Joe Gans

CTL-E-6875 · Person · other · 1874–1910

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07747 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-6875.

Joe Gans (1874–1910), born in Baltimore, Maryland, and known as "the Old Master" for his scientific, studied style, became the first Black world lightweight champion on May 12, 1902, when he knocked out Frank Erne in one round at Fort Erie, Ontario — the International Boxing Hall of Fame recounts that Gans had analyzed Erne's left jab for two years after losing their 1900 title bout on a cut eye, and BoxRec confirms the 1902 knockout that won the championship. The Hall of Fame calls Gans the first native-born Black American to win a world title. He defended the lightweight crown through the decade, most famously beating Battling Nelson on a 42nd-round foul at Goldfield, Nevada, on September 3, 1906, before losing the title to Nelson in 1908 while already ill with the tuberculosis that killed him in 1910. His birth name is itself contested: Gans himself said his right name was Joseph Gant, misprinted as Gans by a reporter, while some later sources give Joseph Saifus Butts; both are recorded, not blended.

The record

• Also known as: Joseph Gant, Joseph Saifus Butts, The Old Master

Notes

Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0440. Firsts disposition: 'First Black world lightweight champion' (1902) ASSERTED — supported by the International Boxing Hall of Fame and BlackPast, with BoxRec confirming the May 12, 1902 title win over Frank Erne. Flags: birth name contested and shown unblended — Joseph Gant (Gans's own account, per BoxRec) against Joseph Saifus Butts in some later sources; career win totals also vary by source, so no single total is asserted in the description. The task brief's 'born Joseph Gant (1874–1910)' matches the stronger-attested line. Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Gans studied opponents the way chess players study boards, in an era that demanded Black fighters be merely brave. The 'Old Master' nickname is the record's verdict: mastery, not spectacle, was his weapon. Photo: CLEARED — Joe Gans 1903.jpeg, Public domain.

Relationships

• Baltimore, Maryland — from
  Joe Gans was born in Baltimore, Maryland (November 25, 1874) and began his professional career there.

Sources

• International Boxing Hall of Fame. "Joe Gans." International Boxing Hall of Fame (inductee biography, excerpted from The Boxing Register). Accessed 2026-11-03. http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/oldtimer/gans.html (primary source · build store)
• BoxRec. "Joe Gans." BoxRec Wiki. Accessed 2026-11-03. https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Joe_Gans (build store)
• BlackPast. "Joe 'Gans' Gant (1874–1910)." BlackPast.org. Accessed 2026-11-03. https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/gant-joe-gans-1874-1910/ (build store)

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Record CTL-E-6875 · Combined Graph record U-07747 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 3 sources · 1 mapped relationship.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.

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