History has not
been kind to the only Canadian-born lineal Heavyweight Champion. His physical
and mental humiliation at the hands of the great Jack Johnson in 1908 is all most people
recall when they hear Burns’ name (if they hear his name at all). This
defeat, it seems to me, is a major reason for Burns’ low historical standing:
taking into account the widespread racial prejudice of the early 1900s, it
undoubtedly suited white boxing fans who were disgusted by the ascension of a
black man to the status of Heavyweight Champion to dismiss Burns as a worthless
champion - thus Johnson’s amazing achievement could be denied as much validity
and credit as possible. Burns had failed his 'fellow white men’ and was therefore fair
game to be mocked.
Today, Burns and his
fascinating life and career are definitely ripe for a re-appraisal. An
extensive article in a future volume of Boxiana is going to look at him, and
his time in England more specifically, but for now, here’s four
reasons why Tommy Burns is vastly under-rated ...
1. He was Heavyweight Champion of the whole World and broke
the 'colour bar':
The former might seem a strange statement to make, but
let’s not forget that Burns was a pioneer in spreading the popularity of the
Heavyweight division around the world. Prior to him becoming champ every gloved
Heavyweight Championship contest had taken place in North America – but Burns,
as well as fighting in the USA, also defended his title in England, Ireland,
France and Australia before, of course, also losing his crown Down Under against
Johnson.
Furthermore, unlike his predecessors and some of his
successors, Burns was willing to fight anyone,
as he once stressed: “I will defend my
title against all comers, none barred. By this I mean white, black, Mexican,
Indian, or any other nationality. I propose to be the champion of the world not
the white, or the Canadian or the American. If I am not the best man in the
heavyweight division, I don't want the title.” His motives for giving Jack
Johnson a shot may have been more financial than altruistic or liberal, but
let’s not forget that he did give Johnson
his shot, changing the landscape of the boxing and sporting world forever
and, albeit inadvertently on Burns' part, leading to massive socio-cultural changes and
developments in the USA and beyond.
2. He was a fighting champion:
James Corbett won the title in 1892, defended it in
1894 and then lost it in 1897; that’s three fights in just under five years.
Jim Jeffries was somewhat more active, becoming champ in 1899 and defending a
respectable seven times over the next five years. In contrast, later titlists such as Jess
Willard and Jack Dempsey sometimes went as long as three years without defending
their crown. Burns? He became champ in February 1906 and had a further 12 title
fights before 1908 was over. Such a frenzied schedule was admirable. You could accuse Burns of many things – but
inactivity isn’t once of them. As he once stressed, it was only through
“continual boxing” that a fighter would improve.
3. He was small and brave:
Burns was the shortest Heavyweight Champion of all time, at just 5’7”.
He regularly conceded massive disadvantages in height, weight and reach, yet
was only bested five times (one a newspaper decision) in 60 fights, mainly
against bigger, stronger men. Against Johnson he absorbed fearful and sustained
punishment, and the fight was only halted on the insistence of the police; Burns, although he had no chance of winning, was happy to fight on. The racial
slurs he hurled at Johnson were vile, but Burns had physical courage in
abundance.
4. In the end, he tried to make
a difference:
Accounts of the final few years of Burns’ life are sketchy, but it
seems like he made something of an effort to atone for his hideous verbal
taunting of Johnson. In later years he became an evangelical Christian
minister and self-styled “demonstrator of Universal Love”. He even admitted: “I
actually lost that [Johnson] battle – through hate – before it started. How great is the
power of a man’s thought and feeling to either build or destroy himself.”
The message inscribed on the business card that he
used to hand out while preaching also suggests a radical
transformation from the loud-mouthed vulgarian who had taunted Johnson
remorselessly:
“My philosophy of life for health, wealth and happiness is:
To think constructively. Never worry or become angry. Feel kindly toward all,
no matter what they say or do to you. Silence is a power! Relax; keep smiling.
Simplicity is the keynote to success. You cannot fail if you mean business. Be
calm, weigh every word before you speak. Eat slowly and chew your food
properly. This will give you a good circulation of blood and will prevent all
ailments."
Image courtesy of Champs UK, where you can find this original autographed card for sale
You’re no doubt now wondering where exactly I place Burns in
my all-time ranking of the World Heavyweight Champions. Well, I’ve already
revealed that I rate Hart 37th, Briggs 36th and Leon Spinks 35th, but you’ll have to wait a bit longer to find out where Burns ends
up – some of you may be surprised when it’s revealed.
Thoughts/ comments? Email me at lgw007@yahoo.com
Indicate if you don't want your comments published in future blogs.
N.B. For the purposes of consistency, this website uses the fight records found on BoxRec. I'm aware that, particularly in the era of newspaper decisions, no contests etc there are possible different interpretations / statistics quoted in different sources. Any queries, check BoxRec and then contact me if you have a further query.
Luke G. Williams
Editor
Boxiana
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