Inter-Imperial Racial Ideologies and the Quest for Pugilistic Dominance in the British Empire

Moments before Jack Johnson, the first black boxing heavyweight champion was scheduled to fight against Billy Wells, a British white boxer; then British Home Secretary Winston Churchill intervened to stop the fight, fearing the impact the fight would have on the “delicate race relations in the empire.” Throughout the 20th century, boxing had become widely popular among African men in ways which triggered colonial moral panics about the propriety of such a sport among a colonized male African population. In an effort to assert control and remove aspects of the sport that were deemed unsportsmanlike by the settler community, I highlight how colonial governments not only shared ideas on how to control the sport, but also collaborated to craft boxing legislation and enact regulations specifically designed to shore-up notions of white supremacy.

A Black Cultural Explosion: The Rumble in the Jungle, Zaire '74, and Pan-African Legacy

This paper examines, Zaire '74, the accompanying music festival 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" heavyweight boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Set against the backdrop of post-colonial Africa and the global Black Power movement, this event served as a significant convergence of Black American and African cultural identities. By integrating performances from artists such as James Brown, Miriam Makeba, and B.B. King alongside Ali's global celebrity, Zaire '74 became a symbol of transatlantic solidarity.
Through archival analysis and cultural critique, the paper investigates the political motivations of Zairean dictator Mobutu Sese Seko for hosting the event. Additionally, it assesses how Don King's racialized marketing strategies framed the event as a reclamation of African heritage for the African diaspora. This study also contends that Zaire '74 represents an often-overlooked yet critical example of Pan-African artistic and political expression.

Punching Above His Weight: "Tiger Kid" Shaik's Failed Attempts at Bringing Sonny Liston and Muhammad Ali to apartheid South Africa

During the 1960s, Adam “Tiger Kid” Shaik, a black Capetonian boxing promoter, attempted to bring Sonny Liston and Muhammad Ali to apartheid South Africa. At the time, Shaik was the preeminent boxing promoter in Cape Town. Whereas many promoters struggle to churn a profit or regularly stage boxing promotions, Shaik universally succeed at both, despite being black promoter functioned under the apartheid regime (which lasted between 1948 and 1994). Although he was ultimately unable to land delivering Liston or Ali to Cape Town, the sheer fact that Shaik attempted to do so speaks volumes about his ambition.
This paper explores why Shaik believed he could land both fighters and why the apartheid regime and its allies worked against Shaik’s efforts. Relying on archival documents and newspaper accounts, this paper interrogates the significance of Shaik’s failed attempts of bringing these world heavyweight champions during the era of apartheid.