 1913
Panorama of Willard's title fight against Jack Johnson in Havana, Cuba, 1915