Tom Hyer Beats Yankee Sullivan

Tom Hyer won the American Bare Knuckle Prizefighting Championship in 1841. Like most prizefighting champions of the Nineteenth Century, he did not fight very often. Hyer normally paid his bills as an enforcer for political parties in New York. Semula, Hyer menggunakan bakatnya untuk Whig tetapi kemudian beralih kesetiaan ke Whig “Know Nothing Party” with his friend William “Bill Jagal” Untuk.

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. Muak dengan kelakuan Sullivan, Pihak berwenang Australia mulai mengkritiknya. Sullivan memutuskan bahwa New York menawarkan kemungkinan yang lebih baik.

Ketika Sullivan tiba di New York, Ia mengaku telah banyak bertarung dalam perebutan hadiah di Australia (which could not be verified). Sullivan segera menantang Hyer untuk memperebutkan gelarnya. Sebuah pertarungan disetujui. Orang-orang itu bertempur di 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. Para pejuang dan detik-detik mereka benar-benar melawan polisi untuk menghindari penangkapan.

Sullivan’s and Hyer’s seconds met at 4 p.m. di Still's Pond. The men fought at 5 p.m. Oleh 5:30 sore, 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. Tembakan solid ini membangunkan sang juara.

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. Lemparan adalah sah dalam pertarungan hadiah bare knuckle. Lemparan yang berhasil biasanya mengakhiri suatu ronde.

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 edisi 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, sedangkan Hyer mengalami bengkak di sekitar matanya.

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 Jagal” 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, beberapa pengamat percaya Sullivan dibunuh oleh warga tetapi tidak ada bukti nyata yang dihasilkan.

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