THE WORLD'S CHAMPIONSHIP.

Feilding Star, Volume III, Issue 763, 28 December 1908, Page 4

THE WORLD'S CHAMPIONSHIP.

[BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH — COPYRIGHT.] UMSK VKKhb AUBUUIAMOA.j fcjyuney, December 26. Light ram tell in the early morning, but cleared oil' and left a cool dull day. Jb'or hours a stream of traiiic flowed to the stadium, where 20,UU0 gained admission. A huge crowd surrounded the structure, waiting to hear the resuLt, and many hundreds camped in the vicinity through tlio night. The money taken is said to be a world's record tor a prize iight. At a quarter to eleven both men entered the ring, receiving ovations. Burns wore elastic bandages abo.ufc the elbows. Johnson insisted that they should be taken off, and refused to fight unless th© request was complied with. The announcement was received with vociferous hooting. At a quarter past eleven the men faced each other. Burns removed the bandages and the fighting started with a will. Johnson in the first few minutes toppled the champion over. Burns remained down for 8 seconds. . Burns went for the body of his opponent but Johnson, standing erect, was battering his opponent over the kidneys. .. Burns gob Johnson one on the chin. So terrific was the impact that the champion himself fell back from its force, but it did not trouble the giant in the least degree. Eight through the fight, Johnsons coolness was remarkable. Burns was boxing superbly, but any of his blows that got home seemed of no consequence to the black fellow. Johnson made vicious efforts to get his right across his opponent's jaw, but Burns cleverly parried him. Johnson, however, punished Burns's ribs unmercifully, and they soon showed evidence of the treatment. Burns made frequent attempts to reach Johnson's head. One got home, but the black only smiled. In fact, he had a continuous smile on through the contest and^ appeared to take the combat as a joke. It was no joke for the champion, for Johnson repeatedly got heavy body work in. Burns forced the fighting ' up to the fourth round, hut did not damage Johnson, but in the fourth and fifth rounds Burns sustained a lot of punishment. Johnson surveyed him coolly, awaiting his opponent to lead. After several seconds of this, Burns said: "Are you going to fight, you curl" and Johnson's reply was a swing of a terrific left which found a resting place on the champion's stomach. The champion kept going, but his mouth was bleeding. Johnson followed with a I hard one right across the jaw, bringing his right up under Burn's chin. In the sixth round Johnson got a dozen on to Burns's ribs, which had assumed a beautiful pink hue. Burns stepped up to his man gamely. Johnson only smiled, and at every opportunity got home on Burns's jaw. Burns swung a stiff left into- the Mack's stomach several times, but Johnson laughed at the crowd and addressed a few sarcastic femarks to "Tommy." Suddenly he swung his * left viciously to* Burns's body and brought his right over to his head, but Burns got under the blow. Johnson then bustled him to the corner, narrowly grazing the champion's chin with a terrific left. In the next round Burns received severe punishment and his eye got damaged. Johnson found the same spot several times. The fight eased off a bit, Burns apparently tiring. Every time Burns tried to get in a blow, Johnson retaliated disastrously, then, turning to the crowd, shout, cd- "I thought Tommy was a fighter!" After this remark he dealt with Burns's eye again, eventually dropping him with one in the ribs. The champion only remained down a couple of seconds. Johnson, bleeding slightly from his lip, otherwise showed no signs of the struggle. In the ninth and tenth rounds, • the champion freshened tip somewhat, but apparently his blows produced no effect on Johnson, who remained imperturbable, and never missed an opportunity of inflicting punishment. Burns's jaw was becoming a monument to his work, nevertheless Burns , kap.t .at it willingly, although his blows" laclie'd" strength. Several Jieavy- body blows caused Johnson to •stand off, awhile causing Burns to remark: "Why don't you fight!" The eleventh round r however, gave Burns plenty of fighting, and he received the most .of the damage, including a couple of hard blows on t-he kidnej r s. Johnson walked vigorously to his corner, but Burns limped to his. Burns came up to the twelfth round with a badly swollen face, and although he tried to get away, more damage was inflicted on his jaw. Burns got one home on the stomach but received a half dozen on the jaw by way of reply. Burns attacked, but Johnson, fighting steadily, waited for his lead. The men clinched repeatedly in the thirteenth round, but Burns's ribs suffered every time. The fourteenth round was decisive. > Johnson, who had a big advantage in reach, after a bit of sparring, got Burns fairly on the jaw and he "went down for 8 seconds. When he got up he received another on the forehead. The police then stopped the fight, and the referee, Mr H. D. Mclntosh, declared Johnson the winner. The great crowd took the victory lyAs the combatants could not agree as to a referee, Mr H. D. Mclntosh, the fight promoter, appointed himself as he had power to do under his contracts with the contestants in the event of their failing on mutual agreement. Burns, when interviewed after the fight, said: "I did my best. Johnson is too big for me, and his reach is too big for me." Sydney, December 27. Now that the swelling has been reduced it proves that Burns's jaw was not broken as supposed, but his ankle was badly sprained in the fifth round, depriving him of footwork for the remaining nine rounds. San Francisco, December 27. Though there was no great betting there was tremendous interest taken in the result of the fieht in America.