Jack Johnson, born in Galveston, Texas to formerly enslaved parents, became the first Black world heavyweight boxing champion and one of the most notorious figures of the Jim Crow era. This episode traces his rise from battle royals and a jail cell sparring education under Joe Choynski to his global pursuit of champion Tommy Burns.

We explore the Great White Hope panic, the 1910 Fight of the Century against James J. Jeffries and the deadly riots that followed, his use of the color line against other Black fighters, and his abusive marriages. We also examine his Mann Act conviction, exile, Leavenworth sentence, death and 2018 pardon.

• How Johnson’s defensive style turned boxing into physical chess
• Why the heavyweight title was treated as a proxy for racial superiority
• The banning of the Jeffries fight film across several states
• The 1915 loss to Jess Willard in Havana and the rumors that followed
• The monkey wrench myth versus the wrench patent he filed from prison