Frankie Burns was middleweight champion of Australia, a good-looking young man of 21, pleasant and well-mannered....and had travelled to England to futher his career.
“I was very shy about boxing in front of a big crowd,” he said. “But I am hoping to make good in England, my ambition being to win the Empire middleweight title.”
After a win against Fred Davies at London's National Sporting Club he got his shot at that title against the formidable Ted 'Kid' Lewis in June 1922.
Four nights before his fight with Lewis (at a large skating rink in Holland Park, near Shepherd’s Bush, in London) he was sound asleep in bed when he was awakened by cries for help. Scrambling out of the blankets, he ran down to the towing path where he saw that two men were struggling in the water beside an upturned canoe.
Without hesitating Frankie jumped in and grabbed one man by the hair as he was sinking. He tried to catch hold of the other without success, so swam back to the bank and managed to pull the half-drowned man out of the water.
He yelled loudly for help then dived in again and searched around for the second canoeist, while his manager danced on the toe-path, imploring him to come out. Only when he knew that there were others to continue the search was Burns persuaded to leave the river.
He was wrapped in a blanket and rushed back to bed. It had been a pretty brave thing for Burns to do, for the Australian had no knowledge of the river currents, nor had he given a thought to the risk he was taking in getting a chill that might seriously interfere with his forthcoming championship fight.
The man he had rescued was Capt. Alphonso Austin Smith who, four years later, was to be acquitted of the capital murder charge in the famous ‘Stella Maris’ murder case.
The Royal Humane Society awarded Frankie a medal, but he should have got one for facing Lewis, who entered the Holland Park ring in a most warlike and destructive mood.
It was the famous crashing, bashing Kid at his very best and poor Burns hardly got a look in. True, he fought gamely and to the utmost of his ability, but Lewis was in championship form and kept his man on the strict defensive from the opening bell.
Try as he might, Frankie could not keep his aggressive rival at bay. Lewis would wade in, swinging with both hands and once he had got to close range, he would pound at the body in non-stop fashion.
These tactics gave the Australian little opportunity to exploit his boxing skill, moreover, although he met the Kid with some well-placed punches as he came in, there didn’t seem sufficient power to stop the Londoner.
After five rounds Lewis had established a long lead, but in the sixth he slowed down from his own exertions and Burns made up a lot of leeway.
He did well in the next two rounds, making Lewis miss with some clever evasive work. But the Kid came to life again in the ninth and suddenly landed a full-arm left swing to the chin.
Down went the Australian to a yell from the fans that drowned the voice of the timekeeper. Frankie was so dazed that he rose without taking advantage of the count and stood there swaying – an open target for a finisher.
In tore Lewis, eager to plant a knockout wallop on his rival’s unprotected chin. But at that moment the bell rang out to end the round and Burns was saved.
But only temporarily! He managed to coast through the tenth, but Lewis gave him no rest and although he escaped another damaging delivery, he was a very weary warrior as he went back to his corner.
The Kid had made up his mind to finish things off and tore into Burns at the opening of the eleventh, working him into a neutral corner. Here he bombarded the Australian’s ribs with some hefty digs from each hand then, as Frankie brought his gloves down to protect his midsection, the Kid switched to the head.
Bang! Bang! Left and right hooks rattled Frankie’s teeth and he fell forward into a clinch. Lewis wrenched himself free, stepped back and then whipped in a right hook that carried his full power and strength.
The punch had ‘winner’ written all over it. Burns staggered three paces sideways, then hit the canvas like a picture falling from a wall.
He crashed on his back, his legs waving convulsively in the air. Finally, the soles of his boots contacted the ring post and he seemed to be trying to walk up it. Burns was out to the wide, yet instinctively he was trying to get away from his rival while upside-down.
There was never a chance of him beating the count and as he finally slithered to the canvas, the Kid walked to his corner and held out his gloves to be untied. He knew it was all over.
It was interesting to note that while Frankie Burns failed in his effort to win an Empire title, his son George Barnes became welterweight king of the Commonwealth.
(by Gilbert Odd)
exceprts taken from 'Story behind this picture – Frankie Burns'...the full story can be read here...
http://blog.boxinghistory.org.uk/2012/06/story-behind-this-picture-frankie-burns.html
