The Topeka state journal., 1908-11-24
Johnson BURNS.
Date of Dec, 26 Has Been Set
for Their Clash.
First Heavyweight Champion
ship in Australia.
DOPE ON FIGHTERS.
Burns Is Game and Clever, But
Can He Wins
If Negro Is Game There's Moth
ing Else to 1t.

Two pugilistic idols have been shat
tered this year, and a third champion
may lose his crown before the end of
1908. Battling Nelson wrested the
lightweight title from Joe Cans and
Bill Papke defeated Stanley Ketchel
for the middle weight championship.
Tommy Burns, the present heavy
weight champion, will battle Jack
johnson for the championship of the
world in Australia, on December 26.
This will be the first worlds chamion-
ship heavy weight battle ever staged
in the Antipodes.
1t will also be the first battle for
the championship that has attracted
general interest since Jim Jeffries
wrested the title from Bob Fitzsim-
mons. While generally acknowledged
as the best big man in the game today,
Burns has no clear title to the cham
pionship. The retirement of the un-
defeated Jeffries left the title open
Jefries handed it over to Marvin
Hart, but he couldn't beat drum, and
when Jack O'Brien defeated Bob Fitz-
simmons he claimed the title. Burns
then vanquished O'Brien and fought
championship of the world.
After whipping Squires, Burns went
TO England, beat Jack Palmer, "Gun-
ner" Moir, Jem Roche, the Irish
IOcre British fighters. While Burns was
climbing to the front, Jack johnson,
the gigantic Texas dinge, places him
self under the management of Sam
who handled Peter Jackson and Geo.
Lavigne in their palmy days.
Fitzpatrick took Johnson to Austria
liza and the big black wiped up the
floor with everything that looked like
a heavyweight fighter in the land of
1he kangaroo. In the meanwhile
Tommy Burns had been "cooping the
candy" in punches in England Fitz-
patrick challenged Burns on behalf of
johnson, but Tommy ignored John
sons defy
Then Fitzpatrick took johnson to
England and tried to make Burns
fight. Burns "hiked' out of England
shortly after Fitzpatrick and Johnson
arrived in Tommy Atkins's land, and
hied himself to Australia Fftz and
the big coon" followed Burns to the
Antlpodes and finally forced Tommy
70 make a match or acknowledge that
he was afraid of the negro.
Tommy Burns Is Game.
Burns's courage has never been
questioned by those who know him.
He lodged fight with johnson as
long as he could for the very excellent
reason that the negro has a good
chance to beat him, and he wanted to
earn all the coin he could before tax
ing chance with Fftzpatrick's prot
ege.
The negro towers above Burns in
height and will outweigh him from 25
to 80 pounds, when they enter the
roped arena. Then he has the best
of the reach, and altogether, looks to
be about as formidable a gorilla as
any white man would care to tackle
With his huge size and reach, the ne
gro has the craft and cunning of a
fox, and is rated as most clever
boxer and ring general Fitzpatrick
has taught him all the tricks of the
game and will be at the ringside to ad-
wise him when he faces Burns.
Johnson's last fight in this country
was with Bob Fitzsimmons in Phila-
delphia. They were to nave gone six
rounds. but Johnson beat the lanky
Cornishman to a frazzle in two rounds
He was all over F1tz from the time the
gong sounded and literally smothered
the former champion. Bob never had
q look in. The big smoke rained
blows on his head, neck and body un-
iii poor Bob tottered around like
drunken sailor. He never laid one
good glove on the big black. People
who witnessed the bout say that it was