John L. Sullivan defeated Dominick McCaffrey to become the first ever Heavyweight Champion of the World.
Here is a description of the fight. For the first three rounds Sullivan pressed forward in his usual style, pushing and slugging the smaller man all over the ring. John L. kept banging his opponent into the ropes. McCaffery went down several times and was groggy at the end of round three. Both men, despite their training, were witting in the August heat. By round five McCaffery had gained a second wind and managed to spar, although he was floored once and was back on the ropes most of the time. The challenger was bleeding from under the right eye and the corner of his lip. At the start of round six Sullivan wrestled him to the deck and pinned him. At this artless and illegal move, Tate stopped the fight and gave the decision to John L. When William Muldoon, the master of ceremonies, announced the decision, the highly pleased crowd rapidly disintegrated into fevered arguments over the merits of the two pugilists. Dominick's brother John tried to pistol whip Arthur Chambers at ringside, and the exhausted boxers had to combine to break it up.
No, he won the American version of the World title, and was not first to do so, not least because he won the claim off of Paddy Ryan...
