Fights of the Century
Decade
by Decade - Part I
1900 – 1909:
Jack Johnson vs. Tommy Burns
(December 26, 1908)
By
Michael Lamkin
FightBeat.com Staff Writer
In the early 20th
century, black fighters were allowed to participate, but never in a
championship fight. The thought of a black man as “ the World’s Heavyweight
Champion” was unthinkable for white society.
“White America’s” worst
fears about the black man were all embodied in Jack Johnson --
brash, outspoken, controversial. He was a pariah. He thumbed his nose at
convention.
James Jeffries
refused to face Johnson for the title, or any black, during his undefeated reign
as heavyweight king. Although he fought a number of blacks before he won the
crown, Jeffries steadfastly refused to grant a title shot to any fighter of
color. There’d been an unwritten rule, dating back to John L. Sullivan:
No black will ever fight for the title!
Marvin Hart
(who’d beaten Johnson) won
the vacant title in 1905, when Jefferies retired. Hart lost a unanimous
decision to Tommy Burns seven months later, in 1906.
Burns wasn’t keen on facing
Johnson, either. So, Johnson showed up at all his fights, hoping to embarrass
him into accepting his challenge.
To sidestep Johnson, in 13
months, Burns fought Bill Squires three times. A groundswell built for
Johnson. Sports writers across the country increased the pressure on Burns.
After being guaranteed a
$30,000 payday, Burns finally agreed to face Johnson, who got $5,000.
The fight took place in
Sydney,
Australia on December 26,
1908. Burns was criticized by everybody – including the great “John L.” – for
agreeing to the match. But Burns couldn’t turn down the staggering sum.
The fight wasn’t
competitive. Johnson dominated from the start, beating Burns to the punch,
landing at will. When it seemed Burns would crumple, Johnson eased up to
prolong the punishment.
Johnson waited a long time
for the opportunity; he savored every moment. When he got bored toying with
Burns, Johnson taunted him, ‘Is that all you got, Tommy? You punch like a
woman, Tommy.’ When Johnson grew tired of that, he turned his jibes on the
white hecklers at ringside. He laughed at the 20,000 in attendance, and made
them like it.
 Johnson’s
punches began to take a heavy toll on Burns; both his eyes were nearly swollen
shut and his mouth was pulverized. As Johnson prepared to finish him in the 14th
round, the police entered the ring, calling a halt, stopping all filming. No
black would be shown knocking a white man out.
Columnists wrote that blacks
shouldn’t hold-up their heads because of the victory…It was an aberration -- a
temporary setback for the “superior” white man.
Only the haters bought into
it. It didn’t change the facts: Johnson was the first man of color to win the
heavyweight title. But he didn’t curry favor in the black community. He was
indifferent to “furthering the black cause.” His cause was Jack Johnson. But,
he still lifted the spirit of every black man.
The backlash against Johnson
was enormous – lynchings, race riots. The cry went out to bring Johnson down,
to find a white fighter to “reclaim the glory” of the title. As famed author
Jack London wrote, beseeching Jim Jefferies to come back and save the white
race:
‘Jim Jeffries must now
emerge from his Alfalfa farm and remove that golden smile from Jack Johnson’s
face…Jeff, it’s up to you. The White Man must be rescued.’
The search for the Great
White Hope began.
Johnson’s unrepentant reign
caused so much upheaval, 29 years elapsed before another black would be allowed
to challenge for the heavyweight title. (Joe Louis, against James
Braddock in 1937).
Jack Johnson didn’t make a
mark…he turned heavyweight boxing and America on its ear.
****
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