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Johnny Banks

Born 1861

United States

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Biography

Johnny Banks (born December 25, 1861, in Richmond, Virginia), was an African American boxer who fought under the sobriquet "The Darkey Wizard" and was the Negro Middleweight Champion of the World during the mid-1880s. Standing 5'6" tall (some sources claim he was 5'5.5" tall), Banks fought out of New York City at a weight of 128-160 lbs. from 1883 to 1899.

Sources & collection details

Wikipedia contributors — original record ↗

Black heritage reference ↗

Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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