Gorilla Jones ("The Fighting Gorilla")

Gorilla Jones was an African American boxer known as "The Fighting Gorilla" who fought out of Alexandria, Louisiana as a welterweight from 1913 to 1924. He may have provided the nickname for William Landon Jones (1906–1982), also known as Gorilla Jones, who was the second black boxer to win the world middleweight title.

Because of the color bar in pro boxing, The Fighting Gorilla never competed for the world title. He did win the World Colored Welterweight Championship from Eddie Palmer on February 15, 1915, though he apparently never defended it.[1] On 21 February 1922, he met future world middleweight champ Tiger Flowers, the first black boxer to win the title, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico for the Southwest Middleweight Championship. He lost via a K.O. in the fourth round of the scheduled 15-round bout. (Other sources report that The Fighting Gorilla lost via a ninth round T.K.O.)[2]

Jones racked up a career record of won 18 wins (ten via K.O.) against 17 losses (he was K.O.-ed ten times) and two draws.[3]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Eddie Palmer		 World Colored Welterweight Champion
February 15, 1915 - Unknown 		Succeeded by
Cocoa Kid

References

  1. ↑ "Eddie Palmer". Cyber Boxing Zone.
  2. ↑ "Tiger Flowers - Record". BoxRec. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  3. ↑ "Gorilla Jones - Record". BoxRec.


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