Johnson had repeatedly tried to get into a position to win the world heavyweight championship title, but, while black boxers could fight white boxers in regular matches, they could never fight for the world championship.
While Joe Gans was the first black boxer to win a world championship belt ever, in the lightweight division, Jack Johnson was the first ever black world heavyweight champion in 1908.
Sylvester Stallone is teaming up with MGM to develop a biopic on legendary boxing champion Jack Johnson.
Jack Johnson defended his title for seven years, a period where documentarian Ken Burns called Johnson, “the most famous and the most notorious African-American on Earth.”