In 1908, Jack Johnson became the first black American World Heavyweight Boxing Champion by knocking out Tommy Burns. Johnson holding on to the heavyweight crown was not acceptable in an era of white imperialism.Fights between white men and Black men was a kind of metaphor for race relations. if a white man won, it would reinforce ideas of white supremacy. But if a Black man won, then it would upend ideas of white supremacy.
In 1910, former undefeated heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries, came out of retirement to fight Johnson in what was billed as the "Fight of the Century" The fight that did not turn out like many white Americans had hoped. Johnson knocked out Jeffries in the fifteenth round, securing the heavyweight crown again. His victory sparked racial violence across the United States. Fears of further unrest led to an immediate attempt to ban the Johnson-Jeffries fight film, and in 1912, the US Congress banned the screening of all title fight films entirely.
