How many consecutive title defences did Sullivan have? Decent knowledge about the 1880s era is required for this question. I want you guys to tell me when and against who, Sullivan won the bare knuckle, and the gloved heavyweight title. Did he win the bare knuckle title in 1882 against Ryan, or do you have another fight that should be considered? Did he became the gloved champion in 1883 against Mitchell or against Mccaffrey in 1885? On top of that, try to create two seperate lists (One for the Gloved title and one for the Bareknuckle title), which show every title defence Sullivan made for both titles, with dates and opponents included. Lets see how many title defences he made in both bareknuckle and MOQ boxing. Was he as dominant as guys like Klitschko or Louis?
I just know that he fought Jake killrain in some barn and they were giving him shots of whiskey between rounds. I would say he was more dominant than Louis or Kiltschko, simply because those guys would dig up and find other ranked boxers that they thought they could beat Sullivan would just show up to your town and start challenging people. Anyone. Every man, woman or child. That is a much scarier proposition, you literally never knew what corner he might be lurking around or if he might even challenge YOU if you got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time
Er I do not think you were literal, but he never challenged woman or children! Also I am only aware of him basically saying he can lick any man in the house. Not calling out or bullying individuals. Right?
It is difficult to be sure, because many of his title defenses were billed as being exhibitions. The number could be argued to be more than thirty.
It's a matter of interpretation .. when did he even win the M of Q title ? The whole thing kind of evolved by declaration as they sport evolved in the 1880's ...
Correct! And, in many of these "exhibition" fights, if the challenger had won, I believe that said challenger would have been accepted as the Champion by most. In that respect, Sullivan's title was on the line every time he fought, from 1882/1883 onward.
Most people at the time seem to have taken if from the gloved Mitchell fight. Many questioned the legitimacy of the Queensbury title at the time though.
Agreed .. who knows ? Sullivan was a physical marvel for his time, super charismatic and was the dominant figure in transforming the sport in public awareness and mainstream popularity ... somewhere along the way it started to pivot enough that from Sullivan to Corbett it evolved to M of Q ..
