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Title: Bare-knuckle boxing champ's belt celebrating 39-round bout sells for £32k
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URL Source: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/59 ... ng-39-round-bout-sells-for-32k
Published: Aug 1, 2015
Author: GEOFF MAYNARD
Post Date: 2015-08-01 21:37:43 by A K A Stone
Keywords: None
Views: 911
Comments: 3
A BOXING belt awarded to a 19th century bare-knuckle fighter who went 39 rounds in epic David v Goliath bout has sold for more than £30,000. Unofficial champion John L Sullivan Charley Mitchell spent three hours slugging it out in the ring with unofficial world heavyweight champion John L. Sullivan in the illicit brawl in 1888. Mitchell, a Briton who had a fearsome reputation for taking on men much bigger than himself, was 27 when he challenged the unbeaten American. Despite being almost three stones lighter than Sullivan, who had defeated him five years previously, the plucky Brummie took part in a rematch in France on March 10, 1888. The fight, held in the pouring rain, lasted three hours and 11 minutes over 39 rounds and was so brutal that both boxers were unrecognisable be the end. At the time, boxing was illegal in France and as soon as police got wind of the fight, held at Baron Rothschild’s home in Chantilly, they broke it up and arrested Mitchell and Sullivan and threw them in jail. The fighters managed to break out of their cells and donned disguises to evade their French captors. Underdog in the fight Charley Mitchell Because the fight was stopped by police it was ruled to be a draw but many considered Mitchell to be the true victor. On his return to Britain his supporters had the lavish gold and silver belt made to commemorate the epic bout. For decades it was owned by Nat Fleisher, proprietor of The Ring boxing magazine, and then passed into private hands following his death in 1972. The belt sold for £32,000, nearly double the expected price, at auction in Chicago on Thursday. Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions, said: “Few early boxing relics survive from this era and Mitchell’s belt is one of the most coveted. The belt is both a piece of sporting history as well as English history. In terms of boxing memorabilia this is up there with the best - it’s unique.” 
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#1. To: A K A Stone (#0)
The 1st UFC. I'd have liked to have seen this bout. Very interesting. I'm the infidel... Allah warned you about. كافر المسلح
I remember this from a law class I had. Boxing is assault and battery and thus illegal even if consensual. When they legalized boxing it opened up the door for pornography to become legalized as well. Paying people to have sex is illegal even if its in a porn movie context. Porn "actors" were arrested on prostitution charges for example. Then the porn industry's lawyer took it to court and argued that since boxing was legalized assault and battery as a spectator sport amongst professionals then the same rational applies to porn movie legalization. The court reluctantly agreed.
The actual 1st UFC and early UFCs were tournament style events with victory coming after multiple fights on the same night. The days of Royce Gracie and fighting in a gi, no weight classes, and few rules.
#2. To: A K A Stone (#0)
At the time, boxing was illegal in France and as soon as police got wind of the fight, held at Baron Rothschild’s home in Chantilly, they broke it up and arrested Mitchell and Sullivan and threw them in jail.
#3. To: GrandIsland, A K A Stone (#1)
The 1st UFC.
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