Jack Johnson first black heavyweight champion of the world

On My Walk at Graceland Cemetery – The “Galveston Giant”, Jack Johnson

On my recent walk through Graceland Cemetery in the great city of Chicago, I discovered the grave of one of the most important and trailblazing figures in sports history — Jack Johnson, the “Galveston Giant”, and the first Black heavyweight boxing champion of the world.

This past year, I’ve had the honour of visiting the final resting places of two of boxing’s greatest legends — Jack Johnson and the “Brown Bomber”, Joe Louis, whose grave lies at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Both men changed the sport — and the world — in profound ways.

Johnson’s defining moment came in December 1908, when he stepped into the ring against reigning heavyweight champion Tommy Burns, a Canadian from Hanover, Ontario. The fight, held in Sydney, Australia, made history — Johnson won decisively, becoming the first Black man to hold the world heavyweight title.

Jack Johnson beat Canadian heavyweight champion, Tommy Burns, 1908. 

He would remain champion until April 5, 1915, when he lost to Jess Willard in a grueling 26-round bout in Havana, Cuba — a fight still discussed and debated today.

1878-1946