Is it fair to call John L Sullivan the Kimbo Slice of his day?

No, it's not.

 

They both boxed, drank a lot and started off scrapping in poor areas for $ bare knuckle thats as far as it goes I think.

 

No, nothing could be more misleading.

 

No, Sullivan is widely recognized as the best at what he did , Slice is...not.

 

Kimbo got beaten up by a fat cop straight off Married with Children.

Sullivan was the greatest of his era.

 

Although interesting comparison Sullivan was more successful in his day.

 

I think Sulivans reputation grew during a time where bare knuckle prize fighting was seen as the acceptable face of underground sport. And John L dominated this sport. Whereas Kimbo was just an early internet underground thing. It was small.

There was always acceptable and reputable authoritative people who gambled and backed prize fighters which legitimised its following. For its day, it was quite big. Technically it was outlawed, literally only because gambling was frowned upon. The act itself of organised fist fighting was still, for those days, seen as acceptable as drinking might have been during prohibition. It went on. And it was big.

 

Hell no.

 

Sullivan was never a porn industry enforcer.

 

No, but...

https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/john-sullivan-in-the-modern-era.5253/page-11#post-19795009

 

John L Sullivan fits firmly in the same bracket, as Jack Dempsey, and Mike Tyson.

A global superstar, in the most important combat sport, and the badest man on the planet.

A standout talent, who had no obvious peer, until Jeffries overcame his early wobbles!

 

You don't think that Bob Fitzsimmons could make such a claim?