JACKSON, PETER

born July 3, 1861, St. Croix, Virgin Islands died July 13, 1901, Roma, Queensland, Australia one of the first outstanding black professional boxers. A victim of discrimination, he was denied a chance to fight for the world heavyweight championship while in his prime. Jackson won the Australian heavyweight championship in 1886 and the British Empire title in 1892. On May 21, 1891, in San Francisco, he fought a 61-round draw with Gentleman Jim Corbett, who had not yet won his championship. On March 22, 1898, also in San Francisco, Jackson, who was 36 years old and, except for a few exhibition matches, had not fought for six years, was knocked out in three rounds by James J. Jeffries. As a consequence of this victory and his subsequent knockout of Bob Fitzsimmons (June 9, 1899), Jeffries is retrospectively considered by many to have been the first true world heavyweight champion under the Queensberry rules.