I concluded he was probably more like Patterson myself. There is a bit of room for interpretation of course.
Definitly room for interpretation. It was the fact he was a very aggresive technicain that made me think of Joe but when you say Patterson i can see that also with the speed factor. I think i thought more of Joe as he was a bit more solid and tougher (hate to use that as Floyd was tough)
Physicaly would say he was 5' 11'' and bigger than Rocky Marciano but smaller than Sam McVea. In terms of chin I would say Marciano. He suffered a flash knockdown against Charlie Mitchel but Mitchel was a huge hitter for a midlewight and was wearing gloves smaller than those used in MMA. In terms of power I would say up with the best sub 200 lb fighters of all time. For handspeed I would say Dempsey or better. In terms of style I think of Floyd Patterson based on how he moved, threw punches and closed distances. Mentaly he was clearly no meat head. He was a cerebral ofensive fighter who thought on his toes and knew a hell of a lot about boxing technique. Those are the components as I see them. A lot of room for interpretation even if you acept them but clearly one hell of a fighter.
yeh definitly a good fighter. how do you rate his physical strength, he must have been very strong up close
There are mixed accounts of this: Some reports around the time of the Paddy Ryan fight when Sullivan first won a world title claim, describe him as a "superior wrestler". Sullivan had been the underdog in many papers because of his lack of experience under bare knuckle rules. Some reports in the run up to the Killrain fight, years later say that he was taking a crash course in wrestling technique to fight Killrain (who was much more experienced under bare knuckle rules). What is aparent in summary is that nobody ever got the better of Sullivan in the clinches under any rule set.
thanks janitor. Its odd that theres 2 conflicting reports but he proved it in the ring (or square) that he was strong. Do you think he is one o fthe most naturally gifted Heavyweights?
I think that he was "one of the most naturaly gifted heavyweights of all time" is just about the only conclusion that I can draw about him with absolute certainty from contemporary observation. You obviously have an incredible all round puncher with teriffic power, blinding handspeed and verry inteligence in terms of where and how to hit. It is also clear that Sullivan was a cerebral fighter who understood the finer points of his art verry well. Take those natural assets and give them to a good trainer today in a raw form and you likley have the next all time great heavyweight.
Thats how i see it. He had alot of physical tools like the speed and strength you mention. Aswell as an excellant boxing brain. This thread has been great as i have never really studied Sullivan before also Janitor ill PM Mr Aldermans adress right now