The World Colored Heavyweight Championship was a title awarded to black boxers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was the only recognized heavyweight championship available to black boxers prior to Jack Johnson winning the world heavyweight title in 1908. The title continued to exist until the reign of Joe Louis as universally recognized champ, as the color bar against black heavyweights was enforced during and for a generation after Jack Johnson's reign as world champ.
Though not sanctioned by any governing body, the colored heavyweight title was publicly recognized due to the color bar in pro boxing in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when white champions drew the color line and would not defend the title against a black man. In the heavyweight division, the color bar was adamantly defended by "The Boston Strong Boy", bare-knuckle boxing champ John L. Sullivan, the first modern heavyweight champ, who had fought black fighters on his way up to the title but would not defend it against a black man.
Succeeding white heavyweight champs James Corbett and James J. Jeffries followed the same pattern. Since the white champs had fought black fighters as equals on their way up, the color bar undeniably was maintained due to racial prejudice. Since black boxers were being denied a shot at the world title solely due to their race, the general public gave credence to the colored heavyweight title.
The color bar remained in force even after African-American heavyweight title holder Jack Johnson won the world's heavyweight title in 1908, thus ensuring the colored title remained the ultimate prize for all other black boxers.
Once he was the world's heavyweight champ, Johnson (who relinquished the colored title) never fought black opponents, either. He denied matches to black heavyweights Joe Jeanette (his successor as colored heavyweight champ) and 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 shot at the title allegedly because such top boxing promoters as Tex Rickard believed that a fight between two black boxers would not draw at the gate.
Jack Johnson fought Joe Jeanette a total of seven times, all during his reign as colored champ 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 on 1905, they had fought to a draw, but in their second match on 25 November 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 later took the title from McVey in a 49-round bout on April 17 of that year in Paris for a purse of $6,000 (equivalent to $203,000in 2023). Sam Langford subsequently claimed the title during Jeanette's reign after Johnson refused to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against him. Eighteen months later, Jeanrette lost the title to Langford.
Johnson never again fought Jeanette despite numerous challenges and avoided Langford, whom he had fought once while he was the colored champ and beaten him very severely on points in a 15-rounder. In August 1914, as Johnson neared the end of his troubled reign, there were reports that Johnson had agreed to fight Langford for the world heavyweight title in Paris, but nothing came of it.
After losing his world heavyweight championship, Johnson never again fought for the colored heavyweight crown.
Because great boxers of the era were 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." [1]
The Black Heavyweight Championship was a title in pretense claimed by Klondike Haynes and later by Frank Childs, a two-time holder of the World Colored Heavyweight title.
The World Boxing Council attempted to create a similar championship in 2004 called the All African World Championship, which would be open to boxers of African descent from any country as well as boxers of any race living in Africa. [2] This proposal was met with worldwide criticism, [3] and the World Boxing Council ultimately abandoned the idea.
Eighteen men were recognized as World Colored Heavyweight Champion, combining for 28 total reigns. [4]
| # | Name | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Defenses | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles C. Smith | 1 | 1876 | Unknown | — | 0 | Smith claimed the title and offered to take on all challengers. |
| 2 | Morris Grant | 1 | 1878 | Unknown | New York City, New York, USA | 1 | Lost title to Charles Hadley on points in four-round bout |
| 3 | Charles Hadley | 1 | January 14, 1881 | 770 | New York City, New York, USA | 3 [5] | Fought Grant Morris 10 times while champ, compiling record of 8 wins, 1 loss, and 1 no decision |
| 4 | George Godfrey (b. 1853) | 1 | February 23, 1883 | 2009 | Boston, Massachusetts, USA | 2 | |
| 5 | Peter Jackson | 1 | August 24, 1888 | 3041 | San Francisco, California, USA | 0 | The title was vacated in 1896. |
| 6 | Bob Armstrong | 1 | December 21, 1896 | 404 | New York City, New York, USA | 1 | Defeated Charley Strong. |
| 7 | Frank Childs | 1 | January 29, 1898 | 228 | Chicago, Illinois, USA | 2 | |
| 8 | George Byers | 1 | September 14, 1898 | 913 | Chicago, Illinois, USA | 4 | Frank Childs defeated Bob Armstrong on March 4, 1899 in Cincinnati, Ohio in a fight announced as being for the title, despite Childs' loss to Byers six months earlier. |
