Image: The Fight of the Century, Nevada Historical Marker No. 220, Reno, Nevada (6320829562)
Description: 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 black 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 world-wide attention on his 1910 contest with the outspoken black pugilist. Gamblers had their money on Jeffries, but Johnson easily handled his opponent and Jeffries's trainers called the fight in the fifteenth round to save their man from the disgrace of a knockout. Promoted by 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. www.nevada-landmarks.com/wa/shl220.htm
Title: The Fight of the Century, Nevada Historical Marker No. 220, Reno, Nevada (6320829562)
Credit: The Fight of the Century, Nevada Historical Marker No. 220, Reno, Nevada
Author: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes
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