Samuel Edgar Langford (March 4, 1886 – January 12, 1956)[3] was a Canadian boxing standout of the early part of the 20th century.

One boxing historian described Langford as "experienced as a heavyweight James Toney with the punching power of Mike Tyson".

[6] Born in Nova Scotia, his grandfather was a former slave from the United States who helped settle Weymouth Falls.

[7] He made his way to Boston, Massachusetts where he eventually found work as a janitor in a boxing gymnasium at the Lenox Athletic Club.

[8] Langford was a boxer who fought greats from the lightweight division right up to the heavyweights, beating many champions in the process.

Prior to his win, Langford stayed at the Nedlands Park Hotel where he: gave exhibitions of punching the ball, throwing the medicine bag sparring, etc.

After witnessing his exhibition of wonderful foot and head work one could easily understand how the big-little fellow came to lay low the best boxers in the world.

Their bout on November 12, 1907, at the Pacific Athletic Club in Los Angeles was billed as being for the World Colored Middleweight Championship (158  lbs.).

Langford defeated former World Light Heavyweight Champion Philadelphia Jack O'Brien on August 15, 1911, by fifth-round technical knockout.

Langford fought heavyweight Gunboat Smith twice, losing the first by decision (many ring siders were surprised) and winning the second by third-round knockout.

The Boston Globe newspaper reported:[14] "Joe Walcott met his match in a 15-round bout yesterday afternoon in the Massabesic coliseum before a crowd of 1200.

Subsequently, Langford claimed the title during Jeanette's reign after Johnson refused to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against him.

For a year there were two duelling claimants to the world-coloured heavyweight crown, Jeanette, the "official" champ, and Langford, the pretender, the man whom Jack Johnson "ducked".

On September 6, 1910, in Boston, Massachusetts, Langford became the undisputed coloured champ by winning a 15-round bout with Jeanette on points.

Blacks were not given a shot at the title allegedly because Johnson felt that he could make more money fighting white boxers.

In August 1913, as Johnson neared the end of his troubled reign as World Heavyweight Champion, there were rumours that he had agreed to fight Langford in Paris for the title, but it came to naught.

Jeanette criticized Johnson, saying, "Jack forgot about his old friends after he became champion and drew the colour line against his own people.

"[16] When Johnson finally did agree to take on a black opponent in late 1913, it was not Sam Langford, the current Colored Heavyweight Champion, that he gave the title shot to.

Battling Jim fought fellow former Colored Champion Joe Jeanette four times between July 19, 1912, and January 21, 1912, and lost all four fights.

The only fighter of note he did beat in that period was future Colored Champion Big Bill Tate, whom he knocked out in the second round of a scheduled 10-round bout.

According to the New York Times, the coloured champ "won by a wide margin" because Johnson "failed to show anything remotely resembling championship ability."

Battling Jim, who died during Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918, ended with a career record of 30 wins against 31 losses and six draws[18] when his newspaper decisions are factored in.

Looking at his dismal performance with the top black heavyweights of his era and his inability to best a one-armed Jack Johnson, Battling Jim Johnson cannot be considered a top contender of his era or a worthy opponent when Jack awarded him the sole title shot given to a black heavyweight from 1908 to 1937.

In 1915, Jack Johnson lost his title to Jess Willard, the last in a long line of Great White Hopes.

Because of the animosity he had generated combined with the virulent racism of the period, it would be 22 years before another African American, Joe Louis, was given a shot at the Heavyweight title.

Many people consider the failure of Langford to secure a shot at the Heavyweight title one of the greatest injustices of American sports.

Langford fought heavyweight Fred Fulton twice, losing the first by seventh-round technical knockout and the second by a four-round decision.

In 1923, Sam Langford fought and won Boxing's last "fight to the finish" for the Mexican Heavyweight title.

One story characterizing his career involved Langford in a bout where he had been ordered not to throw any knockout punches until after the 7th round.

The column was titled "A Dark Man Laughs" and was written by Al Laney of the New York Herald Tribune.