| 9 | Frank Childs | 2 | March 16, 1901 | 345 | Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA | 0 | |
| 10 | Ed Martin | 1 | February 24, 1902 | 346 | Chicago, Illinois, USA | 2 | Childs continued to claim the title until losing to Jack Johnson on October 21, 1902. [6] |
| 11 | Jack Johnson [7] | 1 | February 5, 1903 | 2151 | Los Angeles, California, USA | 12 [8] | The title was vacated after Johnson won the World Heavyweight Championship on December 26, 1908. |
| 12 | Sam McVea | 1 | February 20, 1909 | 56 | Paris, France | 1 | Defeated Joe Jeanette. |
| 13 | Joe Jeanette | 1 | April 17, 1909 | 507 | Paris, France | 1 | Jeanette beats McVey in a 49-round bout lasting 3½" hours, for a purse of $6,000. Subsequently, Sam Langford claimed the title during Jeanette's reign after Jack Johnson refused to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against him. |
| 14 | Sam Langford | 1 | September 6, 1910 | 476 | Boston, Massachusetts, USA | 3 | Sam Langford defends his claim to the title, beating Jeanette on points in a 15-round bout. |
| 15 | Sam McVea | 2 | December 26, 1911 | 104 | Sydney, Australia | 0 | |
| 16 | Sam Langford | 2 | April 8, 1912 | 753 | Sydney, Australia | 2 | |
| 17 | Harry Wills | 1 | May 1, 1914 | 209 | New Orleans, Louisiana, USA | 1 | |
| 18 | Sam Langford | 3 | November 26, 1914 | 403 | Los Angeles, California, USA | 0 | |
| 19 | Harry Wills | 2 | January 3, 1916 | 39 | New Orleans, Louisiana, USA | 0 | |
| 20 | Sam Langford | 4 | February 11, 1916 | 349 | New Orleans, Louisiana, USA | 0 | |
| 21 | Bill Tate | 1 | January 25, 1917 | 97 | Kansas City, Missouri, USA | 0 | |
| 22 | Sam Langford | 5 | May 2, 1917 | 347 | St. Louis, Missouri, USA | 1 | |
| 23 | Harry Wills | 3 | April 14, 1918 | 3103 | Panama City, Panama | 25 [9] | The title was vacated after Wills lost by disqualification to Jack Sharkey on October 12, 1926. |
| 24 | George Godfrey (b. 1897) | 1 | November 8, 1926 | 628 | Buffalo, New York, USA | 3 | Defeated Larry Gaines. |
| 25 | Larry Gains | 1 | August 15, 1928 | Unknown | Buffalo, New York, USA | 0 | The title was later vacated. |
| 26 | George Godfrey (b. 1897) | 2 | August 24, 1931 | 777 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | 3 | Defeated Seal Harris. |
| 27 | Obie Walker | 1 | October 9, 1933 | 649 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA | 0 | |
| 28 | Larry Gains | 2 | July 20, 1935 | Unknown | Leicester, England | 0 | Title became extinct after Joe Louis won the World Heavyweight title on June 22, 1937. |
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 (1908–1915). His 1910 fight against James J. Jeffries was dubbed the "fight of the century". Johnson defeated Jeffries, who was white, triggering dozens of race riots across the U.S. According to filmmaker Ken Burns, "for more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious African American on Earth". He is widely regarded as one of the most influential boxers in history. Transcending boxing, he became part of the culture and history of racism in the United States.
Samuel Edgar Langford was a Canadian boxing standout of the early part of the 20th century. Called the "Greatest Fighter Nobody Knows", by ESPN, Langford is considered by many boxing historians to be one of the greatest fighters of all time. Originally from Weymouth Falls, a small community in Nova Scotia, he was known as "the Boston Bonecrusher", "the Boston Terror", and his most famous nickname, "the Boston Tar Baby". Langford stood 5 ft 6+1⁄2 in (1.69 m) and weighed 185 lb (84 kg) in his prime. He fought from lightweight to heavyweight and defeated many world champions and legends of the time in each weight class. Considered a devastating puncher even at heavyweight, Langford was rated No. 2 by The Ring on their list of "100 greatest punchers of all time". One boxing historian described Langford as "experienced as a heavyweight James Toney with the punching power of Mike Tyson".
Harry Wills was a heavyweight boxer who held the World Colored Heavyweight Championship three times. Many boxing historians consider Wills the most egregious victim of the "color line" drawn by white heavyweight champions. Wills fought for over twenty years (1911–1932), and was ranked as the number one challenger for the throne, but was denied the opportunity to fight for the title. Of all the black contenders between the heavyweight championship reigns of Jack Johnson and Joe Louis, Wills came closest to securing a title shot. BoxRec ranks him among 10 best heavyweights in the world from 1913 to 1924, and as No.1 heavyweight from 1915 to 1917 and many regard him as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
George Godfrey (II) The Leiperville Shadow was the ring name of Feab Smith Williams, a heavyweight boxer from the state of Alabama who fought from 1919 to 1937. He named himself after George "Old Chocolate" Godfrey, a Black Canadian boxer from the bare-knuckle boxing days who had been a top name during the John L. Sullivan era. Old Chocolate had been the fourth fighter to reign as World Colored Heavyweight Champion while the second George Godfrey was the 20th fighter to hold the colored heavyweight title.
