Ethnicity:
He was identified in contemporary boxing accounts as a Black or African American boxer.
Cecil Lewis Thompson was born on August 17, 1904, in Los Angeles, California. His father trained him and considered “Cecil” unsuitable for a professional fighter, leading him to adopt the name Jack. Because another boxer already used that name, he became known professionally as Young Jack Thompson.
Thompson became a professional boxer in 1922 and competed primarily in the welterweight division. His early career included bouts throughout California and against established opponents such as Joe Dundee, Jackie Fields, Young Corbett III, and Jimmy McLarnin. In August 1926, he knocked out reigning welterweight champion Joe Dundee in a non-title bout contested above the welterweight limit, so Dundee retained the championship despite the defeat.
On May 9, 1930, Thompson defeated Jackie Fields by a fifteen-round decision in Detroit to win the world welterweight championship. Contemporary accounts described the victory as a major event in boxing history because Thompson became the first Black welterweight champion since the early years of the division. He lost the title to Tommy Freeman by decision on September 5, 1930, then regained it from Freeman by an eleventh-round technical knockout on April 14, 1931.
Thompson made further non-title appearances during his second reign. Lou Brouillard defeated him in October 1931, ending the reign, and Thompson continued boxing until announcing his retirement on June 2, 1932. His documented professional career is generally described as extending from 1922 to 1932 and included victories over numerous leading welterweights of the period.
Thompson defeated Jackie Fields by a fifteen-round decision in Detroit on May 9, 1930, becoming world welterweight champion and one of the first Black champions in the modern history of the division.
He regained the world welterweight championship from Tommy Freeman with an eleventh-round technical knockout in Cleveland on April 14, 1931.
During his professional career, Thompson defeated several prominent welterweights, including Joe Dundee, Jackie Fields, Tommy Freeman, and other leading contenders of the 1920s and early 1930s.
