John L Sullivan a decade or two later...

mcvey · Aug 13, 2012

he grant said: ↑

Sullivan appeared to have terrific natural skills .. he had fast hands, an iron chin, great physical strength and true one punch KO power ... he also had a champion's heart ... my thoughts are he had the skills to become a terrific M of Q fighter if he actually trained and was trained that way .. however, if he simply stayed the way he was, no sparring, no additional training for technique, ect I don't see him going that far ...
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http://www.boxinggyms.com/news/sullivan_ryan1882/sullivan_ryan1882times.htm

http://www.boxinggyms.com/news/sullivan_corbett1892/sullivan_corbett1892.htm

http://www.boxinggyms.com/news/sullivan_donaldson1880.htm

http://www.boxinggyms.com/news/sullivan1918/sullivan_death04.htm
http://www.boxinggyms.com/news/sullivan1918/sullivan_death01.htm

janitor · Aug 14, 2012

Sullivan might heave been a lot better suited to the modern amateur ruleset than people think.

He fought in an era where bouts were restricted to four or six rounds in many states, and fights were sometimes stopped very quickly by the police if they became one sided.

McGrain · Aug 14, 2012

Boilermaker said: ↑

You mean back when Fitz was trying to establish himself as the Number one middleweight in Australia? Maybe he should have fought the number one heavyweight in Australia before he did that, dont you think?

Just to get the time frame you are talking about right, this stems from the Jackson discussion. Jackson won his first Australian title in late 1886 (before that Jackson had been outclassed in his best test by Bill Farnan, whom Sullivan should have been criticised for not fighting, if anyone).

I suppose at this point, Jackson might have been a chance if Sullivan were in Australia and fighting, but realistically, he wasnt yet proven at the world class level. It wasnt until his victory over Godfrey and McAuliffe in 1888 that he started his World ranked run. and Peter Maher in 1889 that it started to become clear that he was the best fighter in the world. It is around this point (88-89) where Jackson could have been said to have been a decent fight for Sullivan. This is about the same time that Sullivan had just broken his arm against Cardiff and fought the draw with Mitchell. He was to produce his last hurrah where he was dragged from a dissipitated condition into camp by Muldoon and manged to produce his final special performance against Kilrain in 1890. After Kilrain he officially retired from the sport and wasnt going to fight again, although he did still participate in Stage shows and exhibitions. This is the same year that Jackson fought the draw with Joe Goddard and is the time roughly where Sullivan Jackson should have happened.

So, in 1889, when Fitz was an Australian Middleweight title contender, the actual Middleweight champion was Peter Boland. Boland had just claimed the title for a year or so, but he wasbeaten by Harry Downie. So, before Sullivan defends against Fitz, he should have probably fought Harry Downie. Or maybe he should have fought Lachie Thompson who was the English Champion that knocked out Downie.

I agree it would have been nice if Sullivan v Fitz happened, but it was never on the radar. In fact, their actual scheduled meeting that was prevented by authorities would have been considered a closer and more anticipated matchup than the one you suffested.
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Good post I think.

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John L Sullivan a decade or two later...

mcvey VIP Member

janitor VIP Member

McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member