Early life Gans was born as Joseph Gant on November 25, 1874 in Baltimore, MD. He started boxing professionally in 1891 in
Baltimore.
Two fights in one day On January 7, 1895, after knocking out Samuel Allen in three rounds, Allen's second, Bud Brown, immediately challenged Gans. Not backing down from a fight, Gans accepted and outpointed Brown in a 10-round points decision.
Title bouts On March 3, 1900, at the Broadway Athletic Club in New York City, Gans quit with an eye injury in the twelfth round and lost via
TKO while challenging lightweight champion
Frank Erne in Gans' first title fight. However, in their rematch two years later at the International A.C. in
Fort Erie, Ontario, Gans knocked Erne out in one round to convincingly take the world lightweight title. "In the exchange, Gans got both hands to head, and Erne seemed a trifle dazed. Gans felt him out with a left shove to the face, drawing blood to nose. Erne seemed dazed, and Gans rushed and exchanged, putting right plump on Erne's jaw. Erne fell slowly to the floor with his mouth and nose bleeding, rolled over on his stomach, and was counted out before he could attempt to regain his feet." Gans had thus become the first-ever U.S.-born African-American boxing champion. (Canadian-born black
George Dixon had won the world
bantamweight title in 1892, and
Barbados Joe Walcott had won the world
welterweight title in 1901, but neither of them was U.S.-born.) Gans reigned as champion from 1902 to 1908. On January 6, 1902, Gans defeated the former world welterweight champion, Canadian-born
Eddie Connolly, in a five-round bout at the Washington Sports Club in
Philadelphia. One reporter noted that Connolly "did nothing but hug and wrestle, adding variety to his performance in the third by deliberately trying to butt the Baltimorean [Gans]." The reporter also noted that Connolly clinched frequently and "wrestled" rather than boxed, probably to protect himself from Gans' fierce assaults. By the time the referee ended the bout in the fifth round, Connolly had been "rendered practically helpless" by the powerful punching of Gans. Gans also defended his Lightweight World Title against other talented boxers such as Steve Crosby and Gus Gardiner. There was also
Charley Sieger, Kid McPartland, Rufe Turner, Charles "Elbows" McFadden, and
Frank Erne. In an important title defense, he defeated the "Durable Dane"
Oscar "Battling" Nelson in 42 rounds on September 3, 1906, in
Goldfield, Nevada. This blockbuster fight, arranged by legendary promoter
Tex Rickard, would eventually be honored with a historic memorial. On September 15, 1905, Gans fought to a 15-round prearranged draw with future Welterweight World Championship claimant
Mike "Twin" Sullivan. Most people reporting on the fights believed that Sullivan deserved the decision. In an immediate rematch, he defeated Sullivan by knockout on January 19 and March 17, 1906, in San Francisco and Los Angeles and again in March of the same year. Although the bout was recorded as a Welterweight Title match and thus supposedly had a weight limit of around 142 pounds (which was estimated to be Sullivan's weigh-in But there were reports that the conditions were laid down by Nelson's handlers. Gans had to weigh in at ringside at not more than 132 lbs fully dressed. Black fighters in those days deferred to the white men in a way we can't realise today. A very important point also is that Gans was actually dying by then of consumption, and in fact died less than 2 years later of the incurable disease.
Draw with Barbados Joe Walcott On September 30, 1904, Gans fought to a 20-round draw against
Barbados Joe Walcott. "
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Walcott damaged ligaments in his left arm and that it was 'useless from the 4th round on.' It was announced before the fight that no title was at stake. Referee Jack Welch gave 7 rounds to Gans, 5 to Walcott, with 8 even, but thought that Walcott's aggressiveness compensated Gans' advantage in cleverness. Shortly after this fight, Walcott accidentally shot himself in the hand and was out of action until January 1906."
Death Joe Gans died on August 10, 1910, of
tuberculosis, at the age of 35. He is buried in
Mount Auburn Cemetery in
Baltimore. His monument is maintained by the International Boxing Commission and sits just to the left of the main entrance of the cemetery. His monument reads: "I was born in the city of Baltimore in the year 1874, and it might be well to state at this time that my right name is Joseph Gant, not Gans. However, when I became an object of newspaper publicity, some reporter made a mistake and my name appeared as Joe Gans, and as Joe Gans it remained ever since." ==Professional honors and legacy==