Monthly heavyweight rankings from 1882 onwards

January 1888

In January 1888, Pat Killen (#5) beat Jack Cooper by 1st round KO.
5/1/88, World Champion John L Sullivan (#1) beat William Samuells by 3rd round TKO.
6/188, rival New Zealand title holders Harry Laing and Dick Matthews faced off for the undisputed title. Laing won by KO in the 4th round.
7/1/88, Frank Slavin (#10) beat Paddy Gorman by 2nd round KO.
23/1/88, Jack Burke (#8) drew over 6 rounds with Larry Foley.
25/1/88, George Godfrey beat McHenry Johnson by 4th round KO.
28/1/88, Jack Burke (#8) fought a 4-round no-decision bout with Martin Costello.
31/1/88, former Heavyweight challenger Dominick McCaffrey lost to unbeaten American Middleweight champion Jack Dempsey.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Jake Kilrain
3) James Smith
4) Patsy Cardiff
5) Pat Killen
6) Charlie Mitchell
7) Peter Nolan
8) Jack Burke
9) Peter Jackson
10) Harry Laing - re-enters due to win over Matthews

Frank Slavin drops out due to Laing's entry

February 1888

4/2/88, Peter Jackson (#9) drew with Mick Dooley over 4 rounds.
8/2/88, John L Sullivan (#1) stated that he would prefer to fight James Smith (#3) with bare knuckles, a fortnight after his fight with Charlie Mitchell (#6) on 10th March.
27/2/88, George Godfrey beat Bobby Burns on points over 4 rounds.

No changes to the rankings.

March 1888

10/3/88 World Champion John L Sullivan (#1) drew with Charlie Mitchell (#6) over 39 rounds with bare knuckles. The fight was held in France. Sullivan was the stronger early on but failed to stop Mitchell despite scoring some knockdowns. A storm began during round 9 and lasted until round 15, during which both men became drenched and most spectators took shelter in a shed. Sullivan was described as "evidently tiring" and was "shivering visibly and his teeth were chattering from the downpour". When the sun came out again Sullivan found his second wind, and knocked Mitchell down repeatedly. Each time, however, Mitchell rose and continued for another round. From the 29th round onwards, Mitchell rallied and is reported to have gained an advantage. By the 37th round, Mitchell seemed "fresher and more confident than ever", whereas Sullivan was described as a "waterlogged giant". By the 39th round, both men were showing signs of punishment and a draw was agreed. Sullivan's reputation was damaged by this result in the eyes of many commentators.

17/3/88 Peter Jackson (#9) drew with Mick Dooley over 4 rounds.
17/3/88 Jack Burke (#8) fought a 4-round no-decision bout with Jim Fogarty.
29/3/88 Harry Laing (#10) won a rematch against Dick Matthews to retain the New Zealand Heavyweight Title by 2nd round TKO.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Jake Kilrain
3) Charlie Mitchell - up by 3 due to draw with Sullivan
4) James Smith - down by 1
5) Patsy Cardiff - down by 1
6) Pat Killen - down by 1
7) Peter Nolan
8) Jack Burke
9) Peter Jackson
10) Harry Laing

April 1888

12/4/88, Jack Burke (#8) fought a 4-round no-decision bout with Billy Buck.
14/4/88, Jack Burke (#8) fought a 4-round no-decision bout with Billy Buck.
17/4/88, Peter Jackson (#9) drew with Larry Foley over 4 rounds.

On 21st April 1888, Australian champion Peter Jackson (#9) left for America, with the intention of facing top-level opposition.

25/4/88, Frank Slavin beat Harry Laing (#10) by 6th round KO to win the New Zealand Heavyweight Title.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Jake Kilrain
3) Charlie Mitchell
4) James Smith
5) Patsy Cardiff
6) Pat Killen
7) Peter Nolan
8) Jack Burke
9) Peter Jackson
10) Frank Slavin - re-enters due to win over Laing

Harry Laing drops out due to loss to Slavin.

May 1888

7/5/88 Jack Burke (#8) beat Peter Newton by 1st round KO.
12/5/88 Jack Burke (#8) fought a 4-round no-decision bout with Peter Newton.
22/6/88 Joe McAuliffe beat Frank Glover by KO in the 49th round.

No changes to the rankings.

June 1888

On 1st, 2nd and 9th June 1888, Jack Burke (#8) fought a series of 4-round no-decision bouts with Peter Newton.
5/6/88, Peter Nolan (#7) drew with Mike Cleary on points over 4 rounds.
20/6/88, Peter Jackson (#9) beat MJ Sullivan by 2nd round KO.
On 26th June 1888, Pat Killen (#6) won a rematch against Patsy Cardiff (#5) to win the Northwest Heavyweight title.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Jake Kilrain
3) Charlie Mitchell
4) Pat Killen - up by 2 due to win over Cardiff
5) James Smith - down by 1
6) Patsy Cardiff - down by 1
7) Peter Nolan
8) Jack Burke
9) Peter Jackson
10) Frank Slavin

 

Note: Edited to remove the incorrect loss recorded for Jack Burke in August.

