Abstract
During the 1880s, National Police Gazette publisher Richard Kyle Fox helped create modern boxing by conducting promotions, offering prize belts, and publicizing the exploits of boxing great John L. Sullivan. Fox used the Gazette not just to chronicle the adventures of buxom showgirls or to sensationalize the latest heinous crime; it also was a pulpit to denounce hypocrites who opposed the modern sport of boxing. Through his tenacity, and good fortune in having the deeds of a legend such as Sullivan to play up, Fox became one of the most influential sports figures of the nineteenth century; and it made him a millionaire. Sullivan was just as fortunate, becoming world famous. This article tells the story of Fox, Sullivan, and the National Police Gazette during part of Fox's lengthy tenure as editor and publisher. The Gazette, while it is perhaps best known for its emphasis on sex and crime as a precursor to today's tabloid journalism, also should be remembered for its unrelenting, early support of professional prizefighting.
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