You just described Kid McCoy to a T. He was an excellent boxer and a deadly puncher. Plus he was a top ranking heavyweight contender. Sharkey stretched him But what do you suppose Sharkey would be doing while Burns is attempting to punish him? Is Burns now some defensive whiz who would be making Sharkey miss? No. Tom would be clobbering him with his cannonball shots, which were considered some of the most destructive of the day. The man getting hit with the harder shots is going to be suffering the most punishment in this case.
McCoy scaled inside the light heavyweight limit all his career, and for over 50% of it , inside the middleweight.
Joe McAuliffe Steve O Donnell Marvin Hart Jack Johnson Hank Griffin Peter Jackson Klondike Haynes Bob Armstrong Joe Kennedy Paddy Slavin Jake Kilrain Theo Van Buskirk Denver Ed Martin Sam McVey Will that do you?
NO. he was a 156lbs middleweight who had some success against men in the heavyweight division, men who in turn usually were inside the 175lbs limit.
How about for the Choynski fight, two months later when his weight is given as 158lbs? Whatever he weighed he was never a heavyweight.
Only the AP wire report mentioned their weights, other reports (local SF Call, SF Chronicle, non-local Chicago Tribune) didn't mention any weights at all. So I doubt they weighed-in for that one either.
He was a CONTENDER for the HW crown, irrespective of his poundage. He was being considered for a TITLE SHOT. If official rankings existed back then you would have seen his name among the other top contenders.
Despite all of your attempts to argue to the contrary, McCoy was considered a RANKING HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDER at the time Sharkey stretched him, regardless of his pounds. And what does any of this stuff have to do with Sharkey vs Burns?