The Fight of the Century
The Fight of the Century Overview
At this site on July 4, 1910, Reno hosted ‘The Fight of the Century,” a heavyweight championship boxing match between John Arthur Jack Johnson, the African American title holder, and James J. ‘Jim’ Jeffries, a former champion seeking to regain the title he had vacated in 1904
Category
- Event
- Person
Marker Type
Blue marker
Nevada Historical Marker Number
The Fight of the Century is Nevada Historical Marker #220.
Click here to view the full list of Nevada State Historical Markers.
County
GPS Coordinates
39.533188 -119.796434
Nevada Historical Marker Transcription
On this site on July 4, 1910, Reno hosted ‘The Fight of the Century,” a heavyweight championship boxing match between John Arthur Jack Johnson, the African American title holder, and James J. ‘Jim’ Jeffries, a former champion seeking to regain the title he had vacated in 1904. Jeffries had refereed a previous championship bout between Marvin Hart and Jack Root at this site on July 3, 1905, but the promotion of the ex-champion as “The Great White Hope’ focused worldwide attention on his 1910 contest with the talented Johnson, known as the “Galveston Giant.” Gamblers had their money on Jeffries, but Johnson easily handled his opponent and Jeffries’ trainers called the fight in the fifteenth round to save their man from the disgrace of a knockout.
Organized by famed promoter Tex Rickard, the fight brought over 30,000 fans to Reno, some 22,000 of whom packed the arena here on the day of the fight.
STATE HISTORICAL MARKER NO. 220
STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE
THE WASHOE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
THE NEVADA CORRAL WESTERNERS INTERNATIONAL
References Used
The Fight of the Century