Sullivan fight of the week Sullivan Burke

The average weight of Johnson's challengers was over 200lbs.
Dempsey's 3 key fights would be Willard,Firpo and Tunney,would you agree? We agree on Jeffries.
My point is just that Sullivan got by because he had real power and ,for the most part he was hitting littler men.

 

You have to wonder how Greb would have done vs Sullivan. Pretty good I bet.

 

BTW I see no evidence to suggest Mitchell or Cardiff were clearly better than Burke.

 

I enjoy these threads thanks for posting

 

That's a bit of a sweeping generalization,imo the truth is we really don't know how much skills either the bigger or smaller men had.What we do know is ,however good his contemporaries were, Sullivan was the standout fighter of his era.

 

Let me go through that like people look at Sullivans
Jack Johnson
Tommy Burns Middleweight
Philadelphia Jack O'Brien Middleweight
Alf Kaufman Couldn't even stop him
Stanley Ketchrl Middleweight
Jeffries on his debut
Fireman Jim Flynn Gunboat Smith stopped him faster
Jim Johnson draw (which also makes him one of Johnson's best opponents)
Jack Murray lost to a lightweight, glass jaw
Jess Willard Lost

Dempsey
Willard was 37 and hadn't fought in 3 years
Firpo knocked Dempsey down
Tunney was a Light Heavyweight and beat him

I'd actually rate them higher than Sullivan, but you have to be fair

 

Burns wasnt a middleweight.
O Brien wasn't a middleweight.
Johnson did not try to stop Kaufman I have the fight report.
Jeffries on his debut? WTF?
Johnson was not the puncher Smith was.
Johnson sustained broken arm in the 3rd rd of his fight with Battling Jim.
The Murray encounter was an exhibition.
Johnson was 37 when he lost to Willard after being in front a the 20rds stage.
Tunney scaled 189.5lbs for the 1st Dempsey fight,half a pound less than the Champ.
Have you been drinking?

 

Burns and O'Brien both fought a middleweight fought a middleweight.

The rest of what you said is true, but no one pays any attention to that stuff with Sullivan which was my point.

 

Neither of them were middleweights when they fought Johnson whereas Mitchell and several others were when they fought Sullivan, so "your point ,"is actually pointless!

 

Burke was taller and around the same weight (listed as heavier) against Sullivan as Burns against Johnson. Ketchel weighed in heavier than Burns.

Jack O'Brien was barely over 160Ibs

 

Burke was under 5'8"most have him at 5'6.5"Neither Ketchel nor Burns weighed in for their fights with Johnson the weights published were those they gave.
O Brien was the reigning lhvy champion,
Can't spend any more time on this ,its just nothing.

 

Except that may very well not be true .. from 1886 on Jackson was widely recognized by most who saw both including Fitzsimmons straight through Sullivan's loss to Corbett .. He was the best of who he fought , a significant difference. Notice when he went over seas he refused to meet any of those great Australian fighters in a ring.

 

Yes we all know you were better because trolls existed and you were there ..