Where Boxers Come From: A Sociological Explanation

The first person recognized as the World Heavyweight Champion of Boxing was John L. Sullivan. According to Wikipedia, he was “a cultural icon of the late 19th century America, arguably the first boxing superstar and one of the world’s highest-paid athletes of his era.” Sullivan was the son of Irish immigrants. He defeated a fellow Irish-American, Paddy Ryan, to gain his title. Although Ryan had the title, he was not considered the “world” champion because he did not face opponents outside the United States. To complete this Celtic circle, Sullivan defended his title for seven years until losing to another Irish-American, James “Gentleman Jim” Corbett.

Photo of John L. Sullivan via Wikimedia/Creative Commons

People from Ireland had been immigrating to the United States since the 1700s. With the Irish potato famine in the mid-1800s, immigration increased dramatically. The Irish established a sizeable footprint in Eastern cities like New York and Boston. They were poor and worked as low-wage laborers in the cities where they settled. They were also openly discriminated against, as illustrated by this 1954 New York Times advertisement.

Some of the best boxers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries came from this environment of manual labor, poverty, and discrimination.