For me, the first black heavyweight boxer Jack Johnston deserves a mention.Private life dodgy, but he had tremendous balls to even appear in a ring at a time when the Klu Klux clan were regularly hanging blacks. Riots would regularly break out when he won.The footage of him outclassing his white opponents with the all -white crowd baying for his blood (literally) shows the sheer courage of the man.
Ali gained inspiration from him, you can hear trainer Bundini Brown shouting 'Jack Johnston in the room' and 'Jack Johnston lives' in some videos of Ali.
Johnston paved the way for black boxers t