The death and rebirth of bare knuckle boxing
Fight Finders 004 is here!
The history of boxing starts with the history of bare knuckle boxing. John L. Sullivan, AKA the Boston Strong Boy, bridges the two. This episode of Fight Finders follows the return of John L. Sullivan’s Police Gazette heavyweight title to New Orleans, Louisiana at BYB 28!
Strong Boy: The Life and Times of John L. Sullivan: https://amzn.to/3YLwseL
Chapters:
0:00 John L. Sullivan and the death of bare knuckle
1:45 John L. Sullivan and New Orleans
4:10 Ike Villanueva chasing John L. Sullivan
5:48 Ike Villanueva vs. Gustavo Trujillo
The history of John L. Sullivan follows us to my home state of Louisiana. The last ever bare knuckle bout for Sullivan was supposed to happen in New Orleans against Jake Kilrain. Authorities were cracking down on bare knuckle boxing, which had been made illegal. Sullivan and Kilrain moved the fight north to Mississippi to compete. After the fight, both were arrested.
Sullivan returned to New Orleans in his next fight, the first championship fight held under Queensberry rules. There, he took on James Corbett and suffered the only loss of his career.
Fast forwarding to modern day, the incumbent BYB champion, Ike Villanueva, is training to face Gustavo Trujillo for the return of the Police Gazette heavyweight title. We follow Ike Villanueva in his training camp as he prepares for the historic night.
Then comes fight night. For John L. Sullivan’s title, Ike Villanueva and Gustavo Trujillo face off and throw down. Will Villanueva stand on business and take the Police Gazette heavyweight title home to Houston or will the era of Gustavo Trujillo begin?