ABSTRACT
DISCRIMINATION against Manchester-born boxer Len Johnson because his skin was dark sorely affected his professional career. The larger society must have been ill at ease to restrict free competition in sports. That individuals could compete, on the same terms, at a sport, challenging others in contests arranged within agreed rules and regulations, was a basic egalitarian concept. When people were excluded or penalised, solely because they were of African descent, what was exposed was the bogus nature of imperialism. What divine or genetic gifts enabled Whites to rule humankind if they went in fear of combat on equal and controlled terms? In their discrimination against Blacks in sports the British revealed their insecurity and their ignorance.
