In his time John L Sullivan PRIME could’ve beat anyone on the planet in fair combat

There might have been wrestlers capable of beating him in a mixed rules fight.

 

William Muldoon for example. or maybe Farmer Burns.

 

Maybe Miller in the early 1880's but just a maybe.

 

In boxing terms, I don't think that he had a peer.

I am not even sure that he had a near peer in the early 80s.

 

“Ruler of all men”

 

How different fighting styles match up, is not my area of expertise.

I am an entry level poster on that issue.

The best wrestlers tended to beat the best boxers back then, though Sullivan was himself a near world class wrestler.

 

Probably some martial artists in the Far East could take him.

 

Boxing used to be more MMA-ish back in his day. Did he have a grappling/wrestling background?

Different era but Jack Dempsey did have a wrestling and martial arts background and he wrote a book for military self defense training which incorporated striking, wrestling, ju-jitsu and judo. He'd have made a great MMA fighter.

 

A while ago I started a similar thread asking if other combat specialists might have beaten him. It’s possible there were martial artists and wrestlers who may have.

 

In Sullivans time boxing was US centric, so we we cannot judge if Sullivan was the king of a no holds barred fight.

I would suggest he was not, most men from anywhere in the world if having ever got into a fight have experienced punches and grappling, albeit nothing at the level of Sullivan, but the martial arts that incorporate kicks, locks and chokes brings another level of combat to the fray.

 

Yes.

 

In his day I don't know about that. Today he would be creamed with wrestlers.

He did not have boxing skills, and really did not face the best while active and they were seeking fights. When he did fight the best they tended to be long 25+ round matches! One would figure he would sparked them the sooner, not go 39 rounds with a middle weight Mitchell and 75 rounds with Kilran. In other contests he took several men the distance. Burke, McCaffrey, and Greenfield . These small men had known records. Coincidence? I think not. He lacked the skill and power to finish them. He really lost the Cardiff fight. Where is this legendary power? I say he should have knocked them out and when he did fight a guy people today are familiar with it took him forever to finish them. If he had the legendary power they say. Convince me I'm wrong on the above.

Whatever skill he had left at age 33, didn't show vs Corbett as he did not win one round. He was past it by then, I know. Just saying. He's still a legendary pioneer.

 

I disagree with almost everything that you are saying here.

There are contemporary observers who said that he was a highly skilled fighter, and with no film footage to contradict them, who is to say that they are wrong.

You can argue that he didn't fight in the strongest of eras, but the opponents that he was fighting were the best available for the most part, and the ones seen as having the best chance against him.

It is almost impossible to score a quick win in an LPR fight, because your opponent has 30-38 seconds to get up, and can get out of trouble just by taking a knee.

It is well documented that he broke his arm in the Cardiff fight, so he did well to retain his title.