Wills fought 38 black opponents in a row...

I believe Jim Cameron was also black.

No idea as to why he fought 39 black opponents in a row though, maybe it was to do with where he was fighting?

 

Easier to find black opponents, easier to put money in his pockets and food on his plate.

 

Many of the old time black fighters fought each other several times. 38 black fighters in a row is odd. Perhaps the negative vibes from Jack Johnson had something to do with black and white matches that were not title fights?

 

Due to the racist politics of the time White fighters were unfairly excluded from major contests,this gave Wills the excuse not to meet them.
A shameful episode in America's pugilist history,who knows how good some of the white guys , of" Paleface Row" , might have been given the chance ?

 

:good

 

It tells you that he man was ducked by white fighters , period. He did not only fight black fighters for the higher paydays since there were none.

 

He kept fighting the same few guys. 38 fights in a row, how many different fighters ? 8 or 9, I think.
That's probably not as unusual as it sounds. In those days, there was a lot of multiple matches between the same fighters.
Look at Ted Kid Lewis and Jack Britton in the same era.

 

"Harry Wills and Jim Cameron, a pair of negro heavyweights, did the castle walk, the tango, the hesitation and every other kind of a dance last evening at Dreamland rink. They had been billed to box four rounds, but there was not enough boxing in the twelve minutes to make either of them draw a long breath."

 

Sounds awesome !

 

repeat

 

It is obvious that he was ducking white fighters.