["Boxing", The Western Mail (Perth, WA), Saturday 02 January 1909, page 37]
BOXING.
THE WORLD'S CHAMPIONSHIP.
A BITTER STRUGGLE.
BURNS OUTCLASSED.
In fourteen one-sided rounds, in all of which he had prevailed, Jack Johnson, the coloured champion, defeated Tommy Burns, the holder of the world's boxing championship, yesterday morning in the presence of 16,000 persons, the house running into £26,000, at the Stadium, Rushcutter Bay. Except to those who had seen the remarkable capacity of Burns for taking punishment in his fight with Squires the issue was not in doubt from
the first clash of blows. Within five seconds of the commencement Johnson slipped Burns a nasty right uppercut on the chin, knocking him down and keeping him on the floor for 6 seconds. A few moments later he sent the champion to the boards again, and from this out Burns was hopelessly outclassed. Every round terminated in favour of the negro, and long before the police entered the ring in the fourteenth round and compelled a cessation of hostilities Burns was plainly a beaten man. Throughout, he displayed the courage and capacity for taking punishment. Johnson, throughout fought a fair and manly battle, albeit it was contested by both men in accordance with the American practice of hitting freely, in clinches, but unfortunately his fine boxing was disfigured by a display of bombast that is happily seldom seen in any sporting arena. Johnson was greatly the superior of Burns; in fact, it seemed possible that he could have beaten him in half the time had he so chosen. Instead of doing so he protracted the combat apparently that he might enjoy the discomfiture of his opponent and protract as far as possible the pain he inflicted on him. He kept up a running fire of remarks either directly insulting to Burns or intended to express indirect contempt. Throughout the contest it was manifest that Johnson was fighting something besides the short game Belgian-Canadian, who took the blows showered on him, and came for more until his face resembled something that was scarcely human. It was an ethnological struggle as well as a boxing contest, and the white man's burden was too great for Burns to carry. From the beginning to the end Burns did not get what is known as a look-in. As he pre- vailed over Squires by a system of in-fighting new to Australia so did Johnson beat him by the same tactics, and as far as out-fighting was concerned Burns could not reach the negro. The hits he aimed fell short, and the only effect was to cause a broad grin from a mouthful of gold teeth and either an invitation to show what he could do or a nod to an imaginary acquaintance in the crowd. "Come on, Tommy," smiled Johnson, "I thought you were a great in-fighter." "Tommy, let's see what you can do." "Huh! who's going to get off the sidewalk of Broadway now, eh, Tommy?" "Aint I clever, eh?" The last to the crowd, and though everybody present was agreed as to his cleverness it was plain that not an admirer present thought Johnson half as clever as he thought himself. For twelve rounds the fight continued, with Johnson in the ascendant, and still ascending. His im mense reach enabled him to reach Burns in vulnerable points, where the smaller man would have been powerless. For instance, when in holds he was able to deal severe blows on Burns's head with his right hand shot from beneath Burns's left elbow, or he would swing a heavy slap with his right hand over Burns's back. Burns got in a few short hits on the negro's body, but they lacked force, and in the words of nearly everybody present the whole contest was just what might have been expected had the contestants been a man and a schoolboy. Johnson simply toyed with Burns, and the latter was beaten at every point of the game. Up to the twelfth round Burns, despite his terrible punishment, was remarkably fresh, and his foot work, was delightful, although it was marred by a strain to the ankle in the fifth round, but towards the end of the round Johnson roughed him into a corner and delivered three swinging blows in succession. Tho fight really ended in the thirteenth round. Johnson opened by scoring with solid face and body blows, followed by half a dozen of his favourite slaps over the lower part of the back. Then Burns clinched for safety, and as they broke he swung a strong left on Burns's ear which sent him staggering, and, seeing his advantage, Johnson dashed in and before Burns could shape again delivered the left on the abdomen, and one of his clever right crosses on the jaw. Burns shook to the feet like a reed in the wind. His knees trembled and the negro swung another solid left on his neck. There was a clinch and a breakaway, and as Burns seemed likely to fall from sheer weakness the gong sounded and saved him. In the interval the police officer and Dr. Maitland were seen in consultation, and the moment the fourteenth round opened the former moved up to the ringside. Johnson lost no time, and as he hit Burns a light blow on the head they clinched. When the referee, Mr. McIntosh, broke them Burns swayed on his feet like a drunken man. Johnson stepped in and measured him and swung a heavy blow on his ear. Burns dropped his hands. He was like a condemned prisoner awaiting the headsman, and Johnson appeared just as resolute. With all his force he threw in blows of great weight. One would have knocked Burns down, but before he had time to fall the impact of the other made him recover his balance. Then a third party took a hand in the affair; the law stepped into the ring in the person of a police officer.
