Joe Choynski
On February 25, 1901, Johnson
fought Joe Choynski in Galveston. Choynski, a popular and experienced
heavyweight, knocked out Johnson in the third round. Prizefighting
was illegal in Texas at the time and they were both arrested. Bail
was set at $5,000 which neither could afford. The sheriff permitted
both fighters to go home at night so long as they agreed to spar in
the jail cell. Large crowds gathered to watch the sessions. After
23 days in jail, their bail was reduced to an affordable level and
a grand jury refused to indict either man. However, Johnson later
stated that he learned his boxing skills during that jail time. The
two would remain friends.
Johnson attested that his success in
boxing came from the coaching he received from Choynski. The aging
Choynski saw natural talent and determination in Johnson and taught
him the nuances of defense, stating "A man who can move like you should
never have to take a punch".
Boxing style
Throughout his career
Johnson built a unique fighting style of his own, which was not customary
to boxing during this time. Though Jack would typically strike first,
he would fight defensively, waiting for his opponents to tire out,
while becoming more aggressive as the rounds went on. He often fought
to punish his opponents through the rounds rather than knocking them
out, and would continuously dodge their punches. He would then quickly
strike back with a blow of his own. Jack often made his fights look
effortless, and as if he had much more to offer, but when pushed he
could also display some powerful moves and punches. There are films
of his fights in which he can be seen holding up his opponent, who
otherwise might have fallen, until he recovered.
His style of
playing with his opponents was very effective, but was criticized
by the press as being a cowardly fighting approach. In contrast, world
heavyweight champion "Gentleman" Jim Corbett, who was white, had used
many of the same techniques a decade earlier, and was praised by the
press as "the cleverest man in boxing.
Top contender
Johnson beat
former black heavyweight champ Frank Childs on October 21, 1902. Childs
had twice won the black heavyweight title and continued to claim himself
the true black champ despite having lost his title in a bout with
George Byers and then, after retaking the title from Byers, losing
it again to Denver Ed Martin. He still made pretence to being the
black champ and claimed the unrecognized black heavyweight title as
well. Johnson won by a TKO in the 12th round of the scheduled 20 rounder,
when Childs's seconds signaled he couldn't go on. (He claimed he had
dislocated his elbow.) The defeat by Johnson forever ended Childs's
pretensions to the black heavyweight crown.