John L. Sullivan

Sullivan was reportedly devastated at losing his title, according to one account, sobbing in his dressing room afterwards, and drinking heavily through the night. To add insult to injury, Sullivan took home no money from the fight that cost him his title; he had insisted on "winner take all" rules. He did, however, recoup some of the money he lost betting on himself in the fight by sparring in an exhibition match with Corbett ten days later at New York's Madison Square Garden. The exhibition was organized as a benefit for the hard-up ex-champion, who earned $6,000 for it.

Sullivan stayed in the game for few more years sparring in exhibition matches before hanging up his gloves for good to become an advocate for the prohibition of alcohol. He died in 1818 of a heart attack and was buried in Boston. Jim Corbett served as an honorary pall bearer.

John L. Sullivan, the Boston Strong Boy, ended an era when he was defeated in the first heavyweight boxing championship in which the participants wore gloves. A heavy drinker and a barroom brawler, Sullivan also represented the end of boxing's street fighting days; with his defeat he helped to usher in the modern era of professional boxing, in which skill and strategy are as highly valued as strength.