Unable to find a suitable venue McIntosh leased land at Rushcutters Bay and constructed a stadium, initially conceived as a temporary structure. That fight was between Tommy Burns, and the Australian Bill Squires. It was quite a feat for Hugh McIntosh, with little experience as a boxing promoter, to have conceived the idea of staging a heavyweight title fight in Australia to coincide with the arrival of the United States Pacific Fleet, the ‘Great White fleet’ in August 1908. i Nevertheless, America had been home to the world championship fights so far.
National Library of Australia vn2227362īy 1908, boxing was an established sport in Australia – officers of the NSW ‘Rum’ Corps were known to have staged bare-knuckle bouts between convicts in the early history of the colony, and by the start of the 20 th Century, boxing bouts were being held in Australia, Australian boxers were travelling overseas, and bare-knuckle fighter Larry Foley had a well-known academy of Scientific Boxing at the back of the White Horse hotel in George Street, Sydney. The eventĬover - Souvenir of the Tommy Burns - Jack Johnson boxing contest the Stadium, Sydney. He represents a class in himself.' Sydney Morning Herald Īustralian promoter and ‘entrepreneur’ Hugh McIntosh had pulled off holding an event of unprecedented significance in Australia, and the Sydney Stadium (roofed over in 1912) was to become an iconic Sydney boxing and entertainment venue until it was demolished in 1970. 'Johnson won in every department of the game and at every stage of the fight. World’s First Black Champion” – the article went on to report that The Sydney Morning Herald headline on Monday 28 December, 1908 was succinct: “ Johnson Wins.
“Boxing in Australia : fighting for equality”, The National Library of Australia Magazine, September 2015. 'The bout turned the world on it's head it was one of the most important moments in history when African-American Jack Johnson, the son of former slaves, battered the white Canadian Tommy Burns for the world heavyweight title, then the most cherished prize in the sporting world.' Kieza, Grantlee. In what proved to be a one-sided fight, Jack Johnson was declared the winner in the 14 th round of the fight, becoming the first African-American to win the world heavyweight boxing title.
The fight captivated the world - it was the first time that a black fighter had fought for the prestigious title. On 26 December 1908, an open-air structure of timber and iron in Rushcutters Bay, Sydney, was host to what was, at the time the largest sporting event in Australia’s history: the fight for the boxing World Heavyweight Title, between Canadian Tommy Burns, then Heavyweight Champion of the World, and challenger for the title, African-American Jack Johnson.
World Heavyweight Championship title fight
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