July 1888

On 9th July 1888, Frank Slavin (#10) drew with Jack Burke (#8) over 8 rounds.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Jake Kilrain
3) Charlie Mitchell
4) Pat Killen
5) James Smith
6) Patsy Cardiff
7) Jack Burke - up by 1 due to draw with Slavin
8) Frank Slavin - up by 2 due to draw with Burke
9) Peter Nolan - down by 2
10) Peter Jackson - down by 1

August 1888

On 20th August 1888, Frank Slavin (#7) beat JW Patterson by 2nd round KO.
Godfrey vs. Jackson
24/8/88, Peter Jackson (#10) beat George Godfrey by TKO in the 19th round. This was billed for the “Coloured Heavyweight Title”.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Jake Kilrain
3) Charlie Mitchell
4) Pat Killen
5) James Smith
6) Patsy Cardiff
7) Peter Jackson - up by 3 due to win over Godfrey
8) Jack Burke - down by 1
9) Frank Slavin - down by 1
10) George Godfrey - new entry due to strong performance against Jackson

Peter Nolan drops out due to Godfrey's entry.

September 1888

27/9/88, Jack Burke (#8) fought a 4-round no-decision bout with George Seale.

No changes to the rankings

October 1888

19/10/88 Harry Laing beat Jim Pettengell by 6th round KO.
26/10/88 Joe McAuliffe beat Mike Conley by KO in the 2nd round.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Jake Kilrain
3) Charlie Mitchell
4) Pat Killen
5) James Smith
6) Patsy Cardiff
7) Peter Jackson
8) Jack Burke
9) Frank Slavin
10) Joe McAuliffe - new entry due to win over Conley

George Godfrey drops out due to McAuliffe's entry.

November 1888

3/11/88, Jack Burke (#8) drew with Wolf Bendoff on points over 6 rounds.

No changes to the rankings

December 1888

8/12/88, Frank Slavin (#9) beat Mick Dooley for the Australian Heavyweight Title by 1st round KO.
28/12/88, Peter Jackson (#7) beat Joe McAuliffe (#10) by KO in the 24th round for the Heavyweight Championship of the Pacific Coast.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Jake Kilrain
3) Charlie Mitchell
4) Pat Killen
5) Peter Jackson - up by 2 due to win over McAuliffe
6) James Smith - down by 1
7) Frank Slavin - up by 2 due to win over Dooley
8) Patsy Cardiff - down by 2
9) Jack Burke - down by 1
10) George Godfrey - new entry due to McAuliffe's loss

Joe McAuliffe drops out due to loss to Jackson.

1888 Year-end rankings

My rankings at the end of 1888 are therefore as follows:

1) John L Sullivan – Aged 30 – American/World Champion (drew Cardiff in ‘87, drew Mitchell in '88)
2) Jake Kilrain – Aged 29 – National Police Gazette World Champion (drew/beat Smith in ‘87)
3) Charlie Mitchell – Aged 27 – English Champion claimant (drew Sullivan in '88)
4) Pat Killen – Aged 27 – American fighter (drew Cardiff in ‘87, beat Cardiff in '88)
5) Peter Jackson – Aged 26 – World Coloured Champion (beat Godfrey and McAuliffe in '88)
6) James Smith – Aged 25 – English fighter (drew/lost to Kilrain in ‘87, unbeaten in '88)
7) Frank Slavin – Aged 26 – Australian champion (beat Farnan in ’87, beat Laing & Dooley and drew Burke in '88)
8) Patsy Cardiff – Aged 25 – Canadian fighter (drew Sullivan and Killen in ‘87, lost to Killen in '88)
9) Jack Burke – Aged 27 – English fighter (unbeaten in ‘87, beat Newton in '88)
10) George Godfrey - Aged 35 - Canadian fighter (beat Johnson and lost to Jackson in '88)

 

Thanks Matt, I've amended the post to take this into account, meaning Burke is still ranked at the end of 1888.

For 1888, we agree on 8 names.

You have McAuliffe and Laing/Ashton, whereas I have Mitchell and Smith.

Mitchell and Smith both clearly deserve to be in the top 10 on the basis of their LPR performances against Sullivan and Kilrain respectively, but if your rankings are for purely gloved bouts then I can see why you don't include them. I think we agree that if they are included this pushes McAuliffe and Laing/Ashton out of the top 10.

