US president Donald Trump on Thursday issued a posthumous pardon to boxer Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, who was jailed a century ago due to his relationship with a white woman. “I believe Jack Johnson is a worthy person to receive a pardon, to correct a wrong in our history,” Trump said. In signing the pardon, the president cited “tremendous racial tension” during the time Johnson was champion. Actor Sylvester Stallone, famous as the star of the Rocky boxing-movie franchise, and former world heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis flanked Trump for the pardon in the Oval Office. .”In the Oval Office, Trump said of Stallone: “I love his movies.”“This has been a long time coming,” Stallone said, adding that Johnson served as the inspiration for the character of Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies.

Source: The Irish Times May 24, 2018 19:18 UTC