JOHN L SULLIVAN INFO

[Lynyrdbox]

According to many sources John L Sullivan became heavyweight champion by either beating Charlie Mitchell in 1888 or beating Jake Kilrain in 1889, neither fight is listed in his records on Box Rec

Can anyone shed light on this? Also how many defenses of the title did he make, some books have said three but contradict the timeline by stating that the Mitchell fight came after Kilrain and that Sullivan and Mitchell drew the fight

I am seeking to clarify when and against whom did Sullivan get the 'title' world heavyweight champ and how many defenses before Corbett claimed it.

Thank You
Mark

[John]

Was bare knuckles under the London Prize Ring rules, see http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Jake_ ... ._Sullivan

[SteveO]

John L Sullivan won the world heavyweight title on August 29th 1885 when he beat Dominick McCaffrey.
He lost the title on September 7th 1892 in his first and only defense against James J Corbett.
Although Sullivan had other contests between 1885-1892 they were either not recognized as title fights or they were bare knuckle contests.

[Lynyrdbox]

Thank you all,

I know it was over 100 years ago, but I have 7 books on my desk and all say different things. In majority it says when he beat Kilrain, as this was the last fight fought under bare knuckle rules. Also other bare knuckle fights are listed on his record so why not Kilrain or Mitchell??

I appreciate your help. I am a screenwriter and am engaged on a script about the life of a boxer in the 1890's. I would like to get the environment as accurate as I can.

Regards
Mark