Tommy Burns, born Noah Brusso, nicknamed “The Little Giant of Hanover,” is the only Canadian-born World Heavyweight Boxing Champion.
Noah Brusso was born in Cheskey in 1881 in a German-Canadian family. His family lived in several locations around Ontario’s Grey and Bruce counties. Five of Noah’s siblings died before reaching adulthood.
In 1900 Brusso began his prizefighting career in Detroit, Michigan. He took up professional boxing under the name of Tommy Burns and, although standing only 170 cm and rarely heavier than 77 kg, was a leading heavyweight.
