Was thrilled to come across this on Getty, had not seen this before. Labeled "Circa 1906 John L.Sullivan and Bob Fitzsimmons face each other in a bout in aid of charity". But thinking about it, "Sullivan" in this photo looks way to slim for that era, if dated correctly, a full year after the photo where he is refereeing the McCormick-Ruhlin fight. Also, he looks way too tall. Would seem a better match with the mustache and reddish sunburn on head and neck of a circa 1904 Antekprizering photo where Peter Maher is holding a guy like a weight. Thoughts? If not Sullivan or Maher, who is it? https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/...ampion-heavyweight-boxers-news-photo/79022893
Good find, doesn't really look like Maher to me. I'm not sure you can really say from the back though.
According to reports from 1906 Sullivan had lost a lot of weight as he had quit drinking and looked quite well. That said, there was an imposter John L. Sullivan the same year touring and the Northeast and doing exhibitions under that name. Do you know where this photo might have been taken?
That's not Sullivan. If you zoom in on the picture, you can make out a mustache. Sullivan's hair was completely white by 1906, the mustache in the picture is clearly not white That being said, I dunno if that's Maher
A new one for me. It looks like Fitz vs Sullivan to me. You can do a search for multiple fighters. Great website!
I remember reading an interview with him in 1906. Sully had been sober for about a year and supposedly looked fit. He was fairly pissed that someone was making money off his name. And there was a Charley Mitchell imposter who teamed up with the Sullivan fake and they did shows to the rubes. To convince the folks that he was the real deal, the Sullivan imposter would drink everything in sight. It's a way to make a dollar, I guess.
