When Boxing Was, Like, Ridiculously Racist

By Ian Carey

This is the story of the lineage of Boxing's World Heavyweight Championship from 1882-1915 and how it explains a cultural attitude toward race and identity in that era.

The first true national and international sports celebrities were boxers in the late 1800s. Soon after the abolishment of slavery in the United States the first World Champions of the sport were crowned. As the Champion of the World these boxing heavyweights were held on a pedestal of athletic dominance, and in the eyes of some white Americans, and many of those in the boxing community, these champions had to be white, anything else would challenge the belief of white Anglo-saxon superiority that many white Americans were clinging to at the time.

It is the story of the symbol of the World Champion during that period and what it meant in society. It's also a story about a bunch of tough, bad-ass guys from over a hundred years ago that used to beat each other up.

• Language: English
• Publisher: eBookIt.com
• Release date: Apr 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781456613150

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Introduction

Boxing today doesn’t have the cultural significance that it used to.   While still enthusiastically followed in much of the world, the sport has faded from the spotlight in the current popular cultures of much of North America and Europe.   Some of this can be attributed to the rise in popularity of the UFC and Mixed Martial Arts.   The top boxer in the world now does not have an undisputed claim to being the toughest fighter on the planet as he did in the pre-UFC and MMA days.   But for a long time the Heavyweight Boxing Championship was the title that declared who was the best of the best, and that meant a lot culturally.   In the days of John L. Sullivan, when boxing began to take shape and the first World Title was created, slavery in the United States was a fresh memory.   It was only slightly after slavery was abolished that the real history of the sport started to take shape.   The United States during this period was very divided by race.   While now free, black Americans were treated as second class citizens by government and much of the rest of white Americans, and a belief in white Anglo-Saxon superiority was present and institutionalized.

Before boxing in the 1880s, there was no such thing as a national or international sports celebrity, really.   So when boxing began to crown World Champions, with their pictures published in the media all across the world, the Heavyweight Boxing Championship became more than just an award for an athlete; it became an iconic position that transcended sport.   

The World Heavyweight Champion was the toughest man in the world, a symbol of strength and dominance not limited by weight sizes.   Whoever that person was, he would be held on a pedestal of athletic dominance and superiority, and many in that period believed that this person had to be white, or this would directly challenge the belief of racial superiority that many in white America were clinging to at the time.   

The belief that the Heavyweight champion had to be white was so strong that the early boxing champions would refuse to defend their title against black challengers. Black challengers could fight against white fighters in non-title bouts against non-champions, but the champions and their titles were off limits.   This was referred to as a champion Drawing the Color Line.   

The story ahead is the complete lineage of the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship from 1882-1915 and how it explains a cultural attitude toward race and identity in that era.   It is the story of the symbol of the World Champion during that period and what it meant in society.   It’s also a story about a bunch of tough, bad-ass guys from over a hundred years ago that used to beat each other up.

Chapter One:

Origins of the Heavyweight Title

John L. Sullivan

Name: John L. Sullivan

Alias: The Boston Strong Boy

Birth Name: John Lawrence Sullivan

Born: 1858-10-15

Birthplace: Roxbury, Massachusetts, USA

Died: 1918-02-02 (Age:59)

Nationality: US American

Hometown: Roxbury, Massachusetts, USA

Stance: Orthodox

Height: 5′ 10½″     /     179cm

Reach: 74″     /     188cm

Boxing record

Total fights 42

Wins 38 Wins

(by KO 32)

Losses 1

Draws 2

No contests 1

Most boxing historians will credit John L. Sullivan with being the first recognized World Heavyweight Boxing champion, though he only twice officially competed outside of the United States. Close your eyes and picture what you think a boxing champion from the late 1800s would look like and there is a good chance the image that will flash in your mind would bear a striking resemblance to John L. Sullivan: short, close-cropped hair with a curly handlebar moustache; always posed with his bare chest puffed out in the typical turn of the century boxing pose, a sharp bend formed at both elbows with fists pointing straight out in front of him. Sullivan is thought to have been the first national sports celebrity in the United States, and as the iconic boxing champion of the world in the sport’s premier division, he represented the pinnacle of ruggedness and masculinity.

Sullivan’s career bridges the gap between London Prizefighting rules, which included bare fists and wrestling, to the Marquis of Queensbury rules, which closely resemble the rules of today’s sport. Sullivan is considered the first champion under the latter rules and the last under the former.   Sullivan was the son of Irish immigrants and lived during a period where prejudice toward the Irish and Catholics was strong.   He worked menial jobs around Boston to support himself as