By: Michael Blackett
The “Boston Strong Boy” more commonly known as John L. Sullivan fought Jake Kilrain for the last official Heavyweight Bareknuckle Championship of the world under the Prize Ring Rules on July 8th 1889.Two years before the bout took place, Richard Kyle Fox the Owner of the popular boxing magazine the Police Gazette, questioned Sullivan’s right be called a world champion as he had not up to this point fought Kilrain and had previously refused to fight him, many considered Kilrain the true champion. In response to this Sullivan’s wealthy friends clubbed together and presented John L with a magnificent Championship Belt.
The belt cost around $10,000 dollars the equivalent of $250,000 in today’s money and it was inlaid with 397 diamonds. It was inscribed with the words “presented to the champion of champions.” Sullivan’s draw with the Englishman Charlie Mitchell in 1888 which was abandoned due to the terrible weather conditions after 39 rounds led to Sullivan placing an add in the New York Illustrated News. He challenged Kilrain and set a wager of $10,000 a head, both parties agreed and the date that was arranged gave Sullivan 6 months to get prepared.
Sullivan knew this next fight would be his hardest; he was well out of shape as he had enjoyed the pleasures of drink most nights since Mitchells fight and he was fortunate that he found a great ally and trainer in William Muldoon who agreed to help him prepare. Muldoon himself had been a champion wrestler at a time when wrestlers were widely acknowledged as the real strong men of the era. He took Sullivan to his Farmhouse in Belfast, New York where their new friendship was tested to the maximum. It took a few days before Sullivan was even sober enough to start the gruelling training regime that Muldoon had in store.
Money was not on Muldoon’s high list of priorities as he had even agreed to train Sullivan for nothing should he loose. Milk and oats were the only food Sullivan could keep down and it took weeks before he could eat the proper foods to rebuild his strength. Muldoon prepared the breakfast each day which was only eaten after Sullivan had exercised using dumb-bells, this was followed by daily 8 mile runs in the morning, gym work, bag work and skipping and also wrestling. All the hard work paid off and when the training was finished Sullivan had lost over 40lbs and was back to the fitness levels he had many years previous. The planned fight in New Orleans caught the public’s attention and it became the talk in every café, pavement, and bar. Something special was about to happen and everyone knew it. The fight was to take place in Richburg in Marion County and a makeshift ring and seating for the press and money men was erected.
Kilrain was the first fighter to approach the ring and did the obligatory “Throwing your hat into the ring” Sullivan wasted no time and entered the ring soon after. Kilrain saw straight away that Sullivan had trained very hard for the fight and its suggested he had doubts about his own chances in the fight even before the first bell. As the first round got under way Sullivan was thrown over Kilrains hip after less than a minute, he evaded Sullivan who was well known for a great right hand and smothered and wrestled him. Round after round followed in the blistering heat, Sullivan’s ear was torn open after a thunderous right-hand roundhouse punch landed and he continued to frustrate Sullivan no end.
As the fight continued, so did the temperature, it rose to well over 104, the heat drained both men and By round 44 after Sullivan vomited in the ring, it seemed Kilrain was on top. A draw was offered by Kilrain and perhaps this was a sign that he was just as tired as Sullivan. The fight continued and the real battle began, not with each other but against oneself to continue when many would have gave in. In testament to both men’s endurance the fight reached the 75th round and after Kilrain was warned from the doctor that if he came out for the 76th he could die, the sponge from his cornermen was thrown in the air…….After 2hrs and 16 minutes Sullivan was declared the winner and the undisputed champion of the world. The world was about to change in respect to bareknuckle fighting and Sullivan goes down in history as the last of the great heavyweight champions of the world.
After the Kilrain fight, Sullivan returned to his old ways of drinking and once again piled the weight on. He decided to fight again, and, it was against a younger, fitter fighter named James J. Corbett. Sullivan came into the fight a sad portly figure but still the odds on favorite. This time it was to be fought with gloves which then weighed 5oz’s. The title at stake was for the heavyweight championship of the world under the Queensbury rules. Corbett from California out boxed Sullivan and knocked him out in 21 rounds. Despite this defeat against Corbett, Sullivans legacy as one of the greatest sporting legends continues to this day. He retired in 1915 and became a reformed man, who travelled the land preaching the word of god and the dangers of drink and was the first sportman to earn over $1,000,000…..
*If anyone is interested in reading more on the origins of bare knuckle boxing, here is a link to Michael Blackett’s site- THE HISTORY OF BAREKNUCKLE BOXING
