The Shot Heard Round the World

Other than perhaps Joe Louis's first-round KO of Max Schmeling in their 1938 rematch, there is probably no one fight in history with as much cultural significance as the one that took place 98 years ago today in Sydney, Australia. It was there that Jack Johnson, the Galveston Giant, finally got his shot at the heavyweight title, becoming the first black man to vie for that crown and, after stopping Tommy Burns in the 14th round, the first black man to win it. The impact of that victory would continue to be felt throughout the rest of the 20th century.

Johnson had been arguably the best heavyweight in the world for at least five years, but at the time, letting a black boxer fight for the heavyweight belt was considered tantamount to the most diabolical treason against the white race. No upstanding white champion would dare cross that color barrier, least of all the mighty Jim Jeffries, who held the title until he retired undefeated in 1905.

After Jeffries' abdication of the throne, a bout was held for the vacant title between two uninspired duffers of the heavyweight ranks - Marvin Hart and Jack Root. Hart won that contest with a 12th-round stoppage and Jeffries himself was on hand to anoint him the new heavyweight champ. A year later, Burns, a scrappy, 5'7" battler who fought out of Detroit, defeated Hart and became the lineal champion.

For the next two years, Johnson would pursue Burns around the world, ultimately shaming him into becoming the first heavyweight champion ever to grant a black man a shot at his title. Over the course of 14 rounds, Johnson battered the much-smaller Burns, all the while laughing and joking with the audience, as was his style when he was not being tested in the ring, which he rarely was. In the 14th, Johnson wearied of clowning and stepped up his attack on Burns with an intent towards ending the fight. The beating he administered was so severe that the police stepped in to stop the contest. Burns was mercifully spared any more punishment, and Jack Johnson was the new heavyweight champion of the world.

The world would never quite be the same again. To get the proper respect for Johnson and his awesome influence on the American landscape, I can't recommend enough Geoffrey Ward's Unforgivable Blackness, the companion book to the Ken Burns series on PBS. It's the best boxing book you'll ever read about the turn-of-the-century era, the inherent racism that tainted boxing as it tainted everything, and the rampant corruption that made the sport the nationwide province of outlaws and hucksters. It's also a detailed and intimate portrait of the most outrageous, controversial, and courageous athlete of the 20th century.