Gorilla Jones was an African American boxer known as "The Fighting Gorilla" who fought out of Alexandria, Louisiana as a welterweight from 1913 to 1924. He may have provided the nickname for William Landon Jones (1906–1982), also known as Gorilla Jones, who was the second black boxer to win the world middleweight title.
Boxing career Jones won on a first round disqualification against Battling Ortega from a low blow in Colorado, Springs on September 1, 1921."Jones Gets Decision Over Battling Ortega",The Billings Gazette, Billings, Montana, pg. 3, 6 September 1921.
On January 6, 1922, Jones defeated well known black boxer Speedball Hayden in a ninth round knockout at Fort Bliss Arena in El Paso, Texas. Jones was favored in the early publicity for his powerful, aggressive infighting, and heavy hitting. Hayden had defeated Jones earlier on April 1, 1921 in Phoenix, Arizona in an eight round points decision. Jones was said to have put up a great effort but Hayden was clearly his master, deserving the decision. On November 25, 1920, Jones lost a fourth round disqualification in Columbus, Ohio, but was reported by the El Paso Times to have knocked Hayden to the mat four times prior to the foul.Bran, Sargent Jim, El Passo Times, El Paso, Texas, pg. 10, 1 January 1922
Taking the world colored welterweight championship, February, 1915
Because of the color bar in pro boxing, Jones never competed for the world title which was not open to black boxers during his career. He won the World Colored Welterweight Championship from Eddie Palmer, the inaugural champion, in a twenty round points decision in New Orleans on February 15, 1915, though he apparently never defended it.
On February 21, 1922, he met future world middleweight champ Tiger Flowers, the first black boxer to win the world welterweight title, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico for the Southwest Middleweight Championship. He lost in a fourth round knockout of a scheduled 15-round bout. A few sources report that Jones lost via a ninth round T.K.O.
Jones had a career record of 18 wins and 17 losses. He was knocked out ten times and had two draws.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes37Win18–17–2Tim KellyPTS4Dec 29, 192236Loss17–17–2Tim KellyPTS4Dec 15, 192235Draw17–16–2Johnny BurnsPTS4Oct 26, 192234Loss17–16–1Lee AndersonKO3 (12)Aug 15, 192233Win17–15–1Sonny GoodrichTKO7 (12)Jun 2, 192232Loss16–15–1Billy BrittonTKO12 (15)Apr 25, 192231Win16–14–1Eddie McGovernPTS4Apr 20, 192230Win15–14–1Kid ReeseKO2 (4)Mar 17, 192229Loss14–14–1Tiger FlowersKO9 (15)Feb 21, 192228Win14–13–1Speedball HaydenKO9 (15)Jan 6, 192227Win13–13–1Chihuahua Kid BrownKO3 (?)Oct 9, 192126Win12–13–1Battling OrtegaDQ1 (?)Sep 5, 192125Win11–13–1Chihuahua Kid BrownTKO5 (15)Aug 17, 192124Win10–13–1Leo MatlockKO6 (15)Jun 19, 192123Draw9–13–1Andy Kid PalmerPTS15Apr 17, 192122Loss9–13Speedball HaydenPTS8Apr 1, 192121Win9–12Sunny Jim WilliamsKO5 (10)Jan 14, 192120Loss8–12Andy Kid PalmerPTS10Dec 11, 192019Loss8–11Speedball HaydenDQ4 (?)Nov 25, 192018Loss8–10Battling GaheeKO15 (15)Sep 18, 192017Win8–9Battling NorfolkPTS15Jul 16, 192016Loss7–9Battling NorfolkKO5 (20)Apr 21, 192015Loss7–8Young Kid NorfolkTKO9 (15)Jan 5, 192014Win7–7Eddie PalmerPTS15Oct 31, 191913Loss6–7Sal CarloKO1 (4)Oct 2, 191912Win6–6Jack MitchellKO12 (20)Mar 14, 191711Win5–6Hock BonesTKO11 (20)Mar 2, 191710Win4–6Jamaica KidPTS15Apr 18, 19169Loss3–6Eddie PalmerKO8 (?)Apr 1, 19168Loss3–5Kyle WhitneyTKO8 (20)Mar 18, 19157Win3–4Eddie PalmerPTS20Feb 15, 19156Win2–4Eddie PalmerPTS20Jan 23, 19155Loss1–4Eddie PalmerPTS10Dec 20, 19144Loss1–3One Round CharleyTKO7 (10)Feb 11, 19143Loss1–2Young Tommy ColemanPTS10Dec 12, 19132Loss1–1Kyle WhitneyPTS8Jul 14, 19131Win1–0Kid SylvesterKO2 (8)Jun 02, 1913
References