Statement of Larry Hazzard Sr., Boxing Commissioner for the State of New Jersey

April 6, 2005  

There’s been a lot of attention given at the Congressional level to reform in the sport of boxing. I think it’s fitting that we begin at the beginning. It’s most appropriate that when we talk about reform and what’s fair to start in the early days of the sport.

You can’t go back any further than Jack Johnson, a man who was a forerunner in terms of blacks in the sport of boxing; a man who won the heavyweight championship at a time when blacks weren’t even allowed to fight for the title.

He stood for more than just being a fighter. He was the forerunner to Muhammad Ali, who stood up to the system. Johnson did things the way he wanted them done. He never felt less than any other fighter or any other human being. He felt that in a country such as America, everyone had the right to exercise the rights that were duly theirs by way of the Constitution. He had the courage to stand up to that outside the ring—and inside the ring with his fists.

It would only be justice that the President undo the injustices that were done to Jack Johnson during the early days of professional boxing.

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