Jack Johnson -Tommy Burns December.26.1908

[Brutu]

102 years ago today.
Rushcutter's Bay,Australia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ_Dguh9hEE

[Ilya Muromets]

Extraordinary film - but the announcers were lying. Burns was not defenseless. He was never off his feet. He weighed 168 to Johnson's 212 (Boxrec says 192, the film announcers said 212). Here's the annotation under the fight on Boxrec:

Bout halted by the police, per prior agreement; decision awarded by the referee. Rudy Unholz later admitted to Otto Floto that he and a pal had crawled under the ring prior to the 14th round and shouted for the police to stop the fight. Unholz worked Johnson's corner and had a sizeable sum on Jack winning.

[Ilya Muromets]

Extraordinary film - but the announcers were lying. Burns was not defenseless. He was never off his feet. He weighed 168 to Johnson's 212 (Boxrec says 192, the film announcers said 212). Here's the annotation under the fight on Boxrec:

Bout halted by the police, per prior agreement; decision awarded by the referee. Rudy Unholz later admitted to Otto Floto that he and a pal had crawled under the ring prior to the 14th round and shouted for the police to stop the fight. Unholz worked Johnson's corner and had a sizeable sum on Jack winning.

Boxing has been crooked for a long time.

[dempseyfire]

Extraordinary film - but the announcers were lying. Burns was not defenseless. He was never off his feet. He weighed 168 to Johnson's 212 (Boxrec says 192, the film announcers said 212). Here's the annotation under the fight on Boxrec:

Bout halted by the police, per prior agreement; decision awarded by the referee. Rudy Unholz later admitted to Otto Floto that he and a pal had crawled under the ring prior to the 14th round and shouted for the police to stop the fight. Unholz worked Johnson's corner and had a sizeable sum on Jack winning.

No, Burns was off his feet in an earlier round. There is no controversey here, Johnson dominated the fight (and he did weigh 192 at the weigh-in, Bill Cayton's "Big Fights" commentary is full of factual errors) and was the rightful winner as police intervened when Johnson began ripping Burns apart. And people yell out all sorts of things during a fight, it's not like police would've heard two people shout to end the fight and go "oh, someone wants us to stop the fight, let's go in and stop it . . . "

[Ilya Muromets]

"There is no controversey here"

"Rudy Unholz later admitted to Otto Floto that he and a pal had crawled under the ring prior to the 14th round and shouted for the police to stop the fight. Unholz worked Johnson's corner and had a sizeable sum on Jack winning."

No controversy? As I said, that's the annotation on BoxRec.

"Burns was off his feet in an earlier round"

Where?

Ridiculously biased announcing job - "Burns looks like a little boy", etc.

Johnson displays the usual unsportsmanlike behavior that made him so hated, smirking and chattering throughout.

I just noticed there are two threads on this, both started by the same guy, the other one being longer, but this thread was the first. Maybe someone can combine them.

[Brutu]

The other thread was posted in 2008 and I just bumped it up as it answers a number of questions posed here.
Except the original link to the youtube Johnson-Burns footage has since been removed.
That footage was longer and did not contain the ca.1970 version thats biased and partial, pro-Johnson,anti-"The Man",
commentary that was tacked onto the BIG Fights
version.

[dempseyfire]

"There is no controversey here"

"Rudy Unholz later admitted to Otto Floto that he and a pal had crawled under the ring prior to the 14th round and shouted for the police to stop the fight. Unholz worked Johnson's corner and had a sizeable sum on Jack winning."

No controversy? As I said, that's the annotation on BoxRec.

"Burns was off his feet in an earlier round"

Where?

Ridiculously biased announcing job - "Burns looks like a little boy", etc.

Johnson displays the usual unsportsmanlike behavior that made him so hated, smirking and chattering throughout.

I just noticed there are two threads on this, both started by the same guy, the other one being longer, but this thread was the first. Maybe someone can combine them.

I would highly recommend you read the actual ringside reports instead of stricly gauging from boxrec and your own biases (Johnson was far from being the first nor last boxer to have an ego and talk sh$% in the ring). Burns was down in the 2nd round. And again, it really is of no consequence if Floto yelled for the police to stop the bout . . .who cares? People yell for fights to be stopped all the time. There was a reason police stopped the bout and it was b/c Burns was getting his a$$ handed to him, end of story.

The only "revisionist history" being made is that this fight was at all controversial.

[Brutu]

I think Tommy Burns maybe could have gone the distance with Jack Johnson.

[Brutu]

I think that old ring trick of someone yelling(in a histerical womans voice)Stop the Fight!!!Stop the Fiiiihght!!! stopp!the fight!!
may have been a tatic used in the George Foreman-George Chuvalo bout too.

[dempseyfire]

I think that old ring trick of someone yelling(in a histerical womans voice)Stop the Fight!!!Stop the Fiiiihght!!! stopp!the fight!!
may have been a tatic used in the George Foreman-George Chuvalo bout too.

And the fact both Chuvalo and Burns were getting their brains beat around the ring and offering no punches back didn't factor into the ref's decision . . .

Look at Burns head snap back from Jack's shots in the 14th . . that bout was scheduled, for what, 25 rounds? No way does Burns make it past 15, it would've been a miracle for him to last the 14th as it was . .

[raylawpc]

I think that old ring trick of someone yelling(in a histerical womans voice)Stop the Fight!!!Stop the Fiiiihght!!! stopp!the fight!!
may have been a tatic used in the George Foreman-George Chuvalo bout too.

As I recall, the woman screaming "Stop the Fight!!!Stop the Fiiiihght!!! stopp!the fight!!" was Chuvalo's wife. I wonder how Foreman's people got her to do that . . .

[Ilya Muromets]

The other thread was posted in 2008 and I just bumped it up as it answers a number of questions posed here.
Except the original link to the youtube Johnson-Burns footage has since been removed.
That footage was longer and did not contain the ca.1970 version thats biased and partial, pro-Johnson,anti-"The Man",
commentary that was tacked onto the BIG Fights
version.

Ah so!

[Ilya Muromets]

I think that old ring trick of someone yelling(in a histerical womans voice)Stop the Fight!!!Stop the Fiiiihght!!! stopp!the fight!!
may have been a tatic used in the George Foreman-George Chuvalo bout too.

Ha ha! And then there was that wacky Clay Liston thing, apparently being choreographed by Nat Fleischer, with supporting cast members Joe Walcott and the timekeeper and Liston and Clay. This old fashioned strategy, though, jumping under the ring and screaming out in falsetto, "O, help, police! Stop it stop it!" was funnier, though!

This stuff is funnier than wrasslin'!

[Ilya Muromets]

I think that old ring trick of someone yelling(in a histerical womans voice)Stop the Fight!!!Stop the Fiiiihght!!! stopp!the fight!!
may have been a tatic used in the George Foreman-George Chuvalo bout too.

As I recall, the woman screaming "Stop the Fight!!!Stop the Fiiiihght!!! stopp!the fight!!" was Chuvalo's wife. I wonder how Foreman's people got her to do that . . .

I wonder if I can find that one on Youtube. This stuff is even better than the 3 Stooges -except for that great 3 Stooge show where Curly was a boxer, my favorite episode.