[Commemorative Boxing silk] Gunner James Moir HeavyWeight Champion of England matched to box Tommy Burns of America for the Heavy Weight Championship of the World and £2300... at the NS Club Dec 2nd 1907.

Silk scarf, centred with a half length portrait of the tatooed James Moir, surmounted by the crossed flags of Great Britain and the USA, with descriptive text and green, wavy border.

900 by 900mm (35½ by 35½ inches).
NB. this item is Unframed - framed image shown in room setting is for reference only

Moir’s fight with Burns was the first Heavyweight world title fight to be held outside the USA. Burns won and went on to fight, and lose against Jack Johnson in Australia in 1908. Burns was the first white fighter to agree to fight the African-American Johnson.

In later years Moir wrote an instructional book ‘The Complete Boxer’, published in 1930. At retirement he took up acting and appeared in several films in the 1930’s. Tommy Burns, though at one time a wealthy man, lost it all in the Great Depression and was buried in a paupers grave with four people attending the funeral.

It is interesting to note that had Burns been around now he would be small man in Heavyweight division. For example Tyson Fury stands 14 inches taller than Burns did, has an eleven inch longer reach and would have outweighed him by approximately 95 pounds.

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