VS I've never seen Sullivan fight but legend has it that he beat up 30 guys on a single evening. Sullivan KO 2
:: :: At least show a pic of Sullivan when he was prime. Sullivan was like bare knuckle champ for over 10 years and in his very last fight way past prime , he was finnally KO'd in the 21st round . IMO Lennox would pumble him but , you must admit just fighting 21 rounds against someone with no gloves on is an amazing feat in itself regardless the competition. I mean never mind fighting on even terms with someone , even if you are battering your opponent , doing it for 21 rounds is just crazy. I wonder if Lennox could spar for 21 rounds even against inferior competition?
Here is another Sullivan fact. Sullivan became world heavyweight champion in 1888 when he defeated Charley Mitchell in France, or the following year when he knocked out Jake Kilrain in round 75 of a scheduled 80 round bout. Who the fuck can fight 75 rounds ????????????
can you imagine if you had to sit through a fight between john ruiz and henry akinwande for instance...scheduled for 80 rounds :eeeek:
That doesn't even tell half the story. Sullivan was suffering from scurvy and had gangrene eating away at one of his armpits that night. His horse died of starvation so he had to walk 180 miles in the snow with no shoes to the barn where they held the fight.
:: :: You forgot how 3 of his fingers and 1 ear fell off from frost bite. Seriously though , thats incredible to KO someone in the 75th round. This fight took place in France and is well documented so its legit.
:: imagine the pre fight predictions..Ruiz "I"m gonna take him out early..he's not in my leauge...it's gonna be over before round 30"
John L. Sullivan was kind of like a drunken Mike Tyson. He was good at taking people out early, but after a few rounds, he kind of faded into mediocrity. Although Tyson's power tended to fade as the fight went on, Sullivan was always capable of knocking his man out. Sullivan might take out Lewis early, but Lewis would have a solid advantage for rounds 5 to 12 or 15. In reality, this really pushes the limits of a mythical matchup. Using modern rules, Lewis would win. Using London Prize-Ring Rules or early Queensbury Rules, Sullivan would probably win. This is like asking who would win, the Brazilian National Soccer Team or the New England Patriots. They're really two different sports. Sullivan was good at taking people out early, and Lewis was prone to be taken out early, but that's the only solid comparison we can make between the two.
Let it be known my money would be on Lennox for sure but , how do you know he faded after a few rounds ? He won the title in round number 75 by KO That doesn't sound like fading to me. Also the last fight of his career he lasted until the 21st round before getting stopped under Queensbury rules. Anyway , whatever Sullivan was in real life , I would say for sure he could definetly punch well and fighting bare knuckle , I would say he was a pretty tough guy. Here is some more info. Sullivan went on a barnstorming tour and fought 50 men, knocking out 49. Only Tug Wilson lasted the distance. Sullivan reportedly had at least two more tours, knocking out 50 men on one, and 29 in the next.
True, and Sullivan's punching technique there looks very odd by today's standards. As for the fight, I have a little problem with the picture there is in this hread, that leaves me suspicious. Had it been a drawn pic, it would be Sullivan in two (seconds)
:: Thats called pacing himself , not fading ... Back then there was no round limit so one must be very carefull not to gas out to soon.
There was a definite difference between the way he fought the first three or four rounds, and how he fought the rest of the fight. He sure wasn't pacing himself in the Charley Mitchell draw.
I can't say because I have never seen JLS but , I just find it hard to imagine that someone who won a title in the 75th round fades early .:: I'm sure you could understand my thoughts on that. ::
That was under LPR rules. Different system. Look it up. Every time a knockdown is scored, the round ends. The fighter has 30 seconds to toe the line. Basically, here was Kilrain's fight strategy: He knew that Sullivan tended to fade , so his strategy was to make the fight last as long as possible. He spent the whole fight running from Sullivan. Sullivan was drunk off his ass, and he puked following the 44th round, but he managed a comeback. In the latter part of the fight, every time Sullivan threw a single punch - or even looked like he was going to - Kilrain went down, ending the round. Finally, Kilrain's corner threw in the sponge, right after the beginning of the 76th round. Prizefighting was still illegal, and Kilrain and Sullivan were each sentenced to 12 months in jail. But back then, you could just pay a bond to keep from serving your sentence. Three years later, Jim Corbett used the same tactics to win the American Heavyweight Championship from Sullivan. He later became the first World Heavyweight Champion. Second, Kilrain, the fighter Sullivan "beat" for the title, was no World Champion. Some idiot from the Police Gazette began caling Kilrain the champion to get Sullivan to fight him, even though Jem Mace still held his version of the English/American Heavyweight Championship. Sullivan is only considered the American Heavyweight Champion by most historians, while Jim Corbett became the first World Heavyweight Champion by beating Charley Mitchell (who had beaten Mace) after beating Sullivan, unifying both branches of the American Heavyweight Championship with the English Heavyweight Championship.
I think Sullivan beat Paddy Ryan to be announced as a world champion. Ryan had had one fight before he faced Sullivan but some reporter called him a world champ. Sullivan then went on to fight Mitchell and Kilrain
Good info. I didn't know a new round was started after a KD. Just a question though , I thought the 21 round fight against Corbett was fought under the Queensbury rules ? If so , 21 rounds is quite a distance even if they didn't fight hard all the rounds. Good info. :clap:
