Research Paper on the Rise and Fall of Jim Johnson

Ask someone who was one of the first people to break the color barrier in sports and you're almost guaranteed that the answer is Jackie Robinson. Yet almost 40 years earlier there was a black boxer by the name of Jack Johnson, also known as John Arthur Johnson. Most would argue that he was the best heavyweight boxer of his time, having a career record of 79 wins and 8 losses, and being the first black to be the Heavyweight champion of the World. (Jack Johnson (boxer), October 9th, 2006.) Not only was this impressive, but he had to deal with racism and black oppression.

Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas, in 1878. Both of his parents were former slaves and worked blue collar jobs to make ends meet for their six children. (Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. January 2005.) Johnson's first fight was when he was 15, and by the time he was 18 he had already become professional. Shortly after, Johnson received training from a small heavyweight Joe Choynski. During this training, Johnson learned to be a more patient fighter, playing defensively and waiting for his opponent to make a mistake and then capitalizing on it. The media said this was cowardly and devious, but on the other hand, a few years later Jim Corbett, who was white, used the same tactics and was praised to be the cleverest man in boxing. (Jack Johnson (boxer). October 9th, 2006.) This proves the racism against blacks at this time in America. Just because this man was black, he was criticized for his tactics, while a white man using the same methods was praised. Another example of the racism of the time was that black men were allowed to box, but they were not allowed to fight for the Heavyweight Championship of the World, for they were deemed unworthy. (Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. January 2005.)

The 6 foot 1 ј inches giant of a man finally won his first title when he won a 20 round victory over "Denver" Ed Martin to be named Black Heavyweight of the World. (Flatter. 2005.) For years, even though blacks were not allowed to fight for the major title, Johnson chased the reigning champ of the time, James Jeffries, for a fight. James Jeffries refused every time, saying he would not fight a black man and soon retired undefeated. (Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. January 2005.) Eventually, after taking down many whites in unbelievable fights, Johnson won the World Heavyweight title, beating Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia. The police had to stop the fight, with Johnson beating Burns unrelentlessly. Johnson was named the champion, and the black oppression was so bad at the time that in the lasting moments of the fight, the camera was turned off as to not show Johnson being named the winner. (Jack Johnson (boxer). October 9th, 2006.)

Johnson finally got his glory after beating John Jeffries in front of a crowd of 22,000 in downtown Reno. "The Fight of the Century" ended after a 15th round knockout by Johnson. Johnson won