Who is or was the greatest warrior who ever lived? For some, indeed for many, John L. Sullivan is that man. Terror. Beast. A born-to-fight warrior who had an insatiable appetite for fighting, drinking, and more fighting. Sullivan, born on this day in 1858 in Boston, Massachusetts, lived rapid, fought harder than strenuous, and died newborn; at the age of 59.

Over the course of his relatively tiny life, “The Boston Mighty Boy,” all 5’10” and about 190 pounds, did more than enough to fill the mind of a filmmaker who wanted to make not one, but two films dedicated to the man who according to some, he ranks in his own right when it comes to the greatest of the great to ever wear gloves. But of course, as we know, John L. didn’t put on padded gloves until he had reached the end as a player; and at that time, a warrior’s gloves didn’t have much padding.

Well, in John L.’s day it was much, much harder for a boxer, and Sullivan regularly destroyed any man who had no interest in the sport of which he was the king. And when it comes to the simply amazing fights Sullivan was involved in, there are too many that are generally undocumented, at least properly. While the valuable articles covering Sullivan’s superfight have opinions as to who is different, various authors of the time wrote the most correct description of what actually happened in the ring; or on the pitch.

However, in the opinion of most boxing historians, the fight that took place on July 8, 1889, the last bare-knuckle title fight in history, is the most unforgettable battle/war/fight until the end of Sullivan – call it whatever you want.

In what was probably his biggest and most notable fight, Sullivan, to most people the heavyweight champion of the world – the man who said he would “lick every son of a bitch in the house” and did – faced a challenge: Jake Kilrain. Kilrain himself had a claim to the heavyweight title (given to him by the publisher of the then influential newspaper The Police Gazette), and the two were to meet at an undisclosed location to settle their dispute.

Bare-knuckle fighting was illegal in 38 states at the time, and if you wanted to see a Sullivan-Kilrain fight, you had to rely on word of mouth. About 3,000 fans made it to the field in Richburg, Mississippi, where the fight was to take place. The first round was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., with the fight to determine the winner who would take home $10,000 per side, with the winner taking it all. The temperature at that time in the shade was 100 degrees. And, as the saying goes, there wasn’t much shade.

Sullivan’s reputation brought him great results. Sullivan, an extremely ponderous drinker, fought both drunk and sober, mostly with the former. Regularly sipping prescribed amounts of bourbon from a beer mug – yes, a beer mug – Sullivan boasted, rightly so, that no man could drink four rounds with him. Traveling all over the country, taking on everyone, John L. defeated 59 opponents with one bounce. None lasted beyond the fourth round, and most were dealt with in the first round.

However, the prevailing thought in the Kilrain camp was that Sullivan only had good legs for about 20 minutes and that his legs, like the legs of all drunks, would fail him after that point in the fight if he made it that far. Kilrain was extremely prepared and his plan was to take Sullivan into the later rounds and then take control and win. Kilrain was a clever boxer who knew how to box and move.

In the first rounds of that historic day, Kilrain took the lead (a round only ended when a man went down and could therefore last minutes or mere seconds) as he refrained from fighting Sullivan, focusing instead on avoiding the gigantic one…hitting John’s throws L. Furious, Sullivan roared at his rival, “Why don’t you fight! You’re supposed to be a champion, right?”

In round seven, Kilrain landed a ponderous shot to the head that drew blood from Sullivan’s ear. In the next session, Sullivan scored his first knockdown of the fight. Both men were already suffering, the heat and intensity of the battle was punishing. But the fight was just beginning. The fight lasted 30 rounds, the blood of both men flowed, and the fierce heat harmed the naked backs of both fighters.

After the 30th round, it was Kilrain who was tired and slowing down, not Sullivan. It turned out that Sullivan could fight for long periods of time after drinking enormous amounts of alcohol; or was Sullivan “on the wagon” preparing for this fight? In any case, Sullivan was in command now, with more knockdowns and falls. But there was no end to Kilrain and he kept raising the level again and again. Amazingly, but also painfully, there are still over 40 rounds of battle left! Finally, in the 75th round, the doctor informed the Kilrain supporter that if they allowed their man to go out for more, “he would die”. That was the end. The last title fight in the history of bare-knuckle fighting lasted an exhausting, almost unimaginable, 2 hours and 16 minutes.