This was an interesting year, and it wasn't clear to me how to rank some fighters. There's even an argument for not having Sullivan at #1 with a record of 2 draws in 2 years, but nobody has done enough at this point to overtake him. Kilrain having the Police Gazette title puts pressure on Sullivan to prove himself.

 

January 1889

18/1/89 Patsy Cardiff (#8) beat Paddy McDonald by 7th round KO.
21/189 Patsy Cardiff (#8) beat Jim Fell over 15 rounds.

No changes to the rankings.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Jake Kilrain
3) Charlie Mitchell
4) Pat Killen
5) Peter Jackson
6) James Smith
7) Frank Slavin
8) Patsy Cardiff
9) Jack Burke
10) George Godfrey

February 1889

4/2/89 Frank Slavin (#7) defended his Australian Heavyweight Title against Jack Burke (#9) with a 3rd round KO.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Jake Kilrain
3) Charlie Mitchell
4) Pat Killen
5) Peter Jackson
6) Frank Slavin - up by 1 due to win over Burke
7) James Smith - down by 1
8) Patsy Cardiff
9) George Godfrey - up by 1
10) Jack Burke - down by 1 due to loss to Slavin

March 1889

30/3/89, Jack Ashton beat Joe Lannon by 19th round KO.

No changes to the rankings.

April 1889

26/4/89, Peter Jackson (#5) beat Patsy Cardiff (#8) by 10th round retirement.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Jake Kilrain
3) Peter Jackson - up by 2 due to win over Cardiff
4) Charlie Mitchell - down by 1
5) Pat Killen - down by 1
6) Frank Slavin
7) James Smith
8) George Godfrey - up by 1
9) Patsy Cardiff - down by 1 due to loss to Jackson
10) Jack Burke

May 1889

1/5/89 Peter Jackson (#3) beat Shorty Kincaid by 2nd round TKO.
1/5/89 Frank Slavin (#6) fought a 4-round no-decision bout with Mick O’Brien.
22/5/89, Joe McAuliffe beat Tom Lees by KO in the 8th round.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Jake Kilrain
3) Peter Jackson
4) Charlie Mitchell
5) Pat Killen
6) Frank Slavin
7) James Smith
8) George Godfrey
9) Patsy Cardiff
10) Joe McAuliffe - new entry due to win over Lees

Jack Burke drops out due to McAuliffe's entry

June 1889

5/6/89 James J Corbett beat Joe Choynski by KO in the 27th round.

No changes to the rankings.

July 1889

8/7/89, World Champion John L Sullivan (#1) beat NPG World Champion Jake Kilrain (#2) by stoppage at the end of the 75th round. Sullivan dominated the fight and knocked Kilrain down repeatedly. This win established Sullivan as the undisputed champion and won him Kilrain's Police Gazette belt.

11/7/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat Charles Brown by 4th round TKO.
11/7/89 Pat Killen (#5) beat Corporal Toomey by 1st round KO.
16/7/89 Pat Killen (#5) beat Jack Smith by 2nd round KO.
22/7/89 Pat Killen (#5) beat Jack Fraser by 3rd round KO.
25/7/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat George Peters by 3rd round TKO.
29/7/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat William Baker by decision over 4 rounds.
30/7/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat Tom Lynch by 2nd round disqualification.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Peter Jackson - up by 1
3) Jake Kilrain - down by 1 due to loss to Sullivan
4) Pat Killen - up by 1 due to wins
5) Charlie Mitchell - down by 1
6) Frank Slavin
7) James Smith
8) George Godfrey
9) Patsy Cardiff
10) Joe McAuliffe

August 1889

5/8/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat Paddy Brennan by 1st round TKO.
8/8/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat William Baker by 3rd round TKO.
9/8/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat James McCormick by 2nd round KO.

On 11th August 1889, Frank Slavin (#6) arrived in England.

14/8/89 Pat Killen (#4) beat Jack Welch by 3rd round KO.
19/8/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat Jack Fallon by decision over 4 rounds, in a bout which disallowed knockouts.

On 21st August 1889, Peter Jackson (#2) sailed for England. He arrived on 29th August.

No changes to the rankings.

