John L. Sullivan win the first fight of his career.

[1877] Sullivan knocks out Jack (Mike) Scannell in a boxing match at the Dudley Street Opera House. Afterwards, he declares, “If there is anybody here who thinks I can’t lick him, let him stand up” – later reported as, “I can lick any man in the house.” Sullivan is described in the Boston Globe as the “strong boy of Boston Highlands” in March 14, 1879, and later comes to be called the “Boston Strong Boy.”