Jack Johnson received a pardon for breaking Mann Act in 1913

The first black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson was posthumously awarded a pardon from US President Donald Trump for violating Mann's Act in 1913. In April, Trump announced that he was considering the possibility of pardoning Johnson, about which he was told by the actor Sylvester Stallone.

Johnson, who died in 1946 in a car accident in North Carolina at the age of 68, completed his career with a record of 73-13-10 and was submitted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He won the unofficial World Heavyweight Championship in 1903, beating Denver Ed Martin on points in a 20-round battle. However, due to race, Johnson was repeatedly denied the opportunity to fight the world champion at that time Jim Jeffries.

Johnson was convicted in 1913 under the so-called Mann Act, which was passed in 1910 and punished for the transportation between states of women for "immoral purposes". A woman, whom he met in 1909 and 1910 testified against Johnson. Despite the fact that the events that triggered the accusation took place before the law was passed, the boxer was sentenced to one year and one day of jail.