John L. Sullivan (boxer)

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John Sullivan
Heavyweight boxing world champion
boxer
John L Sullivan.jpg
Data
Birth Name John Lawrence Sullivan
Weight class Heavyweight
nationality US-american
birthday October 15, 1858
place of birth Roxbury
Date of death February 2, 1918
Place of death Abington
style Left delivery
size 1.79 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles 40
Victories 38
Knockout victories 32
Defeats 1
draw 1

John Lawrence Sullivan (born October 15, 1858 in Roxbury , Boston , † February 2, 1918 in Abington , Massachusetts ) was an American boxer. He went down in boxing history as the first officially managed heavyweight world champion .

Life

He made a name for himself both in the fight with today's boxing gloves and in a duel with bare fists. He was considered a very powerful boxer and his spectacular fights, some of which lasted more than 75 rounds, made him one of the first sports idols in the USA.

Sullivan suggested the then most famous and also Irish-American heavyweight Paddy Ryan in 1882 and 1885 bare-knuckle to London Prize Ring Rules ko

On August 28, 1885 he defeated Dominick McCaffrey in 7 rounds according to the Queensberry rules in Cincinnati and thus became the first recognized heavyweight world champion.

Against his British rival Charlie Mitchell he boxed in Chantilly (France) in 1888 , according to the "London Prize Ring Rules" and without gloves, in a fight over 39 rounds, only a draw.

His most famous knockout was achieved with bare fists in 1889 against Johnny Kilraine, trained by Mitchell, in the last title fight in heavyweight history according to the "London Prize Ring Rules" in the 75th round.

Sullivan never competed against dark-skinned opponents. For example, he also refused to fight “The Black Prince” Peter Jackson . In 1881 a fight against the black Canadian George Godfrey ("Old Chocolate") was scheduled, but was prevented by the police.

He was able to defend his title for over seven years before he was dethroned on September 7, 1892 by the Irish-born American Jim Corbett in a fight that went up to the 21st round.

Sullivan was considered an alcoholic during his career , later he was a proponent of prohibition and gave lectures against alcoholism. In 1990 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame .

See also

literature

  • Hartmut Scherzer: world champion of all classes . Copress, Munich 1976. ISBN 3-7679-0104-8 pp. 23-25

Web links

Commons : John L. Sullivan  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Footnotes

  1. ↑ John L. Sullivan entry on britannica.com (accessed November 24, 2019)
  2. ↑ Entry George Godfrey in the Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame (accessed November 24, 2019)
  3. ↑ John L. Sullivan entry on britannica.com (accessed November 24, 2019)
personal data
SURNAME Sullivan, John L.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sullivan, John Lawrence (full name); Boston Strong Boy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American boxer
DATE OF BIRTH October 15, 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH Roxbury , Boston
DATE OF DEATH February 2, 1918
Place of death Abington , Massachusetts