Arguing Over Jack Johnson and White Privilege

Published

10 years ago

October 30, 2014

It’s always dangerous getting involved in an online argument on any of the various social networks. No matter how empirically wrong someone might be, obstinance and a healthy dose of internet courage kicks in and there goes an hour of your life having a back and forth that will lead you to nowhere but frustration. Sometimes you can’t help yourself though, and when some Facebook sage claimed that Jack Johnson was not held back by his race, well, I felt compelled to explain a few things.

It all started when a friend of mine posted an article about the misfortunes of African-Americans in the United States and the influence of white privilege in our society. A gentleman chimed in on the post arguing that no one is or has ever been held back by their race, post-slavery. He then used Johnson as an example. Which I found flabbergasting.

Maybe it’s easy to overlook the losses of someone who accomplished so much. Johnson didn’t just have to knock out white guys and face down racial hatred from his fellow citizens, he also had to fight the United States government. As the first black man to ever hold the heavyweight championship (1908-15), Johnson endured under the American form of apartheid known as Jim Crow.

Under Jim Crow, the good ‘ol states of the former confederacy mandated the separation of the races when it came to any and all public facilities, leaving the black members of the population with inferior access to services. The law coined the bilious term “separate but equal,” but conditions were anything but.

Johnson began fighting in 1898 and it took him 59 fights and ten full years to get a title shot even though he had been the World “Colored” heavyweight champion for five years. He defeated Canadian Tommy Burns by 14 round decision in 1908. Johnson went on to hold the title for the 3^rd longest stretch of anyone in the history of the fight game.

In 1910,the former heavyweight champion Jim Jeffries ended a six year retirement to take on Johnson and, as he put it, “I am going into this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a Negro.” The media dubbed Jeffries “The Great White Hope” and the contest became known as “The Fight of the Century.” Johnson dominated the fight and in the 15^th round, Jeffries’ manager entered the ring and ended the fight after his charge had suffered two knockdowns, one that sent him sprawling through the ropes, resulting in Jeffries needing help from a fan to get back into the ring.

Race riots broke out all across the United States after Johnson’s victory. Ironically, the fight took place on the 4^th of July.

Johnson carried his burdens with a surprising level of fearlessness. He had grown up in Galveston, TX and was a stranger to segregation. He even spoke of running with “white boys” and seldom felt the sting of racism as a child. He would learn.

Johnson finally lost his title on April 5, 1915 to challenger Jess Willard. Johnson was dominating the fight, but tired in the later rounds and was knocked out by the Pottawatomie Giant in the 26^th(!) round. Many believed that Johnson threw the fight due to his prosecution by the United States government for violating the Mann Act—also known as the White-Slave Traffic Act. The law stated that it was a felony to engage in interstate commerce by transporting “any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery or for any other immoral purpose”. How did Johnson violate this law? By taking his soon to be second wife, Lucille Cameron, across state lines. Sounds ridiculous, right? Except for one thing. Lucille was white (as were all three of Johnson’s wives). The case fell apart largely because Cameron would not testify against him. However, a second woman named Belle Schreiber (also white), whom Johnson had also a had relationship with, did testify at a later hearing and Johnson was convicted in the courtroom of noted racist—and future Major League Baseball Commissioner and enforcer of the color barrier—Judge Kenesaw “Mountain” Landis, by an all-white jury. Perhaps even more astonishing is the fact that Johnson was found guilty of a law that did not exist at the time of his “crimes.” Johnson jumped bail and fled to Europe, living abroad for seven years before surrendering to the feds in July of 1920. Johnson served three months in Leavenworth for his infraction.

So, as you might imagine, I find it fascinating that anyone could state that Johnson was not held back by his race. He had to wait for a decade and wade through nearly 60 fights before he could be found fit to fight a white man for the most prestigious title in all of boxing. He labored under horrendous racism, may have thrown the title in the hopes this would somehow curry favor with judge and jury for violating a federal law that had not even passed at the time of his supposed transgressions–leading to a seven year exile and a prison sentence.

What all of the institutional and quite legal racism of his era cost him was time. Lots of it. How much more could Johnson have done had he not suffered under such conditions? Would he not have fought for more years as the champ? Would he not have made more money? Would he not have had to live on the run and eventually give up his own personal freedom? My goodness, would he not have simply been happier? Johnson’s accomplishments were certainly more extraordinary because of his race. However, on the most personal of levels, he was not able to do all he could because all he was capable of was not available to him. And that is tragic.

Johnson died on June 10, 1946 at the age of 68 after speeding recklessly away in anger from a diner that refused to serve him, for what Ken Burns’ amazing documentary called his “Unforgiveable Blackness.”

I rest my case.

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David Phillips

Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welter Week in SoCal

Published

15 hours ago

April 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-322-Super-Welter-Week-in-SoCal

Two below-the-radar super welterweight stars show off their skills this weekend from different parts of Southern California.

