Jack Johnson, the first African American to win the World Heavyweight
Title, followed champion Tommy Burns around the world in order to
procure a fight with him. The tour stopped in Sydney, Australia,
where, under the promotion of Hugh McIntosh the fight was arranged.
The date was set for December 26, 1908 and was held in the morning so
as to not interfere with the afternoon racing crowd. Burns was small,
but tough and had vast experience before and after winning the title.
It added up to little against the bigger, stronger, quicker, Jack
Johnson. Johnson played with Burns for 13 rounds before stopping him
in the 14th. Jack Johnson had the coveted title and the world saw a
new face on boxing. This is the official program to the Johnson-Burns
bout in 1908.The program measures 5 1/2 inches by 8 1/8 inches. The
program contains 83 pages! There has been some restoration to the
front cover which included cleaning and some touch up to prior
spots. The back cover has some minor rust color staining. The inside
shows some very minor spots on a few pages. The book has a tight
spine and there is no writing anywhere on the program. One of the
rarest and most desirable of heavyweight championship programs.