John L. Sullivan
John Lawrence Sullivan was born October 18, 1858 in the city of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Sullivan is often acknowledged as the last heavyweight bare-fisted boxing champion as well as the first heavyweight gloved boxing champion. Although Sullivan didn't win every fight, he was extremely dominant and popular for his sport. “If you can visualize a Mike Tyson/Floyd Patterson, a guy who was very fast, who had two-fisted punching power, very aggressive, that was John L. Sullivan.”- Adam Pollack From 1878-1905, Sullivan fought in 35 matches, winning 31 of which 16 were won with knock outs. Sullivan is honored to this day for his toughness and heavy devotion to drinking by Irish whisky, dodge trucks, and many other companies naming products after the dominating early boxer. He was the first athlete celebrity and was recognized and adored everywhere he went. Unfortunately, on February 2, 1918, the iconic champion passed away suddenly of heart issues. Sullivan was also the first American athlete to earn one million dollars from his success. “When I started out boxing,I felt within myself, as I do now, that I could knock out any man living.” J.L.S. certainly tried to fulfill this feeling, as he became a dominant competitor and remained just that until the day that his body could no longer take the stress of fighting. This attitude of never giving up or accepting defeat is a big part of what made Sullivan both so successful and popular with the public during his reign over sporting fans minds.