Whch other lineal heavyweight champions could Tommy Burns have beaten?

Yes, fighters get injured and often perform poorly afterwards. That is not a legitimate excuse, especially if your opponent caused the injury. By the sound of the NYT, Johnson was lucky to get the draw. He got a gift. The broken arm is irrelevant if Battling Jim caused it. Now, if Johnson entered the ring with it broken, that might be another story, but not entirely.

 

Another report, from L'Humanite


JACK JOHNSON SUR LE RING
------
La chute d'une idole

Le match qui s'est disputé hier soír entre les deux Johnson n'a pas donné tout ce qu'il promettait et le public, quí était venu nombreux pour assister aux débuts parísiens du champion du monde a manifesté bruyamment son mécontentement.

Et cependant, dès son apparition sur le ring, le nègre jaune fit une impression considérable. Bien découplé, d'une structure remarquable, semblable en tous points à celle de cet autre nègre célèbre, Major Taylor, on eut, dès le début, le sentíment qu'il ne ferait qu'une bouchée de son adversaire.

Qaund je relis les notes prises au cours du match, je suis étonné de la différence qui existe entre les premiers rounds et les derniers. A la fin de la première reprise, Jack avait un gros avantage. Bien en garde, son poing gauche en avant, il dominait de sa haute taille son adversaire qui se tenait en garde basse.

Pendant quatre rounds, le champion du monde mena la danse, frappant où et quand il voulait, se contentant de montrer, aux ripostes de son adversaires, son large « sourire doré ».

Puis aux reprises suivantes ce fut au tour de Jim de faire le forcing sans que son concurrent fît grand chose pour l'arrêter et ce fut ainsi jusqu'a la fin où le match nul fut proclamé.

Le public fut ensuite informé que Jack Johnson s'était cassé le bras gauche au cours du combat.

 

Jack Johnson in the ring.
The fall of an idol.
(Paraphraseing in my poor French translation.)
A lot of the crowd were dissatisfied with the champion.
Johnson looked well at the start.
There was a big difference between the first and second halves of the fight.
Jack dominated the first with his movement , his guard and his left.
The next four rounds were similiar. However for the remainder of the tour Jim did the work and so at the finish a draw was declared.
After the contest it was announced that Jack had broken his left arm during the fight.
I think that is the ghist of it but I'm sure Chris(or anyone can do better).
BTW there is a nice photo of Jack, Jim, Sam and Joe (heads)in that paper.

 

Another continuation, from THE Humanite
JACK JOHNSON ON THE RING ------. The fall of an idol
The game that disputed itself yesterday soír between the two Johnson did not give all that it promised and the public, quí had come numerous to attend the at the beginning of parísiens of the champion of the world showed noisily his discontent.
And nevertheless, as early as his apparition on the ring, the yellow black made an impression considerable. Well proportioned, of a remarkable, similar structure in all points to the one of this black other celebrates, Officer Taylor, one had, as early as the beginning, the sentíment that it would do only a mouthful of his opponent.
Qaund I reread the taken grades during the game, I am astonished difference that exists between the first round one and the last ones. At the end of the first return, Jack had a big advantage. Well in guard, his left fist forward, it dominated of his high size his opponent that was held in low guard.
During four round, the world champion took the dance, striking where and when it wanted, being satisfied to show, to the retort of his opponents, his wide one "to smile gilded".
Then to the following returns this was at the turn of Jim to do the forcing without that his competitor fact big thing to stop it and this was thus even has the end where the game no one was proclaimed.
The public next was informed that Jack Johnson had broken its left arm during the fight.

 

Powerpuncher, I love your translation!
"the end where the game no one was proclaimed." Sounds like a draw.
Mendoza, we need you.

 

Why would you be interested in a NYT report(probably a wire) when you have a next day report from the scene by LaFigaro(the NYT of Paris)
What was, was.

 

Hart, Carnera, possibly steal a decision over Baer, Braddock, Johannsson, Leon Spinks, Bonecrusher Smith ... at least a shot against any ...

 

He Grant thanks, forgot what this thread was about.
Would Burns beat any guy under 5-9? Now thats a question. Quai, Thompson,
what height was Bivins? Greb? more?

 

Everyone is of course entitled to their own viewpoint on something like this. I disagree that something as fluky as a broken arm altering a fight really tells us anything about the two fighters involved. Facial injuries or rib injuries due to poor defense and being a "bleeder" is different, but broken arms are so rare I don't see them meaning much.

Interestingly, the ordinary Battling Johnson, who went 19-32 according to boxrec with only 14 ko's in 73 fights, was the beneficiary of broken arms against probably the two best fighters of his era, Jack Johnson and Harry Wills. Battling Johnson does not appear to have been a very good fighter and certainly not an unusually heavy hitter. I have to think these fights were flukes.

 

I have heard tale of this but only from Johnson apologists so I take no heed. The fact that most sources credit the injury from the fights means Battlin' Jim had the better of the action for me.

This means nothing unless you can verify this was an ND fight.

Just another straw on the back of Johnson being an all-time stupendous fighter. He had a lot of lackluster nights regarding which his supporters continue to contort logic to impress us it was either part of Jack's great plan of subterfuge or "The Man's" plan to keep Johnson down. I don't buy it either way. He was better than most of his contemporaries on most nights but not so much better that he could not get caught and caught often enough to prove he was not heads and shoulders above those he of his era.

 

This is a thread about Tommy Burns ,right?
I seem to recall he fought in Dublin once, can't remember what happened.:rofl :rofl :rofl

 

Noah Brusso a.k.a. Tommy Burns (1881-1955) died of a heart attack just shy of age 74.... Fought as a pro boxer for 20 years from 1900 to 1920..... Apparently died broke and was buried in an unmarked grave in Canada. A few years after his death, a fundraiser was held to get the deceased Tommy Burns a headstone..... WTF is up with that? A guy of Burns' stature should not be buried in an unmarked grave due to lack of funding... That's bogus....:bart

MR.BILL

EXTRA:

Canada's government should have paid for the damn stone in the first place...

 

Wait a minute and a half and I'll tell you...

 

Excellent!:good :good :good .ps Only joking Seamus.