Tommy Burns v Sam McVea 1908

To be frank:

Sam Langford was able to better McVea, but he had the worst of the early showing, and he was frankly much more physical than Burns!

According to the punch tests of the era, McVea hit harder than Jeffries, and harder than Fank Bruno, if you accept cross era comparisons!

I think it is fair to say that McVea would be motivated for such a fight.

I pick McVea if a gun is to my head!

 

Its bull **** from the Johnson hater. Burns was 171lbs for Moir and 172lbs for the 1st Squires fight.
After the fight Burns said ,"No,there is no one man in sight with a chance against Johnson,he is sure to hold his position for a long time if he takes after himself."

 

Burns was 171lbs for Moir and 172lbs for the 1st Squires fight,He trained like hell for Johnson.

 

It is clearly mentioned in:

Tommy Burns: Canada's Unknown World Heavyweight Champion by Dan McCaffery.

To paraphrase for the book, those at ringside felt Burns was yellowish looking and sick.

Kevin Smith, an author, and expert in early black prizefighters mentions it as well

 

McCaffrey is a hack of the worst order, there are so many inaccuracies in his bio comic of Burns its laughable.
Kevin Smith never said Burns had jaundice. Burns was a hot betting favourite! If he looked sick the odds would have gone out!
Burns never claimed to be ill for the fight and Pollack doesnt mention any illness .Everyone knows you do this periodically to try and diminish Johnson's win over Burns its really tiresome and very old misinformation now.

 

Stop lying, Kevin Smith did say there was evidence Burns had jaundice. Other boxing historians, some of whom might have passed said the same thing at the dead as a doornail Cyber Boxing Forum. How much the illness played a factor, I don't know.

The writer of the book did research. You might like reading it, as he talks about Johnson stuffing his crotch area in his pants and walking his pet panther.

As usual, you ask for a source. Often I produce it, then you desperately try to shoot down the soruces, even though you have no real account.

 

I've read McCaffrey's comic it is plain awful and it gave me great pleasure to pan it on Amazon. He knows nothing about boxing and precious little about Burns. Kevin Smith never said Burns had jaundice nor did anyone else including Burns himself! Johnson never owned a panther, where do you get this BS from?
McCaffrey said Burns defended his title against a South African,a Jew and a Native American,he also said Burns broke Johnsons ribs.All four statements are false. Johnson went for a swim after the Burns fight, take it from one who has suffered the injury,you dont go swimming with broken ribs!
I know hate can alter peoples perspective, but it has really terminally warped your mind!You need to seek medical help!

 

It's pathetic, how you can't accept a top historians opinion on the matter, and " attempt " to shoot down sources that you don't like at all costs.

Kevin Smith flat out said there is evidence likely that Burns had a Jaundice. Note how you trust his words? Get some help, if its possible at your age.

One thing we both likely agree on, Burns, all 5'7" 168 pounds of him is Johnson best overall win.

 

To be fair Grantlee Kieza wrote a book about Australian Boxing history which featured the Burns-Johnson title fight and it also quoted accounts that Burns looked jaundiced going in. Whether they were hyperbole as the Jack London ring side accounts offer (which his book drew heavily on) or fact I can't say. But Burns looking jaundiced was mentioned in this.

I doubt it makes a difference either way. Johnson was too big and talented for Tommy Burns every day of the week.

 

Show us the quote from Smith.

 

The reports say he had a yellowish looking tinge and that he had shown it before other fights I believe for one of the Squires fights?
Anyone who has ever had jaundice, or had a close friend/relative with the affliction as I have ,will know there is absolutely no way they would be engaging in strenous athletic activity whilst suffering from it!

 

Which of Smith's books have you actually read?

 

Yeah I don't really buy it either.

It's a bit like when people say Azumah Nelson had malaria when he fought Jeff Fenech the first time. I caught malaria in Asia years ago and there is no way in hell you could get out of bed let alone step into a boxing ring and go 12 hard rounds with an animal like Fenech. It knocks the absolute stuffing out of you.

 

Burns as champion and a close friend of the promoter /referee McIntosh would never have gone through wth the fight had he been sick.He gave public workouts up to a couple of days before the fight and the reporters and public were very impressed,,impressed enough to make him a hot favourite.Mendoza is a phobic Johnson hater, and will try any means to disparage him,he has been doing this **** for years!