Letherbridge Daily Herald 17 November 1925
Harry Wills, who is matched with Jack Dempsey to fight for the world's heavyweight championship sometime next year, is the most prominent boxer of his race today, although far below the class of many great negro fighters in past years. Wills has a poor record for a championship contender,' having made no great showing against the men he has fought, and having been extremely careful to pick easy marks and avoid all risks of defeat ever since he was first mentioned as a possible opponent for Dempsey. Also he has been much criticized for his use of hold and hit tactics in his fight's, contrary to all rules of fair boxing. He seems unable
to go through a fight without using this trick.
But there have been some wonderful men among the negro fighters. Almost invariably they have been honest, clean fighters and good sportsmen. I can say here that among all the fighters I have known, in following the sport closely for thirty years, there are none for whom I retain more respect than little George Dixon, Joe Gans, Joe Jeannette, old Peter Jackson and Sam Langford. These were as fine fighting men as ever were seen in the ring, square, courageous, skilful and sportsmanlike under all circumstances.
Trained With Jackson
One of my earliest recollections in the boxing line is of a time when Peter Jackson, freshly over from Australia, trained at a roadhouse near a little town called San Leandro, in California. Joe Choynski, a great fighter although unfortunate in being pounds lighter than the average heavyweight, trained with Jackson. Peter was a courteous, quiet big fellow. He avoided all arguments and was always willing to fight any heavyweight under any terms in the ring, but unwilling to engage in any of the brawls that were common among fighters in those days. In short, Peter was a thorough gentleman.
Peter Jackson One Great Fighter
A wonderful fighter, Peter Jackson, Sullivan drew the color line when Jackson challenged. Sullivan might have been willing enough, although far past his prime when Peter Jackson appeared, but his backers issued their orders, and in those days a fighter's movements were practically controlled by the backer who put on his side stakes. Peter went to England, knocked out Frank Slavin in ten rounds, and became such a social favorite that after six years of it be was a physical wreck. On the way back to Australia in San Francisco, and was matched with a young fellow named Jim Jeffries, then little known. In the first round Peter had his old flashy speed, but none of his ancient deadly punch. In the third round Jeffries knocked Peter nearly out. The old lion of the ring staggered to the ropes, and catching them in his arms braced himself to take the finishing blow. Jeffries dropped his hands and said to the referee:
"I won't hit him again. You'll have to stop it."
Peter Jackson, by the way ,was born in St. Croix, West Indies. To go back a century or more in black ring history, the first colored man to achieve international ring fame was Bill Richmond, an American negro who went to England shortly after Figg's time, and won many battles on the turf. Long afterwards Tom Molyneaux, a Virginia negro, went to England as a servant of an American traveller, and took up fighting, at which he had bees adept among the plantation darkies of his old home. Molyneaux stayed in England and twice fought desperate battles with Tom Cribb, English champion and one of the greatest fighters of the century. This was back about 1809. Cribb beat Molyneaux, but was practically finished as a fighter in doing it. Prize fighting was a desperate business in those days, all fights with bare fists and to a finish. Molyneaux was entertained so lavishly by the English sporting society that he died within a few years.
Frank Craig, the Harlem Coffee Cooler, went to England and knocked out a long list of fighters, nearly all in one or two rounds. English sportsmen thought Craig the greatest of all champions. He was a very clever fighter, and a clean fighter. He was eventually knocked out by Peter Maher, and then by Frank Slavin. Craig fought his first battle in 1891, his last in 1922, Thirty-one
years in the ring!
Walcott Beat Many Heavyweights
Another dusky champion was Joe Walcott and known as the Barbados Demon and the Giant Killer, because of his extraordinary fighting powers.Walcott. wasn't a boxer. He was only an inch over five feet tall, weighed 142 pounds in his best condition, had a sixteen inch upper arm and the strength of a heavyweight. He was too short to hit, and when he dived under an opponent's guard and began driving furious blows into a bigger man's body something had to drop. Walcott was perfectly fearless, and he thought he could whip anything that walked on two legs.
When Jim Jeffries knocked Fitzsimmons for the world's heavyweight championship Tom O'Rourke, Walcott's manager, got Joe into a corner of his bar at the old Delavan on 40th and Broadway, and said: "Joe, how would you like to fight Jeffries?" "Get him for me, Mr. O'Rourke," said Joe grinning. "I'll knock him loose from that title." Joe was then world's welterweight champion. O'Rourke did challenge Jeffries to fight Walcott, and was laughed at. Of course such a match would have been ridiculous. Walcott, however, did fight and knock out Joe Choynski, who had once fought a twenty round draw with Jeffries. He knocked
out many other heavyweights. His punches wouldn't have even disturbed Jeffries, who was an iron giant.