One in particular, Charles Conwell, co-headlines a show in Oceanside against a hard-hitting Mexican while another super welter star Sadriddin Akhmedov faces another Mexican hitter in Commerce.

Take your pick.

The super welterweight division is loaded with talent at the moment. If Terence Crawford remained in the division he would be at the top of the class, but he is moving up several weight divisions.

Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) faces Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs) a tall knockout puncher from Los Mochis at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif. on Saturday April 19. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also features undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora. We’ll get to her later.

Conwell might be the best super welterweight out there aside from the big dogs like Vergil Ortiz, Serhii Bohachuk and Sebastian Fundora.

If you are not familiar with Conwell he comes from Cleveland, Ohio and is one of those fighters that other fighters know about. He is good.

He has the James “Lights Out” Toney kind of in-your-face-style where he anchors down and slowly deciphers the opponent’s tools and then takes them away piece by piece. Usually it’s systematic destruction. The kind you see when a skyscraper goes down floor by floor until it’s smoking rubble.

During the Covid days Conwell fought two highly touted undefeated super welters in Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev. He stopped them both and suddenly was the boogie man of the super welterweight division.

Conwell will be facing Mexico’s taller Garcia who likes to trade blows as most Mexican fighters prefer, especially those from Sinaloa. These guys will be firing H bombs early.

Fundora

Co-headlining the Golden Boy card is Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) the undisputed flyweight champion of the world. She has all the belts and Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 KOs) wants them.

Gabriela Fundora is the sister of Sebastian Fundora who holds the men’s WBC and WBO super welterweight world titles. Both are tall southpaws with power in each hand to protect the belts they accumulated.

Six months ago, Fundora met Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz in Las Vegas to determine the undisputed flyweight champion. The much shorter Alaniz tried valiantly to scrap with Fundora and ran into a couple of rocket left hands.

Mexico’s Badillo is an undefeated flyweight from Mexico City who has battled against fellow Mexicans for years. She has fought one world champion in Asley Gonzalez the current super flyweight world titlist. They met years ago with Badillo coming out on top.

Does Badillo have the skill to deal with the taller and hard-hitting Fundora?

When a fighter has a six-inch height advantage like Fundora, it is almost impossible to out-maneuver especially in two-minute rounds. Ask Alaniz who was nearly decapitated when she tried.

This will be Badillo’s first pro fight outside of Mexico.

Commerce Casino

Kazakhstan’s Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) is another dangerous punching super welterweight headlining a 360 Promotions card against Mexico’s Elias Espadas (23-6, 16 KOs) on Saturday at the Commerce Casino.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card of about eight bouts.

Akhmedov is another Kazakh puncher similar to the great Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who terrorized the middleweight division for a decade. He doesn’t have the same polish or dexterity but doesn’t lack pure punching power.

It’s another test for the super welterweight who is looking to move up the ladder in the very crowded 154-pound weight division. 360 Promotions already has a top contender in Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk who nearly defeated Vergil Ortiz a year ago.

Could Bohachuk and Akhmedov fight each other if nothing else materializes?

That’s a question for another day.

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) vs. Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs); Gabriela Fundora (15-0) vs Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1).

Sat. UFC Fight Pass 6 p.m. Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0) vs Elias Espadas (23-6).

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TSS Salutes Thomas Hauser and his Bernie Award Cohorts

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2025

TSS Press

TSS-Salutes-Thomas-Hauser-and-his-Bernie-Award-Cohorts

The Boxing Writers Association of America has announced the winners of its annual Bernie Awards competition. The awards, named in honor of former five-time BWAA president and frequent TSS contributor Bernard Fernandez, recognize outstanding writing in six categories as represented by stories published the previous year.

Over the years, this venerable website has produced a host of Bernie Award winners. In 2024, Thomas Hauser kept the tradition alive. A story by Hauser that appeared in these pages finished first in the category “Boxing News Story.” Titled “Ryan Garcia and the New York State Athletic Commission,” the story was published on June 23. You can read it HERE.

Hauser also finished first in the category of “Investigative Reporting” for “The Death of Ardi Ndembo,” a story that ran in the (London) Guardian. (Note: Hauser has owned this category. This is his 11^th first place finish for “Investigative Reporting”.)

Thomas Hauser, who entered the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the class of 2019, was honored at last year’s BWAA awards dinner with the A.J. Leibling Award for Outstanding Boxing Writing. The list of previous winners includes such noted authors as W.C. Heinz, Budd Schulberg, Pete Hamill, and George Plimpton, to name just a few.

The Leibling Award is now issued intermittently. The most recent honorees prior to Hauser were Joyce Carol Oates (2015) and Randy Roberts (2019).

