Last Bare-Knuckle Heavyweight Fight: Boxing Gets Gloves
John L. Sullivan beat Paddy Ryan in nine rounds. Bare knuckles. No gloves. The fight lasted 10 minutes and 30 seconds. Ryan's face was unrecognizable. Sullivan became the last bare-knuckle champion and the first gloved champion three years later. He fought under both rules. The transition happened because bare-knuckle fights were illegal in most states — promoters kept moving locations to avoid arrests. This fight happened in Mississippi because they'd been chased out of New Orleans. Boxing didn't get safer because anyone cared about safety. It got safer because it needed to become legal to make money.
February 7, 1882
144 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on February 7
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