Tommy Burns was a short, squat, muscular man. In the ring, he was a bouncy,
quick-moving fighter who darted to and fro. He carried a sharp right-hand punch
along with a good left and was willing to trade punches. He was more of a light
heavyweight than heavyweight but was such a gifted hitter that he captured the
heavyweight championship. |
Dan Cuoco, Director of IBRO
(International Boxing Research Organization) wrote (2003): "Tommy Burns
was remarkably fast and a good, solid puncher, standing only five feet
seven inches and weighing between 158 pounds and 184 pounds. His best
fighting weight was 174 pounds. Burns was the smallest man ever to hold
the heavyweight title. During his prime years, 1906 to 1909, he knocked
out a number of fairly good fighters and outpointed all-time great
`Philadelphia' Jack O'Brien in defense of his heavyweight championship." |
Weston and Farhood (1993 p 16) described him as "more suited to battles at
middleweight and light heavyweight, but his quickness and intelligence enabled
him to record a respectable reign." |
Bert Sugar (1982 p 62) wrote that "Most fight fans did not accept Burns" and "his dubious claim to the championship was greeted by an overwhelming apathy that rivaled the sound of one hand clapping." Mullan (1990 p 19) asserted, however, that "Such comments are [...] a shade unfair to a man who, by bringing the title to England, France, Ireland, and Australia, did much to make it a world title rather than just the American championship." |
One reason Burns may not have been very popular was that he refused to draw the line. He fought anyone he thought was deserving, black or white. McCaffery (2000 Introduction) contended: "Burns was one of the most influential athletes of the past hundred years—the man who broke the infamous 'colour line' in big-time sports and the father of the mega-money athletic events we know today. Yet he's been discarded by history, the victim of a cruel and unfair smear campaign that has gone unchallenged for almost a century." He added (2000 p 4), "[Burns] announced he'd fight all comers, regardless of race or religion. 'I draw no colour line, nor bar any man in the world,' he said in a public statement issued at the height of his career." McCallum (1974 pp 62-63) was very critical of Tommy and stated that he was "truly a chump among champs, and a champ among chumps." He went on to say, "While there may be room for argument as to who was the greatest heavyweight champion up to the retirement of Gene Tunney in 1928, there's no question that Burns was the worst." |
But, in fairness to Burns, these men were very tough acts to follow and, over
the years, there have been a number of heavyweight champs who were worse than
those up to the time Tunney retired. As to Burns' competition, a man can only
fight those who are available to fight. |
McCaffery (2000 p 238) pointed out that a look at the records of the champions shows Burns to be "at or near the top of just about any heavyweight record you care to name. He's fifth, for example, in the number of successful title defenses, behind only Ali, Louis, Larry Holmes, and Tyson. He defeated more challengers in the two years and 10 months he held the crown than Sullivan, Corbett, Fitzsimmons, Jeffries, and Hart put together. And those five gentlemen were on the throne for a combined total of 24 years. In terms of knockout victories by a champion defending his title, Burns trails only Ali and Louis. And the Canadian still holds the record for most consecutive knockouts by a reigning champion." |
Tommy began fighting in 1900 as a middleweight and won the middleweight
championship of Michigan in 1902 by defeating the talented Tom McCune. Four
years later he defeated Marvin Hart at Los Angeles to win the most prestigious
of championships, the heavyweight title. He defended it regularly, 12 times
through 1908, until he lost it to Jack Johnson. In his defenses, he scored nine
knockouts. |
During his career, Burns defeated such men as Harry Peppers, Jack Hammond, Jack
Butler, Tom McCune, Tony Caponi, "Cyclone" Kelly, Dave Barry, Marvin Hart,
"Fireman" Jim Flynn, and "Philadelphia" Jack O'Brien, He also had exhibition
bouts with ring legends Jim Corbett, Larry Foley, and Snowy Baker (of
Australia). |
Tommy got his chance at the heavyweight title in 1906 and beat Marvin Hart in 20
rather dull rounds. (Hart was not pretty to watch, but he was tough.) Burns
followed this with a rowdy bout against "Fireman" Jim Flynn that went 15 rounds
before Tommy was declared the winner by knockout. This bout also took place in
1906. |
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Following his bouts with O'Brien, Tommy beat the top-rated Australian, Bill Squires, stretching him out in one round. Then he went on a "lights out" tour of Europe and Australia from 1907 to 1908, where he defended his heavyweight crown and flattened the best he could find, one after another, James "Gunner" Moir, Jack Palmer, Jem Roche, Joseph "Jewey" Smith, Bill Squires two more times, and Bill Lang. Jack Johnson trailed Burns around the world in an effort to get a title bout. Finally, on December 26, 1908, in Australia, Burns met Johnson for the heavyweight championship. It was no contest. Johnson was too big and too good for Tommy. Although the contest lasted into the 14th round, Johnson won easily. He mocked Burns and toyed with him throughout the match. |
Brooke-Ball (1992 p 39) described the bout: "[Burns] put up a courageous fight
but was regarded as a plaything by Johnson, who taunted him with verbal abuse as
well as stinging punches." |
Tommy was a "brainy" man who acted as his own promoter and manager and was
successful later on as a business entrepreneur. Roberts (2003) observed: "Burns
was pretty well off when he first retired, worth the modern equivalent of a
couple of million bucks. He invested some in property, spent lavishly on close
friends, and owned a pub in Newcastle after the first World War. (During the
war, he was a physical-education instructor in the Canadian army.) He tried his
hand at boxing promotion with the tragic Arthur Pelkey vs. Luther McCarty fight. |
Brooke-Ball (1992 p 39) stated that "Burns was a shrewd businessman as well as a
cunning boxer. He had a hand in promoting many of his own championship fights,
and he always insisted on seeing his purse money before he got into the ring
with an opponent. He invested his considerable fortune wisely and became a
wealthy man before being ordained a preacher in 1948." |
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Rex Lardner (1972 p 173) recorded that Burns "was a much better fighter than he
has been given credit for." McCaffery (2000 p 8) called Tommy "one of the best
pound-for-pound boxers who ever lived." |
A splendid book by Dan McCaffery titled Tommy Burns (Canada's Unknown World Heavyweight Champion) covers the life and ring career of Burns. It was published in 2000 by James Lorimer & Company, Ltd., Publishers of Toronto, Canada. |