Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1908-05-23
BURNS STAR DODGER
Small Chance For Go Between Champion and Johnson Abroad.
WILL PROBABLY FIGHT HERE.
Big Negro iieavywe ight Pugilist's Ir!p to England Avails Him Nothing. Foxy Tommy Has Cleaned Up Ov2i $6OO00 Abroad.
By THOMAS |. CLARK.


 Since his arrival oil the other side of the ocean pugilst Jack Johnson manager. sam Fitzpatrick, has been working overtime to try to get Cham pion Tommy Burns to consider Il match with his prOtege but so far there has been nothing doing. II i> announced that the English sportsmrn have lost much of their admiration for Burns. owing to the fact that he k asking prepoSterous terms From th" fight promoters of that country. But that does not ftaZc the new cliampiU1 heavyweight to any great extent He is out for the money only. Burns cares little for the glorieS of being chaln pion He is q particularly hard heaGol business man. keen for every pcnn# to be made in the ring or in any side issue connected with boxing or prize fighting. The best offer which has been made for Il fight bet Weeu himself and the negro in England is a purse of &150OO Foxy Tommy lau&lS at this proposition, aS he demands #;i1, OOO win. lose or draw, for nretia Johnson.
 The demands of Burns are eNactjn&.
 il iS true, but no one can hl3He liu for trying to get all he can for EgIu ing so tough Il man as .JohnSUn and he certainly would be foolish to tackle the latter for purse of $l5.HO4 when they can get at least doHblr chat amount fer il fight on tie Pacific coast Considering those matters, il S most unlikely that Burns and Johnson Wi!I come to% stt5rr on tha other side Hn!
 il is Hlm04f cettain that il tl,ey eyer de fight ii wifi be in Il ring pitched either in California or elos,. to ~olue o; thr mining camps in the NeEasla gold regions Many of the Pa@iii~;ie s>!iar!s Ayre an,l abroad a'r' ponnti,i- intlA:s | bo,-a1S1 he refuses to nl.e1 Johnson for Il il,9se of Sl5,@H II k hH,l to imagine why Eurn> >tloui,ln'; refuse. Foxy l ptHlay tltS citail,'e! up more than S,UBa ia tir s3,l six months l ahread
 A share of a Sl1,UtV l,urs. for fight ing Il big heavyweight and Il danger ouS one is a good joke. II k par ] ticuiarly good one in vie" of the fact that both Jim Coffroth of California, 1 and Tex Rickaru of Nevada have oi fered just double that amount for the fight with Johnson. Burns, like any other man of sense, wants al! the money he can command for his serv ices. He would be a simpleton to fight Johnson for a $l5.OO0 purse when il Is only necessary for him to trave! about ten days to reach a battle-ground that offers twice as much money for the bout. Burns will fight Johnson, but he will clean up all the easy money in sight before he tackles the big ne. gro. There may be some question as to Burns caliber as a fighter. but there is not the slightest doubt that when it comes to the business aspects of the game he is In class by himself Billy Neil tells story about Tommy Burns. Tommy has a great trick of finding out all about any man he meets before getting into the ring with him. When Burns and Neil first arrived in England, Moir was about to give box ing exhibition at Wonderland Burns was anxious to see him box and get il line on his action. So on the night Of the exhibition he bought rough suit of clothes and q cap and sneaked out of the hotel in disguise. Neil accom- panied him. In the arena they sepa rated. and Burns went up into the gal lery and, sliding into a seat in the baCl. row, huddled down and kept still. Moil' came out and boxed. and Burns watch ed every movement keenly. All around him the cockneys were discussing the 1 newly arrived American.
 "Why," said one, "Moir I! ave is | bloomin' block knocked hoff wen 'e meets Burns
 l Burns. still unrecognized, turned around and grinned. "Moir II murder 'lm," he said in his best imitation of the English lingo.
 "Wot?" yelled the eockney. "Wot do you know about Burns. you 'alf grown 1 rotter:"
 Burns isn't 'alf as big as the Gun
 ner," explained Tommy. IFS a little fellow like me-
 The cockney grinned derlsiyely. "I.t-
 tie your grandmother" he said. "Ui'vH
 seen picters of i'm. Bli' me. 'E's a>
 big across the back as bloody he.e
 phant. Ell knock Moir's block of
 mark my words
 Burns still argued, and the cockney | I.>Il f> Ssv>ry