Heavyweight Tourney:Rd 3:Wladimir Klitschko .Vs. John L. Sullivan

I think we all agree that Sullivan was long past it by this time.

A far different scenario to Vlad - Vitali. NOt to mention Vlad-Lewis where it was defeats that stopped Wlad from meeting him. (same with Wlad - Tyson or to a lesser extent Wlad- HOllyfield). To be honest, John Ruiz, Nicolai Valuev are two bigger names and common World champions who Wlad has avoided in his reign whose claims at certain times were pretty much as good as Jackson's were. Still, with his win over Chageav and some of the younger but unproven contenders he has beat recently, i think he is starting to come into his own. I think he has nearly cleaned the division (Vitali aside). Which to me, means he is close to building an all time legacy, but i still think his chin needs testing to compete with the likes of Sullivan. It is possible that this may not happen until he is past prime. But, he has not shown any ability to take clean shots at this stage. It is all very well to say that he does not have to, but when you fight prime ATG fighters, they always find a way to land at least a few shots, and this is where Wlad sufferes most head to head.

Back to Jackson, he is one of my favourites, but i dont think he was the standout you suggest. First of all, he had the draw with Corbett. Corbett himself was one of a few challengers and Jackson could not beat him. This would not really make him the stand out challenger. Before the Corbett fight, in 1890, Jackson had drawn with Goddard, in a fight where both were knocked down and what seemed to be a fair decision. He does have some wins over Peter Maher, Denver Ed Smith and Tom Lees which clearly would have put him in the picture, but he was not the standout challenger that many people think. I would see he is one of a handful with a decent claim to an old sullivans title.

I am not sure about the other two that Mendoza mentioned and will have to look into it. Either way, i dont see how they were standout challengers just one of a group of hopeful challengers waiting for their chance against an aged champion who was no longer actively fighting often.

 

I think you might under rate Slavin. Before Jackson ruined him, he was refereed to as an early version of Jack Dempsey. A powerful hitter with speed and size.

I agree Kilrain is Sullivan's best win. However Slavin KO'd a then 29-1 with 9 draws Kilrain in nine rounds.

I think a Slavin vs Sullivan fight in 1886 or 1887 could have gone either way. If Sullivan was slightly past it by then, or not in great shape, Slavin power might get to him.

 

The American population (Sullivan fought only in America, traveling wasn't easy back then) was about 50 million at that time. The current world population is about 7 billion. That 140 times more people. Plus, back in Sullivan's day, how many went to the boxing gym? Were there monthly rankings? Delivered by diligence, if not robbed? Most of his opponents were local saloon "tough" guys. In today's words: tomato cans.

 

Chris,Sullivan did have at least 2 fights outside the states . He fought Bill Samuels in Cardiff Wales ,stopping him in the 3rd rd.
He also battled to a 39 rd draw in the mud , against Charley Mitchell on Baron Rothschild's estate at Chantilly , France, these were under LPR rules.Your point is well taken however Sullivan was essentially a big fish in a little pond, not his fault really apart from avoiding Jackson ,at the tail end of his career he met whoever was available, imo.

 

Slavin was allready showing signs of becoming an alcoholic ,before he met Jackson.

 

This fight has been going on for ages. So long so, that i think that it can be safely assumed that the 15 round distance has gone on out the window and it has become a fight to the finish. I guess that make all those early ko picks either way invalid.

So, now that it has ended up 15 rounds and it seems that both fighters must agree to extend to a fight to the finish, how do the others see the fight finishing. Can Klitchsko continue to pummel sullivan into the ground and win, or does Sullivan eventually wear him down and start to catch klitchsko? Does Klitchsko maintain power after 15 or does exhaustion step in?

 

Indeed, but in Jurassic Park they clocked a T-Rex at "32MPH" whereas scientists now claim a top speed of 18MPH. ****, I can almost run that fast! Ichiro runs that fast! It's tough to say.

The best I can do is say that with modern training but the same wicked environment, I'd expect John L. to be as scary as they get. Time machined together I would expect him to be killed by the jab. In his defense, of all the heavyweight champs, he's probably the last one I would want to get into a street fight with.

:roflPOST OF THE ****ING YEAR! That was awesome, dude.