On May 26, 1914, White fought reigning champion Willie Ritchie for the World Lightweight Championship in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in a ten round no decision bout. Though the vast majority of newspapers, including the "Milwaukee Free Press" believed White had won the match, according to the law of the Wisconsin Boxing Commission, White could only take home the championship by knocking out Ritchie. In one of his most complete victories, "The Los Angeles Times" wrote that White "defeated the champion (Willie Ritchie) so decisively that even the most prejudiced person in the world could not fail to see that he was master." Ritchie himself admitted that "White did not beat him by a wide margin", implying that his opponent had won the fight. The "Boston Globe" gave White five rounds, with only two for Ritchie, noting that White had nearly knocked out Richie in the first round. In the final rounds, particularly the tenth, Ritchie was taking most of the punishment, as White increased his winning margin. White's greatest error was his inability to follow up and end the fight after he staggered Ritchie in the first round, but when fighting a world champion a follow-up knockout can be a challenging task. In the second and third, Ritchie was able to ward off the blows of White, and some reporters credited him with only these two rounds. White was said to look far fresher at the end than Ritchie who had both eyes nearly closed, and suffered from serious damage to his face and nose.