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Hotly Disputed Fight Ends in Draw - April 17, 1860   In Hampshire, England, John C. Heenen, 6'2", 182 lbs., fought a much shorter opponent, Thomas Sayers, 5'8", 154 lbs.  The fight went on for six rounds, when Sayers fractured his right arm. BUT, the fight continued to 41 rounds, when it was declared a "draw."  Both boxers were made champions and both received championship belts.

Twenty-Five Round Bout - The fight was over in 35 Minutes - December 24, 1863
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER--The front page reports: "The Great Prize-Fight In England" "King Vanquishes Heenan" "Twenty-Five Rounds Fought" "The Fight Over in Thirty-five Minutes". Minor report followed by a round by round account of the fight.

Boxing: Without Equal, The First Jack Dempsey
A fellow by the name of John Kelly was born in County Kildare, Ireland on the 15th of December, 1862. Twenty-one years later, having emigrated to America with his parents and taken up work as a cooper, John volunteered to substitute in a boxing match. Over the course of twenty-one rounds of combat that resulted in the knockout defeat of Ed McDonald, John Kelly was reborn as Jack Dempsey, later to be given the sobriquet "Nonpareil", meaning "having no equal."  ©By Dave Mckee of ringsidereport.com

Marquis of Queensberry - Year of 1866
In 1866 in England, The Marquis of Queensberry, a prominent figure in British sporting circles, developed rules for the sport.  Some of the major rules involved that fighters would wear gloves, no wrestling, three minutes rounds, with a one-minute rest, recovery time from a knockdown, etc.  These rules were not readily accepted and it took time for the boxing community to accept such rules.

Bare Knuckles Championship held in Kenner, Louisiana - 1870! In 1870, in Kenner, Louisiana, there was a bare knuckles championship fight was held on the banks of the Mississippi River in the southern part of the city. According to reporting news media there were over a thousand boxing fans who attending the event.  The boxing match was between two British boxers.  

Sullivan Fights Flood - May 1881
John Sullivan faced John Flood "the Bullshead Terror"  on a moonlit barge towed a few miles up the Hudson River, just outside the jurisdiction of the New York City police. The fight did not last too long, and Sullivan came out the winner. This led to a championship fight match with Paddy Ryan.

Sullivan Defeats Paddy Ryan - February 7, 1882!
John L. Sullivan defeated Irish-born Paddy Ryan by a TKO in the ninth round in  Mississippi City, Mississippi, for the World bare knuckle title fought under the London Prize Ring rules. Ryan was recognized as THE heavyweight champ, he lost his crown to John L. Sullivan, a first-generation American of Irish decent.  It was Sullivan's fearless, and brawling style who had a knockout punch that was responsible for the rise of boxing's popularity in America. (Source: Legends and Lores, ©Copyrighted - Link: http://www.ibhof.com/brithvy.htm)

Amateur Boxing Makes It's Mark - March 11, 1882 In March of 1882, it is documented that an Amateur event occurred in New York!  The Amateur Boxing and Wrestling Championships of America.

Boxing Trivia: First Fight Held in a Ball Park
The first fight held in a ball park dated back to July 4, 1882, in Washington Park.  The great John L. Sullivan KO'd Jimmy Elliot in three rounds.

Sullivan Continues His Dominates in the Sport! - August 29, 1885 John L. Sullivan won a six-round decision over Dominic McCaffrey in Cincinnati, Ohio, for the vacant World title fought under the Marquees of Queensbury rules with boxing gloves.

Dempsey KO'd Campbell in Oregon
On November 2, 1885, in Portland, Oregon Jack Dempsey fought Dave Campbell, an Oregon Champion, in the third round by knockout This fight was under the Queensberry rules, using hard gloves. Also on the card, they had a bare-knuckle fight, featuriing Larry Sullivan vs. Tom Ward, of Astoria. It was reported that the fight was bloody and lasted 72 rounds, when Sullivan threw up the sponge. (Quoted in NY Times, dated November 3, 1885)

Boxers Fight 75 Rounds - July 8, 1889
Hard to believe that John L. Sullivan fought Jake Kilrain in a 75 round competition....The purse they receive...$20,000.  Source: Boxing Illustrated - W.S. FarnsworthFarsworth  who wrote: "The bell for the seventy-fifth round had sounded.  Sullivan rushed from his corner and knocked Kilrain down.  Jake was dazed as he was carried off the canvas by his handlers.  The final punch was a wicked right-hander that landed cleanly on the button." When the bell rang for the 76th found, Kilrain was unable to continue.  It was staged on the turf at turf at Richburg, Mississippi. A crowd of 5, 000 attended the battle, which was pronounced to be something phenomenal. The date was July 8, 1889. The purse of $20,000 was astoundingly large to ring followers of that era, but today is only small-time money.  About the forty-fourth round Sullivan became sick The bell for the seventy-fifth round had sounded. Sullivan rushed from his corner and knocked Kilrain down. Jake was dazed as he was carried off the canvas by his handlers. The final punch Was a wicked right-hander that landed cleanly on the button. The bell for the seventy-sixth rang,  but Kilrain was unable to toe the mark, and his chief second, Mike Donovan, threw the sponge in the ring. This was the last bare knuckle championship staged in the United States and marked the passing of the old London prize ring rules. This was a fight that would make the battles of the the present day look like pink-tea affairs. Anything and everything went.  About the forty-fourth round Sullivan became sick and his backers began to get worried. Kilrain Evidently thought so also. "Do you want to draw the fight" Kilrain asked Sullivan. Sullivan said, "No you Loafer" and knocked him to the earth. In the forty-fifth round Sullivan committed a very apparent foul. After clinching with Kilrain, the latter went down, and Sullivan, falling on top, deliberately jumped on the fallen man’s head with his knees. Sullivan’s sickness disappeared in the fifty-second round and after that gave Kilrain a terrible beating. The Bontonian kept up the attack from then to the end. 

Corbett Defeats Sullivan - September, 7, 1892 
James J. Corbett defeated John L. Sullivan with a KO in the 21st round!  The fight took place in New Orleans, Louisiana.   Sullivan came out of semi-retirement to fight Corbett for the title using the Marquees of Queensbury rules. Boxing from now on would be governed by these rules.  After a spectacular 10-year reign, Sullivan lost the belt to American James J. Corbett, who lost the belt to Bob Fitzsimmons. Fitzsimmons was born in England but fought primarily out of Australia and the United States. However, when American James J. Jeffries dethroned him in 1899, it began nearly a century-long drought of British heavyweight champions. (Source: Legends and Lores, ©Copyrighted - Link: http://www.ibhof.com/brithvy.htm)

Fitzsimmons Defeats Corbett - March 17, 1897
Bob Fitzsimmons  defeated James J. Corbett when he KO'd Corbett in the 14th round. The fight took place on Carson City, Nevada.

Jeffries KO'd Fitzsimmons - June 9, 1899 
James J. Jeffries KO'd  Bob Fitzsimmons in the 11th round in  Coney Island, New York.