John L. Sullivan Born of Irish ParentageOn May 1881 on Hudson River: John L. Sullivan fought John Flood the Bullshead Terror on a moonlit barge towed a few miles up the Hudson River, outside the jurisdiction of the New York City police. The match was fought with skin tight gloves in front of the usual crowd of working class men, urban dandies, and professional gamblers. John L. Sullivan born from Irish parentage easily won the fifteen minute fight by either knocking or throwing down his opponent in each of the eight rounds. From this fight John L. Sullivan was set up for a championship fight match with Paddy Ryan. On the 5th of February 1882 just outside of New Orleans, John L. Sullivan fought the American champion, Paddy Ryan. John L.Sullivan won on a 9th round knockout that took less than 11 minutes. Paddy Ryan; " In the audience there were two famous faces. The James brothers "Frank and Jesse James. John L. Sullivan was much too strong and hit me as if he held a telegraph pole." Ryan seconds threw in the sponge after their fighter was knocked senseless. The challenger John L. Sullivan threw his hat in the ring first, then sat waiting for twenty minutes, wrapped in a blanket, until the champion arrived. John L. Sullivan Faced The SunNext the fighters arbitrators was pedantic over the selection of who was to be the referee until a final negotiation with two unknown men from the crowd. Paddy Ryan won the toss for choice of ground and made John L. Sullivan face the sun. The champion then offered the Boston Boy a side bet of one $1000.00 John L. Sullivan covered the wager. The fighters then stripped, shook hands, and toed the scratch. The fight only lasted nine short rounds. Paddy Ryan managed to avoid Sullivan until the 7th February 1882. Their fight was originally scheduled for New Orleans, but was moved at the last minute to Mississippi. John L. Sullivan Toured the World Performing Boxing Exhibitions From the 7th February 1882 John L. Sullivan of Boston USA had fought and won his fight against the Irishman, Paddy Ryan, A fight that Sullivan won by a knockout in the 9th round that took less than 11 minutes. John L. Sullivan went on a monetary gains tour as he spent the next five years making money off being the boxing champion without putting his title at risk. In England, prize ring devotee John Sholto Douglas, the ninth Marquees of Queensbury, agreed to sponsor a set of rules, written by Arthur Graham Chambers, to cover gloved contests. These new rules were first put into practice in 1867 in the first Queensbury Amateur Tournament and since no prize money was involved it was not subject to the anti-prize fight statute. His five years away from competitive professional fights in the boxing ring was spent touring countries around the world and only doing exhibitions fights to make extra money to fill his pockets without having to face any serious challenge for his title in exhibition matches John L. Sullivan Was a Quite Popular PersonalityJohn L. Sullivan fought Charley Mitchell, who claimed the British championship. This was a gloved bout. The police stopped the fight when Mitchell started taking bad punishment as Mitchell was badly beaten. Later, Sullivan went on tour and offered $1000.00 to anyone who could stay four rounds with him. This made John L. Sullivan very popular. Soon after tournaments offering cash prizes for contestants sprang up in the 1870's. James J. Corbett, known as Gentleman Jim, upset John L. Sullivan for the World Heavyweight Championship on the 7th September 1892 in New Orleans, La. The bout was fought under the Marquis of Queensbury Rules James J. Corbett showed that innovative footwork and boxing skills could overcome the raw brutal power and the Samsonmised typed strength of John L. Sullivan when Corbett knocked out the defending World Boxing Champion in the 21st round. |
John L Sullivan America's First Real SuperstarJohn L. Sullivan was a boxing legend. He is credited as being the first heavyweight-boxing champion of the world. John L. Sullivan was a commercial phenomenon; It is estimated that Sullivan cleared between $80,000 to $100,000 during one of his tours of the United State between 1883 and 1884. on the 9th of December 1887, John L Sullivan met with the Prince of Wales, who was to be the future King Edward VII, of England at the nearby Fencing Club. The Prince of Wales in maintaining a long history of royal benevolence towards boxing and other sports, presented John L. Sullivan with a matching set of emeralds. John L. Sullivan was the link between old style bare knuckle fighting and modern glove fighting under the Queensberry rules he was the first great American sports superstar. | |
