What was the wrestling capacity of boxers in the 1890s-1920s

Bareknuckle fighters like John L Sullivan were very close to rough and tumble fighting but rough and tumble was closer to Greco Roman/Judo type grappling on the feet with throws than ground grappling like Catch as Catch Can or Pelwhani submission wrestlers who fought on the ground looking for submissions. Fake wrestling did not come around until the 20's before that they were legitimate contests that could last hours but legitimate shooters and real submission matches were still happening until even recent where Kurt Angle would actually freestyle/shootstyle a wrestler who wasn't playing ball. I would a boxer who attempted to wrestle a wrestler to get overpowered and vice versa

 

Sullivan wasn't really a bareknuckle fighter. He was a gloved fighter who had 3 bareknuckle contests.

 

To be fair, many bareknuckle guys didn't have much bareknuckle experience, either. The fights were too grueling and too illegal to stage often.

I'd say Sullivan was a transitional figure who strongly preferred gloves, and was better with them, but wasn't fully in either camp.