John Henry Lewis was born in Los Angeles, California, United States, the son of Mattie Foster and John E. Lewis, a well-known boxing trainer. Lewis was raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where he excelled at basketball, baseball, football, swimming, and tennis. His great-great-uncle was Tom Molineaux, a New York City black recognized as the United States' first boxing champion in 1809.
Lewis's initial ambition was to be a Methodist minister, but after training in a Phoenix gym run by his father, he made his professional boxing debut in 1931 at age seventeen, knocking out his first nine opponents. One fighter, Sam Terrain, died shortly after a fourth-round knockout by Lewis in Prescott, Arizona. Lewis won his first major fight when he beat future heavyweight champion James Braddock in San Francisco on Septembe 21, 1932. He remained undefeated until decisioned by Maxie Rosenbloom in San Francisco on November 16, 1932.
Despite occasional defeats, Pacific Coast boxing authorities regarded Lewis as an up-and-coming star. He acquired a manager, Gus Greenlee, a black numbers operator and owner of the Pittsburg Crawfords, a top Negro Baseball League team. In 1934, Madison Square Garden in New York City signed Lewis for three bouts within a month. The first was against Braddock on November 16, 1934. At twenty-nine and with his upset of Max Baer for the heavyweight championship still eight months in the future, Braddock was considered too old and slow for the flashy Arizonian. But the veteran Braddock knocked Lewis down in the seventh round and hung on for a decision after ten blistering rounds. Lewis won the next two bouts at the Garden, then won nine more bouts in the next seven months before losing again to Rosenbloom in Oakland and Abe Feldman in New York City in July 1935. Lewis took a 40--7 record into the ring on October 31, 1935, in St. Louis, when he met Bob Olin for the light-heavyweight title.
Lewis won the championship in a grueling fifteen-round slugfest. He made very little money from the bout, however, and had to contribute $5, 000 toward Olin's purse. Lewis's schedule accelerated in the next two years. He lost a nontitle bout with Rosenbloom on November 29, 1935, in San Francisco, then took a bum-a-week tour, fighting overmatched or faded professionals. Between his winning of the light-heavyweight title in October 1935 and his match with Joe Louis for the heavyweight championship on January 25, 1939, Lewis boxed fifty-eight matches, winning fifty-two. In this thirty-nine-month period, Lewis entered the ring at least every three weeks. He defended his title successfully against Jock McAvoy, Len Harvey, Emilio Martinez, Al Gainer, and in a rematch with Olin. Only in the battle against Gainer, who was also black, did Lewis earn as much as $7, 000.
He then traveled to England where he received much larger purses. In London, in November 1936, Lewis outpointed the English fighter Len Harvey. Lewis used a two-fisted approach to batter his game opponent. Lewis's biggest problem was a bad eye, due to a cut suffered in training for which he wore a plaster. Five feet, eleven inches tall, Lewis was a natural 175-pounder, but enjoyed consistent success against larger fighters. Greenlee hoped that some of Lewis's speed and cleverness would challenge Joe Louis for the heavyweight crown. Neither fighter was keen for the bout because they were close friends outside the ring. Their trainers, Jack Blackburn and Larry Amadee, often worked together. Louis was now the world champion, having devastated Max Schmeling in the first round of their famous rematch on June 22, 1938. At 180 pounds and suffering from declining eyesight, Lewis was not an equal opponent for the Brown Bomber. Lewis wanted to get out of boxing, but needed a big purse. The fight was scheduled for January 25, 1939. Mike Jacobs, promoter for Lewis, kept the Garden prices low, fearing that white boxing fans would avoid the all-black bill. In fact, it was the first meeting between blacks for the championship since Jack Johnson and Jim Johnson fought to an eight-round draw twenty-six years before. The Garden sold out despite odds of 8-1 favoring Louis. John Henry Lewis, weighing in at 180 pounds, was far more nervous on the scales than the champion Joe Louis, who weighed twenty pounds more. Jack Blackburn, a long time trainer for Louis, advised him to be merciful and end the fight quickly. Louis knocked his friend down three times in the first round before referee Arthur Donovan stopped the fight after two minutes, twenty-nine seconds. A check of the motion-picture record revealed that Louis connected with thirty-nine punches, mostly right-hand smashes, while Lewis was able to land but three feeble jabs. After the fight, the New York State Athletic Commission stripped Lewis of his light-heavyweight championship for avoiding opponents.
Despite his near-blindness, Lewis tried unsuccessfully for a rematch and repeatedly refused to defend his light-heavyweight crown against Tiger Jack Fox of Spokane, the number-one challenger. The New York State Athletic Commission declared the title vacant on July 27, 1939. Lewis failed a physical for a match in London after the fight physician declared his left eye nearly blind. The National Boxing Commission in America then forced Lewis to retire. After leaving boxing, Lewis lived in Berkeley, California, working on construction projects. He gained wide respect as a community spokesman. He died in Berkeley.
He was a member of the Methodist church.
Lewis was married to Florence Anita (Reid) Lewis. They had two children.
