How past it was he in your opinion? And what sort of chance do you give Corbett during Sullivan's absolute peak?
hard to tell, but if you go by the fact that he had not had a real fight in five years up to that point and that he liked his wiskey...........and he may have been just a shell. then again i find it hard to tell how good sullivan was. i mean he won the belt form a guy who was 1-0......not comparable with today. and these barenuckle guys from what i read used little sience, the just stood in front of eachother and pounded away. so i´d give corbett one hell of a shot even vs a prime sullivan. under queenberry rules that is. lets say they fight with gloves under queenberry rules over 25 rounds both in their prime. corbett UD sullivan.
He was past his best when he fought Jake Kilrain. By the time he lost to Corbett he was an empty shell. Prime for prime it is hard to say how the fight would go.
If you read In the Ring With James J. Corbett, it will become pretty clear. See lulu.com to order it.
I'm actually after a general consensus on account of i'm about to hit the fight in your book. John's just started training in earnest.
Oh, you'll get plenty of pre- and post-fight coverage, I assure you. They talked about this topic even then, and the quotes are in there. Enjoy.
Sullivan was a dissipated shell of the man who had terrorised the big men for a decade ,booze late nights and ladies had ruined him,he did well to stay21 rounds with Corbett really ,Corbett was uncharacteristically modest about his victory ,admitting that John L was far past his prime.Sullivan was a boozy braggart but he took his loss with class,and went out on his shield like a true warrior.
Sullivan was, for all intents & purposes, a retired fighter who was only willing to return to the ring if someone could meet his purse demands (which Corbett & his backers were eventually able to raise). I view Corbett's victory in the same context as Johnson-Jeffries & Holmes-Ali - a hugely symbolic win, & perhaps even necessary for legacy purposes, but lacking in real substance.
Sullivan was a wreck , a very old , physically abused 34 when he fought Corbett … the fact that he went to the 21st round was an amazing accomplishment … while I always fight it hard to rate Sullivan seriously as a M of Q guy he clearly had speed, strength, stamina, killer instinct, heart , a great chin and true KO power … Sharkey gave Corbett fits and I can imagine a prime Sullivan doing as good or better
