Six degrees of separation is a theory that everyone in the world is separated by no more than six social connections.
In other words, you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Queen Elizabeth. Or so the concept goes.
We’re borrowing the six degrees concept – well, sort of loosely – to connect fighters from the past to their more contemporary counterparts in our new occasional feature, “Degrees of Separation.”
Example: Let’s connect Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Super easy; we did it in two steps. Senior fought Grover Wiley, who fought Junior.
In this installment of the Boxing Junkie feature, we decided we’d try to link two of the greatest fighters Texas has produced — Errol Spence Jr. of Dallas and Hall of Famer Jack Johnson of Galveston.
We weren’t sure whether we could do it. After all, Johnson was a heavyweight while Spence is a welterweight. And the “Galveston Giant” was at his peak more than 100 years ago, although he continued to fight until 1931.
In the end, we were able to do it, but it took 17 steps. Have a look:
Jack Johnson fought …
Jess Willard, who fought …
Jack Dempsey, who fought …
Jack Sharkey, who fought …
Joe Louis, who fought …
Rocky Marciano, who fought …
Archie Moore, who fought …
Muhammad Ali, who fought …
Larry Holmes, who fought …
Evander Holyfield, who fought …
John Ruiz, who fought …
Roy Jones Jr., who fought …
Bernard Hopkins, who fought …
Oscar De La Hoya, who fought …
Floyd Mayweather, who fought …
Manny Pacquiao, who fought …
Chris Algieri, who fought …
Errol Spence Jr.
Could you do it in fewer steps? Let us know via Twitter or Facebook. Or you can contact me on Twitter. And please follow us!
Read more:
Degrees of separation: Connecting John L. Sullivan to Deontay Wilder
Degrees of Separation: Linking Filipino greats Flash Elorde, Manny Pacquiao
Degrees of Separation: Linking Japanese greats Fighting Harada and Naoya Inoue
Degrees of Separation: Linking Tyson Fury to first U.K.-born heavyweight champ
Degrees of Separation: Connecting Canelo Alvarez with Mexican legends
Degrees of Separation: Linking the Mayweathers
Degrees of Separation: Linking Manny Pacquiao to Pancho Villa
