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Peter Jackson (boxer)
Encyclopedia
Peter "Black Prince" Jackson (3 July 1861 – 13 July 1901) was a heavyweight boxer
from Australia
who had a significant international career.
. (Subsequently, it became part of the U.S. Virgin Islands.) His family originally came from Montego Bay
, Jamaica
.
His father, also called Peter Jackson, was a warehouseman and he was the grandson of a freed slave who had been owned by a planter with the surname of Jackson.
Born a free man, the future boxer was in fact a Danish citizen before he gained Australian citizenship. Jackson had a good primary school education before becoming a mariner. Landing in Sydney
about 1880, he worked on the waterfront and in hotels before drifting to Brisbane
, and thence into a career in boxing in 1882 under the tuition of Larry Foley, a famous Australian bare-knuckle pugilist and instructor.
Standing 6' 1½" tall and weighing in at 192–210 lbs he became the winner of the Australian Heavyweight championship in 1886. Originally working on ships as a deck hand in the Sydney Docks since he was 14, he used his fist to quell a mutiny. This garnered him some notoriety and brought him to the attention of Larry Foley and started his career in boxing. He came to be known as "Black Prince" and "Peter the Great".
title against Jem Smith
by KO in the second round. In 1888 he beat "Old Chocolate" Godfrey
to gain the world 'colored' heavyweight championship
.
On 21 May 1891, in Benicia, California
Jackson fought the future world champion James Corbett
because the reigning title-holder, John L. Sullivan
, would not fight him because he was black. The match with Corbett went 61 rounds before it was declared no contest, as both boxers were too exhausted to continue.
In 1898 he lost a bout to the powerfully built James J. Jeffries
, another great boxer who would hold the championship of the world in the early 1900s.
Jackson's health began to fail towards the end of his career, hampering his performances in the ring.
He had been at one stage a pupil of "The Black Diamond" Jack Dowridge, a Barbadian Immigrant who pioneered boxing in Queensland, Australia. Among Dowridge's other pupils was "Gentleman Jack" John Reid McGowan
, a fellow Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame
Inductee.
Jackson died of tuberculosis in Roma, Queensland
and was buried at Toowong Cemetery
.
A short time after becoming the first black heavyweight champion of the world in 1908, "The Galveston Giant" Jack Johnson
, made a pilgrimage to Jackson's grave, a measure of the respect in which the man was held not only in Queensland, but in the boxing community worldwide.
Jackson's tomb is emblazoned with the words "This was a man".
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
who had a significant international career.
Biography
Jackson was born in Christiansted on the island Saint Croix, which was then the capital of the Danish West IndiesDanish West Indies
The Danish West Indies or "Danish Antilles", were a colony of Denmark-Norway and later Denmark in the Caribbean. They were sold to the United States in 1916 in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies and became the United States Virgin Islands in 1917...
. (Subsequently, it became part of the U.S. Virgin Islands.) His family originally came from Montego Bay
Montego Bay
Montego Bay is the capital of St. James Parish and the second largest city in Jamaica by area and the fourth by population .It is a tourist destination with duty free shopping, cruise line terminal and the beaches...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
.
His father, also called Peter Jackson, was a warehouseman and he was the grandson of a freed slave who had been owned by a planter with the surname of Jackson.
Born a free man, the future boxer was in fact a Danish citizen before he gained Australian citizenship. Jackson had a good primary school education before becoming a mariner. Landing in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
about 1880, he worked on the waterfront and in hotels before drifting to Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, and thence into a career in boxing in 1882 under the tuition of Larry Foley, a famous Australian bare-knuckle pugilist and instructor.
Standing 6' 1½" tall and weighing in at 192–210 lbs he became the winner of the Australian Heavyweight championship in 1886. Originally working on ships as a deck hand in the Sydney Docks since he was 14, he used his fist to quell a mutiny. This garnered him some notoriety and brought him to the attention of Larry Foley and started his career in boxing. He came to be known as "Black Prince" and "Peter the Great".