John L. Sullivan was the king of kings. There was no doubt about it.

Sullivan lost his next fight over three years later, this time fighting Jim Corbett in the first world heavyweight title fight fought under Marquees rules. The great man died in February 1918 at the age of only 59. One of the pallbearers was Jake Kilrain, who lived to be 78 years ancient.

It wasn’t just a great fight – imagine, fight fans, being there live that day – it’s a history lesson.

Talk about a boxer who could blow heated and frosty in a significant way. Puerto Rican hunk Carlos De Leon was able to box masterfully in one evening, also displaying good punching power and venom. On another night, De Leon might have looked disinterested and inactive. However, at his best, the man known as “Sugar” was actually quite sweet. De Leon, who made history twice – by becoming the first man to regain the cruiserweight title and then, later, by becoming the first fighter to win the cruiserweight title four times, had a long career and faced many huge names.

Turning professional in August 1974, at the age of just 15, De Leon scored eight straight victories before losing a four-round decision to Roberto Colon in 1975. Fighting at home in Puerto Rico as well as in the Virgin Islands, De Leon was 29-2 by the time he won his first world title; De Leon lost another fight on points, this time to Ray Hammond in 1977. Facing Marvin Camel in Fresh Orleans on November 25, a fight taking place on the Sugar Ray Leonard-Roberto Duran “No Mas” card, De Leon defeated Camel by majority decision . The fight was not a classic one, but De Leon became the WBC champion at the age of 21.

Back with Camel, De Leon showed his strength by stopping Camel in the eighth round. Then, surprisingly, De Leon was knocked down in two rounds by ST Gordon. De Leon bounced back with wins over Ivy Brown and Leon Spinks before making history by avenging his loss to Gordon by scoring over 12 points to become the first-ever two-time cruiserweight champion. There were good stops on Yaqui Lopez and Bash Al before De Leon was outworked and outpointed by Alonzo Ratliff in the summer of 1985.

De Leon, incredibly, still had ten years of fighting left in him.

De Leon defeated Bernard Benton to become a three-time champion a year after losing to Ratliff, and then, three defenses of the title later, “Sugar” had the biggest fight of his career. Facing Evander Holyfield in Vegas in April 1988, De Leon and his bag of tricks somewhat frustrated Holyfield, and Evander had to figure De Leon out. Holyfield finally did just that, stopping De Leon in the eighth round of their WBC/IBF/WBA unification clash.

Now 28 years venerable and with a record of 44-5, De Leon moved on and headed to the UK for the first of two fights, one of which is still considered one of the most unimaginably uninteresting “fights” ever seen. First, in May 1989, De Leon stopped Sammy Reeson in London, and with the victory he became a four-time ruler, and the WBC belt was vacated by Holyfield. Then, the following January, De Leon drew against the completely ineffective Johnny Nelson. In fact, Nelson barely landed any significant punches all night long, with the challenger only occasionally coming within range. It was shockingly bad, a real cure for insomnia. De Leon wasn’t much better than Nelson, but he was fortunate enough to keep the belt, and there was controversy during De Leon’s next fight, as he was ejected for punching Massimiliano Duran after the bell in the 11th round of the Fight Hero event in Italy. This would be De Leon’s last world title fight.

Continuing and trying his hand against several heavyweights, De Leon went 8-2 in his last ten fights before being stopped by Corrie Sanders (in the blink of an eye, the fight was over within a minute) and Brian Nielson. Finishing with a record of 53-8-1(33), De Leon began training his son, Carlos Jr. Sadly, De Leon died at the age of just 60 from a heart attack in January 2020.

How great was De Leon? Was he even great? Carlos could box; He knew a lot of tricks and moves and of course he went down in the history books. De Leon was truly useful to anyone when motivated enough. Other times, De Leon seemed like nothing special. Still, for some, a enormous portion of experts and fans, De Leon is one of the ten best cruiserweights of all time.