O'Rourke fell out with Tom Sharkey,whom he had been managing, and tried to get Tom to fight Walcott. "What are you trying to do—make a joke on me?" roared Tom.
Walcott's finish as a champion was peculiar. He was attending a fancy dress colored ball in Boston, his home town, and in the dressing room was fooling with a gun. Joe was holding in it his left hand and had the muzzle in it his left hand foolish. In some way the gun was discharged, shooting away a couple of Joe's best hitting knuckles and incidentally removing an adjacent gentleman of color from his vale of tears.Joe was exonerated by the coroner's jury, but he never could fight very well afterward, and was whipped by Honey Mellody, a very able welterweight who held the title for some time.
Sam Langford was one of the best fighters in the world. When only a welterweight he was. beaten by Jack Johnson, heavyweight, but gave Johnson such a bruising fight that Johnson never would meet him again when Sam grew up. Langford should have been heavyweight champion for at his best there is little doubt he could have beaten Johnson if given a chance. He was wonderfully built —a squat Hercules — was lightning fast, a tremendous hitter, game as they make 'em, and as fine, clean, sportsmanlike a fighter as ever lived.
Sam is still boxing around a little, although age had ''grabbed him" and for many years he had been blind in one eye and nearly blind in the other. Half blind, fat and long past his best fighting days, he was still good enough to knock out big Harry Wills twice, in 14 rounds in 1914 and in 19 rounds in 1916. This was when Wills was young, fast and at his best. He fought about ten no-decision fights with Wills, and wasn't decisively beaten by Wills until 1918, when Sam1 had been fighting sixteen years. Wills stopped Sam in six rounds. At that time Sam couldn't see well enough to avoid a punch, and had to feel for his man to deliver a blow. But the game old veteran
was still fighting. After that he won the championship of Mexico and knocked out Battling Gahee, Jamaica Kid, big George Godfrey and a few more.
Gans Always. Fair in Fights
Joe Gans, once lightweight champion and peer of all boxers in his class, was as white a fighter as ever lived. Joe was clean and fair no matter how the fighting went. He could get up from a knockout and fight his way to a win as calmly as if nothing had happened. Joe never held his man with one hand to punch with the other. He never hit a low blow. He never lost a fight on a foul and never deserved to. He was the most deliberate, masterful boxer of his time — with the sole exception of Bob Fitzsimmons, from whom Joe learned his fighting style. Joe once told me that when he began fighting he saw Fitzsimmons meeting all comers, and was so fascinated that he followed Fitz for two weeks watching him every night and studying every move the master made. And game! When Joe Gans was dying of tuberculosis he fought Battling Nelson twice in San Francisco, was knocked out in 17 rounds, and two months later in 21. I saw Joe fight his one bout after that with Jabez White in New York, ten rounds with no decision. It was a slow fight—a very poor fight for Joe Gans. The crowd thought he was faking and razzed him unmercifully.
After the fight I went out to Joe's dressing room to see what he had to say about it. He was sitting
in a chair with a towel thrown over his shoulders, despondent and exhausted, breathing with difficulty. "This is the last, Mr. Edgren," he said. "They don't understand but I'm done. I've been trying to cover it up so I could make a little money for my family. I did my best, but I can't
fight any more. I'm through."
A few months after that strangers carried Joe Gans in on a stretcher and put him aboard a train in the Arizona desert to send him home to die. He died on the way. Game from the beginning to the end Joe Gans!
Jack Johnson
It is an anti-climax, after this, to add a line about Jack Johnson, but Johnson was a world's champion and a great boxer. Cunning, cautious, lacking the boldness of other black champions, Johnson perfected a defence that kept him practically out of danger in any fight, and he had the skill and the punch to win when his opponent was worn out. Gigantic, powerful, he had no trouble winning the championship from little Tommy Burns when he had a chance to fight for it at last, and at Reno he disposed of Jeffries when the veteran tried to come back after six years away from the ring. After that Johnson's career was a series of blunders that may be excused on the ground that he was an ignorant man suddenly bewildered by much money and the
adulation of such parasites as gathered around him. He atoned for it when he fought one game fight at Havana, giving everything he had until he was utterly exhausted, and sticking after
hope was gone, until Willard knocked him cold.
Black men have been big part of the picture in ring history.They always will be. As a race they’re built for the game, and on average they have as much heart for it as men of any other race or colour.
End