“Nat, why should they bring in the black race against the white race in athletics? I licked Tommy Burns fairly. I did the same in my fight with Jeffries. My battle with Jeffries was not a contest between a black man and a white man, but between two boxers who were out to establish their right to the heavyweight championship of the world, a right I claimed and Jeffries disputed. I beat him and now the matter is settled.” The interview was suddenly interrupted by Mrs. Johnson’s emergence from the bathroom. She had been preparing for the evening’s celebration and, having no idea that Jack was entertaining a guest in the living room, was completely nude. Thinking that her husband, who was rumored to be having difficulties with his white wife, had purposely brought a white man into the room to embarrass her, she let loose with a violent tirade. Jack tried to explain, but was cut short when his wife, her eyes blazing menacingly, raised a chair. Discretion being the better part of valor, this seemed to both of us the propitious moment to leave. The chair caught Jack in the center of the back as we raced down the stairs with her curses flooding after us. I never did finish that interview, though I was fortunate to have gathered sufficient data during our long trip home from Chicago to write the story. * * * * * Johnson was one of the brainiest fighters I have ever known. He knew boxing and was always able to give reasons for his opinions. I remember sitting with him in his Reno hotel after the Jeffries fight and asking him the reason for Jeff’s downfall. “Well, it’s like this, Nat,” he said, standing up and throwing himself into fighting pose to demonstrate. “I think it was the blow that closed Jeff’s left eye that started him on his downfall. “You see, I led and drew him out like this. He thought I would come back with my right hand, but I crossed over and shot a strong uppercut to his chin with my left—like this. I think that’s good ring strategy, although I say it myself, and it certainly won the fight for me and lost it for Jeff.” When Jack was fighting his way to the top, he had to struggle against a field that contained some of the greatest names in the history of the heavyweight division. The period between 1905 and 1910 produced four great colored fighters: Jack Johnson, Sam Langford, Joe Jeannette and Sam McVey. There really wasn’t a white man who could be classed with this dusky quartet, and that was the real reason why Jim Jeffries retired. The toughest opponents Jack faced in his rise to the championship were men of his own color. Among those whom he had to conquer were Hank Griffin, Denver Ed Martin, McVey, Langford, and Jeannette—each as tough as ebony, clever, and crushing punchers. Some of the most thrilling contests I witnessed during the past half century were between Negroes. There was a lot of jealousy among the Negro heavyweights, for each believed himself to be the best in the world.