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08/23/2006 Archived Entry: "New Book Out: John L. Sullivan"
New Book Out: John L. Sullivan
The Career of the First Gloved Heavyweight Champion
By Adam J. Pollack
Cyber Boxing Zone Staff writer Adam J. Pollack has come out with a new book on John L. Sullivan. Experienced in the sport not only as a writer, but as a boxing coach of highly lauded amateur boxer Emily Klinefelter, a vice chair of USA Boxing’s National Board of Review and a member of the Women's Subcommittee, Pollack has a lot to say about the sport. Pollack is also an attorney living in Iowa City, Iowa.
ISBN 0-7864-2558-X
41 photographs, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
254pp. softcover (7 x 10) 2006
$45
Not Yet Published, Available Fall/Winter 2006
Description
Essentially the last of the bare-knuckle heavyweight champions, John L. Sullivan was instrumental in the acceptance of gloved fighting. His charisma and popular appeal during this transitional period contributed greatly to making boxing a nationally popular, “legitimate” sport. Sullivan became boxing’s first superstar and arguably the first of any sport.
From his first match in the late 1870s through his final championship fight in 1892, this biography contains a thoroughly researched, detailed accounting of John L. Sullivan’s boxing career. With special attention to the 1880s, the decade during which Sullivan came to prominence, it follows Sullivan’s skill development and discusses his opponents and fights in detail, providing various viewpoints of a single event. Beginning with a discussion of early boxing practices, the sport itself is placed within sociological, legal and historical contexts including anti–prize fighting laws and the so-called “color line.” Ironically, Sullivan’s personal adherence to this final concept with his refusal to fight a black opponent remains the one blemish on a phenomenal career. A complete record of Sullivan’s career is also included.