September 1889

11/9/89 Joe McAuliffe (#10) beat Pat Killen (#4) by KO in the 7th round.
30/9/89 James Smith (#7) beat Jack Wannop over 10 rounds.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Peter Jackson
3) Jake Kilrain
4) Joe McAuliffe - up by 6 due to win over Killen
5) Charlie Mitchell
6) Pat Killen - down by 2 due to loss
7) Frank Slavin
8) James Smith
9) George Godfrey
10) Patsy Cardiff


October 1889

7/10/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat Jack Partridge by 3rd round KO.
12/10/89 Patsy Cardiff (#10) fought Jack King over 4 rounds. King succeeded in not being knocked out and claim the win, but this should be seen as more of an exhibition or no-contest.
14/10/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat Jem Young over 4 rounds.
15/10/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat Alf Mitchell on points over 4 rounds. Later that day, he beat Alf Ball by 2nd round TKO.
17/10/89 Frank Slavin (#7) beat Bill Chesterfield Good by 5th round KO.
31/10/89 Frank Slavin (#7) beat Arthur Bobbett by 2nd round KO.

No changes to the rankings.

November 1889

4/11/89 Jake Kilrain (#3) fought a 3-round no-decision bout with John Scholes of Toronto. Kilrain was described as “very fat”
7/11/89 George Godfrey (#9) beat Jack Ashton by 4th round KO.
8/11/89 Frank Slavin (#7) beat Frank Young by 1st round TKO.

11/11/89 Peter Jackson (#2) won the British Empire Heavyweight Title by beating James Smith (#8). Smith had a strong first round, but Jackson dominated the fighting in the second round, punishing Smith against the ropes. Smith was disqualified in the 2nd round after resorting to wrestling tactics, being unable to compete with Jackson’s ability. Smith was given credit in the press for his bravery in facing the coloured champion, whereas Sullivan had “declined to compete with the man of colour”.

15/11/89 Jack Fallon beat Jack Partridge by 2nd round KO.
16/1189 Patsy Cardiff (#9) beat Frank Lewis over 3 rounds.
19/11/89 James Smith (#9) beat Jim Young by 3rd round TKO.
21/11/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat Horace Horrigan by 2nd round TKO.
27/11/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat Skinner by 2nd round foul.
29/11/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat Sailor White, the champion of the British Navy, by 3rd round TKO. Later that day, he beat Wolf Bendoff by 2nd round TKO.
3/11/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat Charles Burgin over 4 rounds.
30/11/89 James Smith (#9) beat Patsy Collins by 2nd round TKO.

1) John L Sullivan
2) Peter Jackson
3) Jake Kilrain
4) Joe McAuliffe
5) Charlie Mitchell
6) Pat Killen
7) Frank Slavin
8) George Godfrey - up by 1
9) James Smith - down by 1 due to loss to Jackson
10) Patsy Cardiff

December 1889

2/12/89 Peter Jackson (#2) beat Scotchy Gunn over 4 rounds. Gunn was considered the best heavyweight in Southern England. Later that Day, Jackson beat W Woodhams by 3rd round TKO.
24/12/89 Peter Jackson (#2) stopped Peter Maher in the 3rd round.
24/12/89 Frank Slavin (#7) fought James Smith (#9) for the Heavyweight Championship of England. Slavin is reported to have had the best of the action, and the referee declared a draw due to crowd interference by supporters of Smith. Despite the official decision, Slavin received the winner’s money and the championship.

1889 Year End Rankings

My rankings at the end of 1889 are therefore as follows:

1) John L Sullivan – Aged 31 – World Champion & NPG Champion (beat Kilrain in '89)
2) Peter Jackson – Aged 28 – World Coloured Champion and British Empire Champion (beat Godfrey & McAuliffe in '88, beat Cardiff & Smith in '89)
3) Jake Kilrain – Aged 30 – Former National Police Gazette World Champion (drew/beat Smith in ‘87, lost to Sullivan in '89)
4) Joe McAuliffe - Aged 25 - American contender (lost to Jackson in '88, beat Killen in '89
5) Frank Slavin – Aged 27 – Australian champion and Champion of England (beat Smith in '89)
6) Charlie Mitchell – Aged 28 – English fighter (drew Sullivan in '88, inactive in '89)
7) Pat Killen – Aged 28 – American fighter (beat Cardiff in '88, lost to McAuliffe in '89)
8) George Godfrey - Aged 36 - Canadian fighter (beat Johnson and lost to Jackson in '88, beat Ashton in '89)
9) Patsy Cardiff – Aged 26 – Canadian fighter (lost to Killen in '88, lost to Cardiff in '89)
10) James Smith – Aged 26 – English fighter (unbeaten in '88, lost to Jackson & Slavin in '89)

 

So for 1889, I have Mitchell and Smith, whereas Matt has Ashton and Goddard.

Smith won't be in Matt's rankings as his achievements are without gloves, and Mitchell was inactive in 1889 so probably not included due to inactivity. I still include him based on his draw with Sullivan in the previous year.

Ashton lost to Godfrey in '89, and still doesn't have a win over a ranked fighter. Goddard only began fighting in '89, and despite a few wins he wouldn't step up in class until '90 when he fought Dooley for the Australian title.