Will President Obama Issue Posthumous Pardon for Nation's First Black Boxing Champ?

Oct. 21, 2009— -- President Obama has the opportunity to lift the legacy of the nation's first African-American heavyweight boxing champion, Jack Johnson, off of the canvas.

Johnson held the prestigious heavyweight title for nearly seven years, but the toughest punch he took may have come from the nation's justice system.

Nearly a century ago, Johnson was sentenced to prison for his public affairs with white women, but his biggest crime may in fact have been his years of dominance in the ring against white men.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., have led the effort in Congress to get a posthumous pardon for Johnson, who they say was railroaded by racism and jealousy over his athletic prowess.

The two boxing enthusiasts have worked together for several years to get a resolution supporting a pardon for Johnson. This year, for the first time, the measure passed both the House and Senate.

Now the decision rests with Obama.

The White House declined to comment on the Johnson issue, saying it does not comment on any pardon requests, but McCain said he is confident that eventually Obama will issue the pardon.

"It was a miscarriage of justice and one that deserves to be corrected," McCain told ABC News. "It was a stain on our national honor."

King echoed that sentiment.

"This is long overdue," King told ABC News. "We can rectify that and we should rectify that."

The resolution states Johnson should receive a posthumous pardon "to expunge a racially motivated abuse" by the justice system from the "annals of criminal justice in the United States."

It says that the charges against Johnson were brought up "clearly to keep him away from the boxing ring where he continued to defeat his white opponents."

"A terrible wrong was done to him," King said. "He was unjustly prosecuted, unjustly convicted. He was basically destroyed at the height of his career."