Qawi eats burns for lunch, toying with him before knocking him out. Qawi was one of the greatest short fighters I have ever seen, mixing excellent defensive skills and agression with great conterpunching skills. He was like a locomotive train that gradually picked up speed (much like joe frazier but technically much better). Burns would have no answer for this because the fighters he faced wer primative in their skills and didn't punch in combination. No contest at all, and I'm not a racist.
I think you need to go back to the drawing board and actualy study some footage of Burns and the oponents he faced. Of course they punched in combination.
i have saw the burns fights on Youtube and read alot of fight reports but i have only saw a few rounds with qawi in them so i know more about burns but that was stupid of me i dont really know enoguh about any of them
Janitor, I also have been guilty of claiming old time fighters lacked combination punching technique / ability........ NOT ALL!! However, a lot of old timers' did merely throw one or two shots and then hold or regroup...... But from what I saw on my tape of the "Johnson-Burns" fight from 1908, both guys were throwing combination punches against each other.... In fact, since Johnson was so much bigger and stronger, he did a lot of holding, grabbing & shoving against the smaller but stocky Burns..... Cheers..... MR.BILL
Many fighters of that era as you say are obviously from another era. Burns is one who would not look out of place in the 40s.
I would bet on Burns. I like Qawi, but I think Burns would beat him by decision or late round stoppage. I think it would be a great fight to watch!
Tommy Burns was about 180 pounds when he was hammered by Johnson back in '08... But Burns looked solid......... I'm sure Burns could've made 175 at that time, but what about 168? I know Super-Middle was not in existance back then.... Just a thought.... Burns had muscle with no flab...... He looked like a wrestler..... MR.BILL
Burns was inside the LH limit when he successfully defended his heavyweight title against reigning LH Champ O Brien ,so he could have claimed that crown as well.
I'm curious as to how great a LT. Heavy Champ Burns MIGHT have been had he stayed down at 175 pounds.?.? How would've Burns done with post dudes like "Charles & Patterson?" MR.BILL
Agree with most of this. The "didn't punch in combination" part is an overstatement but has way more than a kernel of truth to it. Qawi outjabs, out-counters him, and consistently beats him to the punch while slipping Burns' punches. In my opinion he likely also gets the best of Burns on the inside. Based on what I've seen, it's hard for me to imagine a prime 175-lb Qawi ever losing to Burns
Great comments so far. Hard to pick this one. I lean toward Tommy. His mobility would be a big plus, and he was a really tough dude against anyone his size or even close to his size. He took a punch really well and packed quite a wallop for his size. Intriguing matchup.
I really don't see this one as all that difficult. Qawi was extraordinarily adept at slipping and rolling with punches and therefore extremely difficult to hit flush, even while he was bringing nonstop pressure. It's hard for me to imagine Burns hitting Qawi flush with any of those naked lead rights. Qawi regularly outjabbed bigger, better jabbers than Burns, and could win rounds from distance if he chose. He was excellent on the inside, and threw great uppercuts and short body punches (see his fight against MSM).