AUGUST 18, 1969 will be the 55th anniversary of my first professional boxing appearance. Unfortunately, I haven’t kept an exact count of how many times I’ve visited since then, but it’s secure to say that few people have visited more.

There were legendary fights that this writer watched from the stands, such as the Fight of the Century between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Roberto Duran lifting the world lightweight title from Ken Buchanan, and the miraculous comeback of Diego Corrales stopping Jose Luis Castillo. But this is the first show and the people who boxed during it will always hold a special place in my heart.

The modern Madison Square Garden had opened just over a year earlier. On this August Monday evening, it was still the Mecca of boxing. But not all performances in the hallowed arena were huge. Many relied solely on the live goal, even some at MSG.

All the men boxing that night had dreams. For some, fate will be kind. Others later went the wrong way. But on this night, they all had one thing in common: they were allowed to go as far as their in-ring talents would allow them. What happened next to some of the contestants on the show is fascinating to look back on.

There were 7,000 people in attendance at MSG that evening and the upper balcony was closed, meaning even the economical seats weren’t bad. Tickets ranged from $3 to $10. I sat in the $3 seats as a content teenager who was just content to be in the arena.

The main event of the evening was the fight between George Foreman and Chuck Wepner. More on this later. But this is the first professional match I’ve seen that stands out, between heavyweights Randy Neumann and Jeff Marx. It was won by a first-round knockout of Neumann, who was making his debut that evening. Neumann had a solid career, never achieving contender status but being in good company. He lost two of three fights to Chuck Wepner, beat Jimmy Youthful on his way to the top, and was brutally stopped in four rounds by Duane Bobick.

The highlight of Neumann’s career was probably his appearance in the MSG main event against Jerry Quarry on January 5, 1973, and he was stopped in seven rounds. He finished with a record of 31-7, 11 KOs. Neumann gained notoriety as a referee, working several crucial matches. Among my souvenirs is an autographed photo of Neumann, showing him standing over Marx with the words “You were there.”

As for Marks, he never boxed again, finishing 2-1, 2 KOs. Decades later, I talked to author Ron Ross and learned that he managed Marx. Ross planned a victory party for Marks after the fight, which for obvious reasons didn’t take place.

I don’t remember the exact order of the fights, but of the six fights shown in the program, there was one that I don’t remember at all. The welterweight fight between Angel Jose Ortiz and Juan Rueda ended in a four-round draw. Since I arrived at MSG on time, I have to assume it was a strike after the main event, which was common at the time. I may have seen it, but I don’t remember. In any case, neither of them made it far in their careers.

Novel York delicate heavyweights Angel Oquendo and Charley Devil Green fought a thrilling eight-round fight, which was a rematch from two years ago. Oquendo won this one and it seemed like he won this one too, but the judges thought otherwise. Green rocked Oquendo at one point, but I thought he looked overworked. Back then, fights in Novel York were scored based on rounds. I had it 5-2-1 for Oquendo, but Green managed to avoid a decision with a majority of 4-3-1, 4-3-1 and 4-4.

As for Oquendo, he became a respected journeyman, boxing 19 times over the next seven years before calling it a 27-20-1, 6 KO career. Oquendo mixed in elite company with the likes of Victor Galindez, Vicente Rondon and Marvin Camel, going the distance more often than not.

It is questionable whether Green should have been allowed to box Oquendo on the show. Just a month earlier, he had been knocked out in two rounds by Jose Torres in bizarre circumstances. Green was an emergency replacement that night for Jimmy Ralston, who left the arena and headed back to Buffalo mid-performance.

Green followed up his Oquendo win with several more, which earned him a spot in the main event at MSG against former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson. Green was stopped with a body shot in 10 rounds. This began a disastrous decline in both his professional and personal life. He never won another match, losing his last nine.

The last fight was against Larry Holmes, who stopped Green in one. Green’s final record was a misleading record of 13-15, 8 KOs, after losing his last nine fights. Outside the ring it was worse. In 1983, the drug-crazed Green was convicted of triple murder. He spent the rest of his life in prison and died in 2014 at the age of 75.

