John L Sullivan gets a pass on the color line. In this case, yes

Godfrey would have made a good adition to Sullivan's resume, but I don't think he is exactly a Harry Wills figure for the era.

Another fight that the police cheted us out of, was Sullivan Fitzsimmons.

 

Gopdfrey was good, he beat Denver Ed Smith, Joe Lannon, Patsy Cardiff and Jack Ashton, all top ten'ish guys at the time. He drew with O'Donnell but was KO'ed by Maher when past his prime. Also lost after good struggles to Jackson, Kilrain and Choynski. A top gatekeeper of the era, a la Chuvalo.

 

Tell us more.....

 

Beat me to it.

 

Sullivan was due to fight Bob Fitzsimmons on July 5 1897, but the police intervened to prevent it.

Sullivan would obviously have been a shell, and would almost certainly have lost.

This fight probably would not have told us much about Sullivan or Fitzsimmons, but it would have told us a bit about Corbett.

 

It was Australians he avoided.

 

I dont know if you could say Sullivan would have almost certainly lost. He maintained that punchers chance. Fitz was a lot easier to hit than corbett and sullivan could still hit as shown years later in the mccormack fight.

Iget the feeling this would have ended up a staged 4 rnd draw. If it was all in, what do you think a Sullivan KO would tell us about him.

 

I suspect that Sullivans reflexes would have slowed, and Fitz would have just picked him apart.

If I am wrong and Sullivan wins, then it ends any question of whether he or Jeffries was better prime for prime, and Corbetts stock goes through the roof.

If Sullivan looses but makes it competitive, then again you would have to wonder what he does to these guys in his prime.

 

That era (1880's) barely qualifies as boxing imo. It was more like organized street fist-fighting.

 

Depends what you mean.

It was a chaotic period, when the sport was in transition from illegal bareknuckle fighting to legal gloved fighting, and the direction that it would take was uncertain.

That should not in any way detract from the profesionalism of the men who built their careers under these difficult circumstances though.