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The Boston Strong Boy
JOHN WIGHT tells the fascinating story of the rivalry between American bareknuckle boxer John L Sullivan and journalist Kyle Fox, both pioneers in the popularisation of the sport as we know it today
[Public Domain]
JOHN L SULLIVAN’S is a name that still resonates within the world of not just boxing but sports overall, despite him having been dead since 1918. When you take the time to look back at his remarkable life, you begin to understand why.
Born into poverty in 1858 in Roxbury, Massachusetts, Sullivan began fighting professionally in 1878 at age 20. This was the era of bareknuckle bouts and Sullivan’s prowess in the ring quickly earned him the nickname The Boston Strong Boy.
A period in US history in which rugged masculinity and hard drinking were viewed as the hallmarks of a man and the country’s frontier spirit, Sullivan swiftly came to symbolise both as he cut a swathe through his opponents to emerge as the “first significant mass cultural hero in American life.”
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