Undefeated in 19 fights, Garden matchmaker Teddy Brenner had huge plans for Puerto Rican heavyweight Pedro Agosto. These plans largely went to waste when the once potential Forest Ward landed miniature to the side of Agosto’s jaw, knocking him to his knee. Agosto stood up very unsteadily, jumping up and down, trying to get his legs straight.

But when the action resumed, he fell again just as Forrest attacked. At this point, referee Davey Feld stopped the match, much to the chagrin of Brenner, who felt he had abandoned the match too early. I remember thinking it was stopped sooner than it should have been, but not in such an egregious way.

Brenner never forgave Feld. When he learned that the referee had been assigned to officiate the Patterson-Green game, he used his influence on the committee to replace him. Furious, Feld refused to accept this and literally took matters into his own hands, heading to the ring in a referee’s uniform, determined to put up a fight. However, security intercepted Feld and carried him out of the ring. He never fought another fight.

Ward has never relied on results. Two months later, he was stopped by Canadian Bill Dover and retired with a record of 8-2-2.

As for Agosto, he was never the same, losing to Wepner before the end of the year, but managed to blend into elite company, being retained by the likes of Foreman, Patterson and Leon Spinks. Agosto’s final score was 28-14-1, 22 KOs.

A high-class competitor in eight rounds, Jeff Merritt overtook Henry Clark in eight rounds by scores of 6-2, 6-2 and 5-3 (same as me). The year before, Clark was a contender and some predicted he would beat Sonny Liston in the fight, but he was dominated and stopped after seven rounds.

From that point on, the California heavyweight became something of a journeyman goalie, racking up some handy victories, such as icing Merritt 47 seconds into the 1974 rematch, but being unable to compete with the division’s elite fighters like Ken Norton and Earnie Shavers. Clark retired with a record of 32-12-4, 9 KOs.

Merritt’s career turned out to be a great mystery. Promoted by Don King and serving as Muhammad Ali’s sparring partner, Merritt was a heavyweight with great potential who never quite broke through. Four years later, he stopped Ernie Terrell in the round at Madison Square Garden, but his defeat was due to problems with substance abuse. He never became a grave contender, ending his career with a record of 22-3-1, 17 KOs. Merritt just disappeared, a real loser.

Which brings us to the main event of Foreman vs. Wepner. It was Foreman’s fourth fight since turning professional two months earlier. Wepner was already a seasoned professional who had boxed 25 times, winning the most, but was outclassed against a superior opponent such as Buster Mathis, who stopped him in three.

As expected, the two met head-to-head from the opening bell of the scheduled eight-round fight. Foreman was very raw, but his talent level was clearly superior to Wepner, who was the prototypical club player at the time. True to his nickname, “Bleeder Bayonne,” Wepner was stopped in three rounds.

Foreman (76-5, 68 KO), of course, won the heavyweight division twice in dramatic fashion. He first knocked out Joe Frazier in 1973, which was considered a major upset at the time. His title loss to Ali in Zaire in 1974 is considered one of the more legendary fights in boxing history.

Foreman’s return from a 10-year absence from the ring, culminating in regaining the heavyweight title at the age of 45, is an inspiring story that is unparalleled. Who would have thought that the great, rugged heavyweight, then only 20 years venerable, would enjoy the status and popularity he eventually achieved. Ironically, Foreman made more money outside the ring as a pitcher for his barbecue machines than he ever made in it, selling his stake in the company for a reported $137 million.

Wepner’s tendency to cut back haunted him in subsequent fights, where he was stopped by Sonny Liston and Joe Bugner. Chuck was still considered a club fighter when he unexpectedly got the chance to win the heavyweight crown against Al in 1975. Rising to the challenge, Wepner had the fight of his life, but was unsuccessful as he was stopped with just 19 seconds to go. go in the 15th round.

A newborn actor, Sylvester Stallone, was sitting in the stands. He was so inspired by Wepner’s work that he wrote a screenplay based on it, which became the basis for the Oscar-winning film “Rocky”. If Wepner hadn’t boxed Ali and put in as much effort as he could, it’s more likely that the Rocky movies wouldn’t have been made at all. This in itself makes Wepner’s contribution to boxing legendary.

There’s something special about the first boxing show any of us ever attended. It stays with us for life.