In 1908, when Jack Johnson fought Tommy Burns to become the first African American heavyweight champion of the world, a search began for another American Champion, Or Known as The "Great White Hope" to take back the title. American novelist Jack London wrote a newspaper column that summed up his position -- and that of many Americans: [I] was with [Tommy] Burns all the way. He was a white man and so am I. Naturally I wanted to see the white man win. Put the case to Johnson and ask him if he were the spectator at a fight between a white man and a black man which he would like to see win. Johnson's black skin will dictate a desire parallel to the one dictated by my white skin." -- The New York Herald, December 27, 1908 Jack Johnson Ever since the ancient Olympic Games, athletes have represented their native or adopted nations in competition. The idea of "race" -- perceived or imposed differences in appearance and culture as a means of division and domination -- came about when the age of exploration brought different people together. It wasn't until the 20th century that nations with large immigrant populations, like Australia and the United States, held sports competitions that pitted members of one "race" against another. When African American Jack Johnson took the heavyweight title from the Irish boxer Tommy Burns, the race issue in sports reached a new level. Some people did not believe that African Americans had what it took to become heavyweight champions in the "manly art" of boxing. The fear of a powerful, uncontrollable black man remained on the minds of many when Joe Louis emerged as the next potential black champion. Neither boxer was expressly political. Johnson pushed the envelope of expectations, while Louis, although no champion of the status quo, looked moderate in comparison. But there is no doubt that these first black heavyweight champions broke through the color lines in American sports. Joe Louis holding Hitler, Hirohito and Mussolini puppets Though race relations were fragile in the U.S., foreign threats could cause Americans to unite in support of black Americans. The best example of this came in 1936, when Adolf Hitler expected the Berlin Olympics to showcase the superiority of the Aryan race. He left the stadium when African American track star Jesse Owens received four gold medals. Although Americans had opposed a proposed boycott of the Games, many perceived Hitler's disrespect not as white against black, but nationally -- Germany against the United States. Louis had to win over white America through how he carried himself and how he performed. His managers set down rules for their young fighter, which they shared freely with reporters. Louis' public face would be the opposite of what Johnson's had been. Historian Jeffrey Sammons lists a few of Louis' "good Negro" rules: "He could not gloat over opponents. He could not be seen in public with white women. He had to be seen as a Bible-reading, mother-loving, God-fearing individual, and not to be 'too black.'" Despite Louis' public image campaign, millions of whites rooted against him, and awaited the "Great White Hope" who would claim boxing honors for their own race. Writer Jack Newfield says, "America was a different country... if you go back and read the sports writing of the Thirties, [you'll find] despicable, repugnant stereotypes of Louis as dumb, as lazy, on one hand, or as an animal of the jungle on the other hand." "Here was a truly savage person," Paul Gallico wrote of Louis in the New York Daily News. "I had the feeling that I was in the room with a wild animal." Ultimately, though, what won Louis white America's acceptance was not his mild personality and good behavior, but his dramatic matchups with German champion Max Schmeling who, to many, represented the Nazi Party. Louis would become the symbol of American freedom over Nazi totalitarianism. Many whites still wished to see Louis defeated by a white boxer, but in 1938, when Louis knocked out the German, the celebration wasn't confined to black America alone. For the first time, blacks and whites, even in the deep South, had rooted with all their hearts for the same guy. Writer Vernon Jarrett recalled, "Right after Joe Louis' victory, we got to work ahead of time. And I will say this for this fellow where I worked. He says, 'Well, it looks like your man won.' I said, 'He sure did, didn't he.' He says: 'Maybe that'll teach Hitler a lesson.'" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/fight/peopleevents/e_race.html Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao is officially a welterweight world unification title bout which made history doing over a billion dollars of revenue for the city of Las Vegas.

• published: 10 Jul 2015
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