12/27/2023 0 Comments Black boxerStrangely the footage stops too, just as the police enter the ring, perhaps in an attempt to hide the outcome to future audiences. The police eventually called a stop to the fight, suspecting Burns had a broken jaw and many believe to end the spectacle of the now former white champ receiving further punishment. On the other hand a hopelessly outclassed Burns seems grateful for the chance to sit down between rounds and also for the champagne his seconds pour over him and massage into his fast tiring muscles. He smiles and goads Burns while in the clinches. Johnson can be seen toying with Burns over the 14 rounds the fight lasted. Johnson was eventually paid an extra £500.įootage of the fight shows the punters faith in Burns was wildly misplaced. When Johnson saw the size of the crowd he demanded more money from McIntosh who supposedly drew a pistol from his desk drawer and threatened to shoot him. Police used sticks to beat the long grass around the perimeter to roust people hoping to sneak in under the bleachers. When Boxing Day dawned the crowd at Rushcutters Bay was already huge. Burns on the other hand was sketched by artist Norman Lindsay, thoughtful and Napoleonic, sitting in a lounge chair. He was also portrayed as a “capering negro” by the press with equal amounts of fascination and disgust. Johnson was by far the more entertaining subject for the press and was reported engaging in stunts such as chasing a wallaby around an enclosure until the hapless marsupial collapsed from exhaustion. Johnson, who was originally to be paid only £1000 for the fight, took up camp at the Sir Joseph Banks Hotel in Botany while Burns retreated to a cottage at Medlow Bath in the Blue Mountains. Sydney was engrossed in the details of the preparation leading up to the fight. Burns plucked a seemingly outrageous figure from the air, £6000 and was shocked when McIntosh thrust out his hand and the deal was done. “Mac” as his friends called him, asked Burns how much money he would need to fight Johnson. It was only through the intervention of colourful entrepreneur Hugh D McIntosh who changed the course of boxing history when he staged this fight that the line was breached. Heavyweight champions in those days were white, drawing the “colour line” as it was called in their refusal to fight African American boxers. For two years Johnson had pursued Burns around the world attempting in vain to get the champ to fight him.
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