Dave Sullivan (boxer)
| Dave Sullivan | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Rated at | Featherweight |
| Height | 5 ft 4.5 in (1.64 m) |
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
May 10, 1877 Knocknanaff, County Cork, Ireland |
| Died | 1929 |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 58 |
| Wins | 29 |
| Wins by KO | 18 |
| Losses | 12 |
| Draws | 17 |
| No contests | 1 |
Dave Sullivan (May 10, 1877 – 1929) was an Irish-American boxer who took the World Featherweight Title on September 26, 1898 in a controversial bout against Solly Smith, in Brooklyn, New York on a fifth-round technical knockout, three rounds after Smith had broken his arm. He would hold the title only forty-six days before losing it to the legendary Black champion George Dixon. Dan Donelly was a corner man and may have acted as his trainer.
Dave Sullivan was born in Knocknanaff, County Cork, Ireland on May 10, 1877. His brother "Spike", accomplished as a lightweight, was also a successful boxer, and his brother Jack sometimes acted as one of his corner men. Like many Irish immigrants, he ended up in Boston, where he began boxing around 1894.
One of his first professional fights was a second-round knockout against Barty McGriel on July 27, 1895 in Boston. Sullivan fought New London featherweight Austin Rice a total of four times, with the first bout coming on September 15, 1896, in a ten-round draw in Queens, New York. Sullivan was actually knocked down twice in their September 15 bout was back on his feet very quickly. He had traveled from Boston for the bout to substitute for another boxer. Rice was eight pounds heavier, in addition to having a slight advantage in height.
On February 17, 1897, he knocked out Patsy Haley in front of a crowd of 2000, in the thirteenth round, at the New Polo Athletic Club in New York City. Haley would become on of New York's most important referees in the 1920s and 1930s, judging many world competitions. Describing the exciting bout with Sullivan, the Saint Paul Globe wrote "Haley at one time looked like a sure winner, but it was only for a brief interval as Sullivan fought like a bull and was a glutton for punishment." Haley was down twice in the thirteenth round, being counted out when he went down for the second time near his corner. Two months later at the Polo Club, on April 28, he would knock out Haley again in the twenty-second round.
On the strength of his showing against leading contenders, Sullivan met British boxer Pedlar Palmer in London on October 18, 1897 in what was billed as a World 116 pound Title Match, a World Bantamweight Championship. The purse was $3,500. It would become his first loss according to most sources. Palmer was reported to have injured his hands in the eleventh round, with his right being particularly affected. He failed to receive the twenty round points decision, but established himself as the primary contender for the World Featherweight Title.
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