Career
Jackson won the Australian heavyweight title in 1886 with a knockout of Tom Lees in the 30th round, and the British CommonwealthCommonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
title against Jem Smith
Jem Smith
Jem Smith was a bare knuckle prize fighter in the late 19th century and into the early 20th century in England.- Early career :In 1881 he fought his first bare-knuckle prizefight aged 18 years...
by KO in the second round. In 1888 he beat "Old Chocolate" Godfrey
George Godfrey (boxer born 1853)
George Godfrey was the black Canadian heavyweight boxer that John L. Sullivan refused to fight as a champion. He is not to be confused with the American heavyweight George Godfrey who named himself after our subject....
to gain the world 'colored' heavyweight championship
World Colored Heavyweight Championship
The World Colored Heavyweight Championship was a belt issued to black boxers in the early twentieth century. This was the only heavyweight championship available to blacks prior to Jack Johnson being crowned World Heavyweight Champion...
.
On 21 May 1891, in Benicia, California
Benicia, California
Benicia is a waterside city in Solano County, California, United States. It was the first city in California to be founded by Anglo-Americans, and served as the state capital for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the 2010 census. The city is located in the San...
Jackson fought the future world champion James Corbett
James J. Corbett
James John "Gentleman Jim" Corbett was an Irish-American heavyweight boxing champion, best known as the man who defeated the great John L. Sullivan. He also coached boxing at the Olympic Club in San Francisco...
because the reigning title-holder, John L. Sullivan
John L. Sullivan
John Lawrence Sullivan , also known as the Boston Strong Boy, was recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing from February 7, 1881 to 1892, and is generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing under the London Prize Ring rules...
, would not fight him because he was black. The match with Corbett went 61 rounds before it was declared no contest, as both boxers were too exhausted to continue.
In 1898 he lost a bout to the powerfully built James J. Jeffries
James J. Jeffries
James Jackson Jeffries was a world heavyweight boxing champion.His greatest assets were his enormous strength and stamina. Using a technique taught to him by his trainer, former welterweight and middleweight champion Tommy Ryan, Jeffries fought out of a crouch with his left arm extended forward...
, another great boxer who would hold the championship of the world in the early 1900s.
Jackson's health began to fail towards the end of his career, hampering his performances in the ring.
He had been at one stage a pupil of "The Black Diamond" Jack Dowridge, a Barbadian Immigrant who pioneered boxing in Queensland, Australia. Among Dowridge's other pupils was "Gentleman Jack" John Reid McGowan
John Reid McGowan
John Reid "Gentleman Jack" McGowan was an Australian boxing champion. During his long career in the ring he fought over 110 battles, and was the first fighter to win three Australian titles at different weights, holding the titles of bantam, feather, and light-weight champion of...
, a fellow Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame
Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame
Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame was founded in 2001 and began inducting boxers into the Hall of Fame in 2003. Since then annual induction dinners have been held....
Inductee.
Jackson died of tuberculosis in Roma, Queensland
Roma, Queensland
Roma is a town in the western Darling Downs area of Queensland, Australia, by rail WNW of Brisbane. It is situated at the junction of the Warrego and Carnarvon highways...
and was buried at Toowong Cemetery
Toowong Cemetery
The Brisbane General Cemetery also known as Toowong Cemetery at Toowong, Brisbane was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest cemetery and is located on forty-four hectares of land at the corner of Frederick Street and Mount Coot-tha Road approximately four and a...
.
A short time after becoming the first black heavyweight champion of the world in 1908, "The Galveston Giant" Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (boxer)
John Arthur Johnson , nicknamed the “Galveston Giant,” was an American boxer. At the height of the Jim Crow era, Johnson became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion...
, made a pilgrimage to Jackson's grave, a measure of the respect in which the man was held not only in Queensland, but in the boxing community worldwide.
Jackson's tomb is emblazoned with the words "This was a man".
External links
- Boxing: Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame - Peter Jackson
- Boxing: The Best Heavyweights to Never Get a Title Shot
- IBHOF / Peter Jackson
- Peter Jackson
- Jackson, Peter — Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search