Peter Jackson (boxer)


Peter Jackson was an Australian heavyweight boxer who had a significant international career. Jackson was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural 1990 class, as well as being the 2004 inductee for the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame in the Pioneers category.

Early life

Jackson was born in Christiansted on the island Saint Croix, which was then the capital of the Danish West Indies. His family originally came from Montego Bay, Jamaica. His father, also called Peter Jackson, was a warehouseman and the grandson of a freed slave who had been owned by a planter with the surname of Jackson. Born a free man, Peter was in principle a Danish citizen before he gained Australian citizenship. Jackson had a good primary school education before becoming a mariner. Originally working on ships as a deckhand in the Sydney Docks since he was 14, he used his fists to quell a mutiny. This garnered him some notoriety and brought him to the attention of Larry Foley which started his career in boxing.

Professional career

Jackson won the Australian heavyweight title in 1886 with a knockout of Tom Lees in the 30th round. Jackson was at one stage a pupil of "The Black Diamond" Jack Dowridge, a Barbadian Immigrant who pioneered boxing in Queensland, Australia. Among Dowridge's other pupils was "Gentleman Jack" John Reid McGowan, a fellow Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee. After establishing his boxing career, and like many of Australia's best boxers of this era, Jackson left for America. He arrived in San Francisco in May 12, 1888. and promptly beat "Old Chocolate" Godfrey to gain the world 'colored' heavyweight championship. During his stay in America, Jackson frequently sparred with Lees. Jackson would become an instructor at the California Athletic Club in San Francisco. He was considered one of the most "scientific" boxers of his day due to his footwork and technical proficiency.
Jackson would once again embark on to strange lands after a year in America, leaving that country for Great Britain. Jackson fought for a 1,000 pounds and the inaugural British Commonwealth title against Jem Smith, winning due to the latter's use of wrestling tactics in the second round. Later that year, during a short stay in Dublin, Jackson challenged anyone to stay in the ring with him for 4 rounds. Local champion Peter Maher, who was 20 years old at the time, was the man who took up his bet. Jackson thoroughly beat him in 3 rounds. Maher would go on to have a successful career, winning over 100 bouts. During Jackson's later years there was talk of a rematch against Maher that never materialized.
Jackson repeatedly tried to secure a fight against world champion John L. Sullivan to no avail. Sullivan cited the color bar as the reason for his refusal, claiming he would never fight a black man. On 21 May 1891, in Benicia, California Jackson fought the future world champion James Corbett. The match with Corbett went 61 rounds before it was declared no contest, as both boxers were too exhausted to continue. Jackson's last defense of his Commonwealth title came against his long-time rival and fellow Australian Frank Slavin. Both Slavin and Jackson had trained under Larry Foley and a real feud had existed between them for several years, due to Slavin's racism and a romantic triangle with a woman named Josie Leon. Although they had brawled before, this was the first and only professional bout between them. After a frenetic start to the fight, Jackson would gain the upper hand en route to a 10th-round knockout of Slavin.
After a long hiatus in which he only took part in exhibitions, he lost a bout to the powerfully built James J. Jeffries. Jeffries was another great boxer who would hold the championship of the world in the early 1900s.

Life after boxing

Jackson gained some fame during his stay in America. He stated his desire to play Othello, but it never came to fruition. However, he starred in a touring production of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Despite his celebrity, Jackson would run into financial troubles following his retirement from the ring. Jackson's health rapidly decayed following his bout against Jeffries, making it impossible for him to box. Several benefits were held in order to send him back to Australia.
Jackson died of tuberculosis in Roma, Queensland and was buried at Toowong Cemetery. A short time after becoming the first black heavyweight champion of the world in 1908, "The Galveston Giant" Jack Johnson, made a pilgrimage to Jackson's grave, a measure of the respect in which the man was held not only in Queensland, but in the boxing community worldwide. Jackson's tomb is emblazoned with the words "This was a man".

