Joe Gans was lightweight boxing world champion from 1902 to 1908.
Known as the “old Master,” Gans is regarded as pound-for-pound one of the greatest boxers that ever lived. He is the first native-born African-American to win a world boxing title.
Born in 1874, Gans began is boxing career in Baltimore in 1891. Known for his scientific and analytical approach to boxing, Gans studied his opponents’ style, their strengths and weaknesses, and then developed a devastating counter-attack. Gans was said to deliver a punch as strong as a mule’s kick with pin-point accuracy.
Near the peak of his career and fame, Gans developed tuberculosis and died in 1910.
Here is a Joe Gans tribute video that was posted to YouTube:
Here is Gans’ 1907 fight with Kid Herman: