yeah, the Corbett fight was three-minute rounds, but the older statistics can be misleading because rounds could last anything from three seconds to half an hour. In Sullivan-Kilrain the first round lasted five seconds, the fight overall two hours and 16 minutes
Damm , so even under those bullshit rules , this fight was almost as long as 4 - 12 round fights put together.
True. Of course, when there were many short rounds in row, the fighters could get a good rest ast there was half a minute betwen all rounds
No. Paddy Ryan was one of the two American Heavyweight Champions. Jem Mace was the other. Although he also held the English Heavyweight Championship, making him arguably the first World Heavyweight Champion, he was mostly inactive. In 1871, at the age of 39, Mace defended the title for almost the last time. For the next 20 years, he toured the world, fighting exhibitions, teaching seminars and making appearances as the World Heavyweight Champion. He finally defended the title again in 1890, against Charley Mitchell, who fought to a "draw" with John L. Sullivan over 39 rounds in a bout billed for the World Heavyweight Championship. I've read newspaper reports, and it's pretty clear that Mitchell deserved the decision. Sullivan showed up badly hung over, and it started raining in the 20th round. The two men fought on, sparsely throwing a punch or two every five or ten minutes, hoping that the other would fall down from the cold. Mitchell was clearly in charge when the bout was halted. That was in 1888. In 1890, the 165-pound Mitchell faced off against the 59-year-old Charley Mitchell for the English Heavyweight Championship. The two wore gloves, and the fight was scheduled for 2-minute rounds. The police intervened after four rounds and declared Mitchell the winner. In 1894, Mitchell fought Jim Corbett for the first undisputed World Heavyweight Championship and lost by third-round knockout under Queensburry Rules.