Roberts, a Distinguished Professor of History at Purdue University, was tabbed to write the Hauser/Leibling Award story for the glossy magazine for BWAA members published in conjunction with the organization’s annual banquet. Regarding Hauser’s most well-known book, his Muhammad Ali biography, Roberts wrote, “It is nearly impossible to overestimate the importance of the book to our understanding of Ali and his times.” An earlier book by Hauser, “The Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing,” garnered this accolade: “Anyone who wants to understand boxing today should begin by reading ‘The Black Lights’.”

A panel of six judges determined the Bernie Award winners for stories published in 2024. The stories they evaluated were stripped of their bylines and other identifying marks including the publication or website for which the story was written.

Other winners:

Boxing Event Coverage: Tris Dixon

Boxing Column: Kieran Mulvaney

Boxing Feature (Over 1,500 Words): Lance Pugmire

Boxing Feature (Under 1,500 Words): Chris Mannix

The Dixon, Mulvaney, and Pugmire stories appeared in Boxing Scene; the Mannix story in Sports Illustrated.

The Bernie Award recipients will be honored at the forthcoming BWAA dinner on April 30 at the Edison Ballroom in the heart of Times Square. (For more information, visit the BWAA website). Two days after the dinner, an historic boxing tripleheader will be held in Times Square, the logistics of which should be quite interesting. Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez share top billing.

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Mekhrubon Sanginov, whose Heroism Nearly Proved Fatal, Returns on Saturday

Published

4 days ago

April 15, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Mekhrubon-Sanginov-whose-Heroism-Nearly-Proved-Fatal-Returns-on-Saturday

To say that Mekhrubon Sanginov is excited to resume his boxing career would be a great understatement. Sanginov, ranked #9 by the WBA at 154 pounds before his hiatus, last fought on July 8, 2022.

He was in great form before his extended leave, having scored four straight fast knockouts, advancing his record to 13-0-1. Had he remained in Las Vegas, where he had settled after his fifth pro fight, his career may have continued on an upward trajectory, but a trip to his hometown of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, turned everything haywire. A run-in with a knife-wielding bully nearly cost him his life, stalling his career for nearly three full years.

Sanginov was exiting a restaurant in Dushanbe when he saw a man, plainly intoxicated, harassing another man, an innocent bystander. Mekhrubon intervened and was stabbed several times with a long knife. One of the puncture wounds came perilously close to puncturing his heart.

“After he stabbed me, I ran after him and hit him and caught him to hold for the police,” recollects Sanginov. “There was a lot of confusion when the police arrived. At first, the police were not certain what had happened.

“By the time I got to the hospital, I had lost two liters of blood, or so I was told. After I was patched up, one of the surgeons said to me, ‘Give thanks to God because he gave you a second life.’ It is like I was born a second time.”

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have happened in any city,” he adds. (A story about the incident on another boxing site elicited this comment from a reader: “Good man right there. World would be a better place if more folk were willing to step up when it counts.”)

Sanginov first laced on a pair of gloves at age 10 and was purportedly 105-14 as an amateur. Growing up, the boxer he most admired was Roberto Duran. “Muhammad Ali will always be the greatest and [Marvin] Hagler was great too, but Duran was always my favorite,” he says.

During his absence from the ring, Sanginov married a girl from Tajikistan and became a father. His son Makhmud was born in Las Vegas and has dual citizenship. “Ideally,” he says, “I would like to have three more children. Two more boys and the last one a daughter.”

He also put on a great deal of weight. When he returned to the gym, his trainer Bones Adams was looking at a cruiserweight. But gradually the weight came off – “I had to give up one of my hobbies; I love to eat,” he says – and he will be resuming his career at 154. “Although I am the same weight as before, I feel stronger now. Before I was more of a boy, now I am a full-grown man,” says Sanginov who turned 29 in February.

He has a lot of rust to shed. Because of all those early knockouts, he has answered the bell for only eight rounds in the last four years. Concordantly, his comeback fight on Saturday could be described as a soft re-awakening. Sanginov’s opponent Mahonri Montes, an 18-year pro from Mexico, has a decent record (36-10-2, 25 KOs) but has been relatively inactive and is only 1-3-1 in his last five. Their match at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California, is slated for eight rounds.

On May 10, Ardreal Holmes (17-0) faces Erickson Lubin (26-2) on a ProBox card in Kissimmee, Florida. It’s an IBF super welterweight title eliminator, meaning that the winner (in theory) will proceed directly to a world title fight.

Sanginov will be watching closely. He and Holmes were scheduled to meet in March of 2022 in the main event of a ShoBox card on Showtime. That match fell out when Sanginov suffered an ankle injury in sparring.

If not for a twist of fate, that may have been Mekhrubon Sanginov in that IBF eliminator, rather than Ardreal Holmes. We will never know, but one thing we do know is that Mekhrubon’s world title aspirations were too strong to be ruined by a knife-wielding bully.

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