Cecil Lewis "Young Jack" Thompson (August 17, 1904 – April 11, 1946) was an African American boxer who twice held the World Welterweight Championship. He was the first African American to gain the World Welterweight Championship. Born Cecil Lewis Thompson, his name was changed when he decided to become a professional fighter. His father, who was training him, did not think "Cecil" was a fighter's name, so he chose "Jack." To avoid confusion with another fighter named "Jack Thompson," his father decided to use the ring name Young Jack Thompson.

Boxing career

Thompson became a professional fighter in 1922. He reeled off a series of wins, but also had a draw and a loss to future welterweight champion

Young Corbett III Ralph Giordano (born Raffaele Giordano, May 27, 1905 – July 15, 1993), better known as Young Corbett III, was an Italian-born American boxer. He was the World Welterweight Champion in 1933 and the NYSAC Middleweight champion in 1938. A tough S ...

. In 1928 he fought the welterweight champion,

Joe Dundee Salvatore Lazzara (August 6, 1903 – March 31, 1982), better known by his boxing alias Joe Dundee, was an American boxer. ...

, in a bout over the welterweight limit so that Dundee's title was not at stake. He knocked Dundee out in the second round. In 1929 he received a shot at the vacant

National Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

title stripped from Dundee. However,

Jackie Fields Jackie Fields (Jacob Finkelstein, February 9, 1908 – June 3, 1987) was an People of the United States, American professional boxer who won the World Welterweight Championship twice. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Fields as the #19 ran ...

beat him in a ten-round decision for the belt. In 1930 Thompson lost to

Jimmy McLarnin James Archibald McLarnin (19 December 1907 – 28 October 2004) was an Irish professional boxer who became a two-time welterweight world champion and an International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee. McLarnin has been referred to as the greatest ...

but, in his next fight, won the welterweight title by beating his old rival Jackie Fields. After four non-title bouts (including a loss to Young Corbett III), Thompson put his title on the line against Tommy Freeman in September 1930 and lost it by a fifteen-round decision. Freeman gave Thompson a rematch in April 1931 and Thompson regained the title by a twelfth round technical knockout. Thompson again fought a series of non-title bouts. In one of them he lost to

Lou Brouillard Lucien Pierre Brouillard, better known as Lou Brouillard, (May 23, 1911 – September 14, 1984), was a Canadian professional boxer who held the World Welterweight Title and a version of the World Middleweight Title.

. That loss prompted a match at the welterweight limit with Thompson's title at stake. Brouillard once again beat Thompson, ending his second reign as champion. He continued fighting until he announced his retirement on June 2, 1932. He died on April 11, 1946, of a heart attack in Los Angeles.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
Cyber Boxing Zone biography
* https://titlehistories.com/boxing/na/usa/ny/nysac-wl.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Jack 1904 births 1946 deaths Boxers from California Welterweight boxers American male boxers World boxing champions World welterweight boxing champions

Boxing career

Professional boxing record

See also

References

External links