Tom Hyer Beats Yankee Sullivan

Tom Hyer a remporté le Championnat Bare Knuckle la boxe américaine en 1841. Comme la plupart des champions de la boxe du XIXe siècle, il n'a pas combattu très souvent. Hyer normalement payé ses factures comme un exécuteur pour les partis politiques à New York. Initialement, Hyer employa ses talents pour les Whigs mais changea d'allégeance pour les “Ne sais rien Parti” with his friend William “Bill le Boucher” À.

38-year-old Yankee Sullivan was born James Ambrose in Ireland but grew up in London’s East End. After receiving a twenty year sentence in Australia, of which he served eight, Sullivan organized a gang. Marre des pitreries de Sullivan, Les autorités australiennes ont commencé à lui mettre la pression. Sullivan a décidé que New York offrait de meilleures possibilités.

Quand Sullivan est arrivé à New York, il a affirmé avoir combattu de nombreux combats primés en Australie (which could not be verified). Sullivan a presque immédiatement défié Hyer pour son titre. Un combat a été convenu. Les hommes se sont battus à Still Pond, Maryland on February 7, 1849. Prizefighting was illegal, so they had to move the bout once as they just avoided an army of policemen sent by Maryland authorities. Les combattants et leurs seconds ont littéralement combattu les policiers pour échapper à leur arrestation..

Sullivan’s and Hyer’s seconds met at 4 p.m. à Still's Pond. The men fought at 5 p.m. Par 5:30 p.m., Hyer had successfully defended his title.

Sullivan started out strong. Observers had Sullivan winning the first three round handily. Sullivan scored the first knockdown at the end of the third with a blow to Hyer’s neck. Ce tir solide a réveillé le champion.

Hyer picked up the pace and drew first blood. While both Hyer’s eyes were swollen, Hyer seriously injured Sullivan’s right eye. Hyer also threw Sullivan a couple of times. Les lancers étaient légaux dans les combats à mains nues. Un lancer réussi mettait normalement fin à un tour.

The February air was very cold, so neither fighter was taking much rest. They seemed determined to keep the fight going and rested little between rounds.

Hyer twisted Sullivan’s right arm in the fifteenth round but his most damaging tactic was not letting Sullivan fall. Hyer realized that Sullivan was injured in the sixteenth round. As Sullivan started to fall to end the round, Hyer caught him and trapped Sullivan’s head under his arm.

Hyer held Sullivan up as he pummeled him with powerful blow after blow. When Sullivan became to heavy for Hyer to hold up, he released Yankee’s limp body. Sullivan was unable to come back to the scratch in time delivering the victory to Hyer.

According to the February 17, 1849 édition de l' Sunbury American (Sunbury, Pennsylvania) Sullivan had to be carried from the ring by his supporters, while Champion Hyer quickly bundled up and took a boat back to Frenchtown. Sullivan’s face showed the full effect of the battle, tandis que Hyer avait un gonflement autour des yeux.

Hyer and Sullivan quickly returned to New York to avoid arrest. They also buried the hatchet. When Hyer retired in 1851 without fighting again, Sullivan claimed the title. Hyer and “Bill le Boucher” backed Sullivan in his battle with John Morrissey, a prizefighter and Tammany Hall enforcer.

After the end of his prizefighting career, Sullivan travelled to San Francisco, where he became an enforcer for the local political machine. He committed suicide or was killed while in the custody of the San Francisco Vigilance Committee in 1856.

According to newspaper reports, he slit his wrist with a knife brought with his dinner on July 1, 1856. Due to Sullivan’s death in Vigilance Committee custody, Certains observateurs pensaient que Sullivan avait été tué par des justiciers, mais aucune preuve réelle n'a jamais été produite..

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