Jeremiah "Joe" Jeannette was an American boxer, considered one of the best heavyweight boxers of the early 20th century. Because he was African-American, he was not given a shot at the world heavyweight title, though he did win the World Colored Heavyweight Championship on two occasions.
Samuel E. MacVea or Sam McVey was a Hall of Fame heavyweight boxer during the early 20th century. Famously known as the "Oxnard Cyclone", he ranked alongside Jack Johnson, Joe Jeanette, Sam Langford, and Harry Wills, some of the best heavyweights of their time. All of them, except Johnson, were denied a shot at the world heavyweight championship due to the color bar, which was ironically maintained by Johnson when he became the first black to win the world heavyweight in spotlight. Despite being denied a title shot, Sam enjoyed the famed career that took him across the globe.
Kid Norfolk was an American professional boxer who fought as a Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight from 1910 through 1926, holding wins over many notable boxers of his day including Joe Jeanette, Billy Miske, Jack Blackburn, Harry Greb, Tiger Flowers, Battling Siki, and Gunboat Smith. Norfolk was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007.
"Battling" Jim Johnson was an American boxer who fought as a heavyweight from 1908 to 1918. He had little success and lost with great frequency to top boxers such as Sam Langford, Joe Jeanette, Sam McVey, Harry Wills and Kid Norfolk.
Bob Armstrong, was a heavyweight boxer known as the "King of the Battle Royal". He was born in Rogersville, Tennessee, but he moved with his family to Washington, Ohio when he was three years old.
Lawrence Samuel "Larry" Gains was a Black Canadian heavyweight boxer who was champion of Canada and the British Empire. One of the top heavyweights of his era, he was denied the opportunity to become World Champion due to the bar on black boxers competing for the title.
Big Bill Tate was an American boxer who fought from 1912 to 1927. A native of Montgomery, Alabama, he spent his fighting career based in Chicago. Tate was a regular sparring partner of heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, yet Dempsey denied him a shot at the title.
Frank Childs, "The Crafty Texan", was an African American boxer who fought professionally out of Chicago from 1892 to 1911 and twice held the World Colored Heavyweight Championship. Fighting at a weight of between 160 and 185 lbs., the short, stocky Childs fought middleweights, light-heavyweights and heavyweights. He had a powerful punch.
Edward "Denver Ed" Martin was an American boxer who was the World Colored Heavyweight Champion from February 24, 1902, when he beat Frank Childs, until February 5, 1903, when he lost his title to Jack Johnson, the only Colored Heavyweight Champion to win the world's heavyweight championship.
Charles Hadley, nicknamed "The Professor", was an African American boxer who was the third World Colored Heavyweight Champion, reigning from January 14, 1881, to February 23, 1883. The 5′9½″ boxer fought out of Bridgeport, Connecticut as a heavyweight.
C.C. Smith, a.k.a. Charles C. Smith, Charles A.C. Smith, and Charlie Smith, was an African American boxer who claimed the status of being the World Colored Heavyweight Champ and was the first boxer recognized as such.
Klondike Haynes was an African American boxer billed as "The Black Hercules" who declared himself the black heavyweight champion. Born John Haines or John W. Haynes, the 6-foot (1.8 m) tall Klondike fought out of Chicago as a heavyweight at a weight of 190–200 pounds (86–91 kg) from 1898 to 1911. He took the nickname because he was supposed to be a great find.
The World Colored Middleweight Championship was a title awarded to black boxers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was the only recognized middleweight championship available to blacks prior to Tiger Flowers winning the world middleweight boxing championship by defeating Harry Greb on 26 November 1926.
The World Colored Welterweight Championship was a title that existed during the time of the color bar in professional boxing.
The White Heavyweight Championship was a title in pretense created when the "White Hopes" of the time that African-American Jack Johnson was the world heavyweight champion had failed to wrest the title from him after four and one-half years. The first of the Great White Hopes, former world heavyweight champ James J. Jeffries had failed to vanquish Johnson in 1910, leading to an elimination tournament of "White Hopes" in New York City in 1911.
The Black Heavyweight Championship was a title in pretense claimed by the African American boxer Klondike, who was born John Haines or John W. Haynes and by two-time colored heavyweight champ Frank Childs.
