[1][2][3] Gans was rated the greatest lightweight boxer of all time[4] by boxing historian and Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer.

However, in their rematch two years later at the International A.C. in Fort Erie, Ontario, Gans knocked Erne out in one round to convincingly take the world lightweight title.

Erne fell slowly to the floor with his mouth and nose bleeding, rolled over on his stomach, and was counted out before he could attempt to regain his feet.

On January 6, 1902, Gans defeated the former world welterweight champion, Canadian-born Eddie Connolly, in a five-round bout at the Washington Sports Club in Philadelphia.

One reporter noted that Connolly "did nothing but hug and wrestle, adding variety to his performance in the third by deliberately trying to butt the Baltimorean [Gans]."

By the time the referee ended the bout in the fifth round, Connolly had been "rendered practically helpless" by the powerful punching of Gans.

In an important title defense, he defeated the "Durable Dane" Oscar "Battling" Nelson in 42 rounds on September 3, 1906, in Goldfield, Nevada.

On September 15, 1905, Gans fought to a 15-round prearranged draw[clarification needed] with future Welterweight World Championship claimant Mike "Twin" Sullivan.

[12] A bronze statue of Joe Gans stands on the suite floor at Madison Square Garden, having previously been outside of the locker rooms.

[15] Gans was rated the greatest Lightweight boxer of all-time by boxing historian and Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer.

The articulation of the black quest for social equality reached large audiences through the pulpits, and the most authoritative sermons were published in newspapers and religious quarterlies.

[17] The Gans-Nelson battle in Colma, California, was the subject of a four-reel motion picture that played in major cities around the country.

[citation needed] Ernest Hemingway utilized Joe Gans as a character in his 1916 short story "A Matter of Colour.