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes
71Loss42-5-3 Jim JeffordsTKO4Aug 23, 1899 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
70Loss42-4-3 James J. JeffriesKO2Mar 22, 1899 San Francisco, California, USA
69Win Denny KelliherNWS3Nov 28, 1892 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
68Win42-3-3 Frank SlavinKO10May 30, 1892 National Sporting Club, London, United KingdomRetained Commonwealth heavyweight title
67Win41-3-3 Joe ButlerPTS3Feb 17, 1892 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
66Win40-3-3 Jack KingTKO2Jan 12, 1892 Chicago, Illinois, USA
65Win39-3-3 James DaltonKO3Jan 12, 1892 Chicago, Illinois, USA
6438-3-3 James J. CorbettNC61May 21, 1891 California A.C., San Francisco, California, USA
63Draw Mick DooleyNWS4Nov 19, 1890 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
62Draw38-3-3 Joe GoddardPTS8Oct 20, 1890 Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaRetained Commonwealth heavyweight title
61Draw Martin CostelloNWS4Sep 18, 1890 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
60Win Mick O'BrienNWS4Sep 13, 1890 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
59Draw Martin CostelloNWS4Sep 9, 1890 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
58Draw Martin CostelloNWS4Sep 8, 1890 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
57Draw Mick DooleyNWS3Sep 2, 1890 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
56Draw Mick DooleyNWS4Aug 30, 1890 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
55Win38-3-2 Tom JohnsonPTS4Jul 22, 1890 Marysville, California, USA
54Win37-3-2 "Denver" Ed SmithTKO5May 19, 1890 Chicago, Illinois, USA
53Win36-3-2 Dick KeatingKO1Apr 1890 Louisville, Kentucky, USA
5235-3-2 Jack FallonNC2Mar 04, 1890 Brooklyn, New York, USA
51Win35-3-2 Guy the GypsyKO2Feb 21, 1890 Washington, District of Columbia, USA
50Win34-3-2 James J. WalkerKO1Feb 20, 1890 Washington, District of Columbia, USA
49Win33-3-2 Peter MaherRTD3Dec 24, 1889 Leinster Hall, Dublin, Ireland
48Win32-3-2 W WoodhamsTKO3Dec 2, 1889 Brighton, United Kingdom
47Win31-3-2 Scotchy GunnPTS4Dec 2, 1889 Brighton, United Kingdom
46Win30-3-2 Woolf BendoffTKO2Nov 29, 1889 Portsmouth, United Kingdom
45Win29-3-2 Sailor WhiteTKO3Nov 29, 1889 Portsmouth, United Kingdom
44Win28-3-2 SkinnerDQ2Nov 27, 1889 Plymouth, United Kingdom
43Win27-3-2 Charles BurginTKO2Nov 23, 1889 London, United Kingdom
42Win26-3-2 Horace HorriganTKO2Nov 21, 1889 Astley's Amphitheatre, London, United Kingdom
41Win25-3-2 Jem SmithDQ2Nov 11, 1889 London, United KingdomWon Commonwealth heavyweight title
40Win24-3-2 Alf MitchellPTS4Oct 15, 1889 Astley's Amphitheatre, London, United Kingdom
39Win23-3-2 Alf BallKO2Oct 15, 1889 Astley's Amphitheatre, London, United Kingdom
38Win22-3-2 Jem YoungPTS4Oct 14, 1889 Astley's Amphitheatre, London, United Kingdom
37Win21-3-2 Jack PartridgeKO3Oct 7, 1889 Astley's Amphitheatre, London, United Kingdom
36Win20-3-2 Jack FallonPTS4Aug 19, 1889 New York City, New York, USA
35Win19-3-2 James Ginger McCormickKO2Aug 9, 1889 Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
34Win18-3-2 Billy BakerRTD3Aug 8, 1889 Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
33Win17-3-2 Paddy BrennanTKO1Aug 5, 1889 Buffalo, New York, USA
32Win16-3-2 Tom LynchDQ2Jul 30, 1889 Buffalo, New York, USA
31Win15-3-2 Billy BakerPTS4Jul 29, 1889 Buffalo, New York, USA
30Win14-3-2 George PetersTKO3Jul 25, 1889 Detroit, Michigan, USA
29Win13-3-2 Charles BrownTKO4Jul 11, 1889 Chicago, Illinois, USA
28Win12-3-2 Shorty KincaidTKO2May 11, 1889 Virginia City, Nevada, USA
27Win11-3-2 Patsy CardiffTKO10Apr 26, 1889 California A.C., San Francisco, California, USA
26Win10-3-2 Joe McAuliffeKO24Dec 28, 1888 California A.C., San Francisco, California, USA
25Win9-3-2 George GodfreyTKO19Aug 24, 1888 California A.C., San Francisco, California, USAWon the World Colored Heavyweight Championship
24Win8-3-2 MJ SullivanKO2June 20, 1888 San Francisco, California, USA