Jack Johnson Knocks Out Jefferies Sparking Race Riots

It was July 4, 1910 when Jack Johnson fought James J Jeffries in a Heavyweight Championship Title Fight in Reno, NV. A special outdoor arena was built for this fight called, The Fight of the Century.

The fight was scheduled for 45 3 minute rounds! Yes, 45 ROUNDS! Here is video leading to the fight with the fight itself.

What the video fails to capture is that with Johnson’s victory, a race riots erupted nationwide with some calling Jefferies, “betrayer of his race.” Throughout the country many African American men were killed and attacked for celebrating Johnson’s victory over James Jeffries.

For further information, check out my other blog post on Jack Johnson, which documents the fight before and after in the PBS documentary, Unforgivable Blackness: Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.

Tags: Boxing, Boxing History, Fight of the Century, First African American Heavyweight Champion, Fourth of July, Heavyweight Championship Title Fight, History, Jack Johnson, Jack Johnson vs James Jeffries, July 4, July 4 1910, Knock out, nationwide, Race Riots, Reno, Reno Nevada, Riots, Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, Sparking Race Riots, Sports History, Unforgivable Blackness