jack london, jack johnson, boxing, black boxers, boxing champions, jack london books, prize fighting, sports, competitive sports, racism, black athletes

With that simple phrase, Jack London bound his legacy forever to boxing’s perennial expression of white resentment, the near-mythic desire for a “Great White Hope”. Although Jack Johnson was not the first Black boxing champion, Johnson was the first Black heavyweight champion, making him the most well-known, both famous and infamous.