00:23Hello out there, Peabody here, along with Sherman and Wayback.
00:26Wayback is a time machine. Sherman, a boy.
00:30I set the Wayback machine for July 8th, 1888, just like you told me, Mr. Peabody.
00:34Good boy, Sherman. And now if you'll set the indicator for Richburg, Massachusetts, we'll be off.
00:38Off to witness the most titanic struggle in boxing history,
00:42the heavyweight championship battle between Jake Kilrane and the immortal John L. Sullivan.
00:47The Wayback, incomparable invention that it is, hurtled us back through time and space to the site of Sullivan's training
00:53camp.
00:53Hello, this is O'Hara, Sullivan's manager. I'd like to bet $5,000 on Jake Kilrane.
00:59Well, that's what I said. $5,000 on Kilrane.
01:03Excuse me, Mr. O'Hara, but are you really going to bet against your own fighter?
01:06You're darn right I am. In John L.'s condition, he couldn't punch a clock.
01:11O'Hara led the way to an outdoor ring.
01:13There's your John L. Flat on his back, and he's been that way all week.
01:17Too much trading?
01:18No, too much mustache. That mustache of his is so heavy he can't lift it.
01:23Between the three of us, we managed to elevate Sullivan to a standing position.
01:27Are you all right, Mr. Sullivan?
01:30He can't speak, lad. Too much pressure on the lips. Stand clear for a second. We'll see how he does.
01:37John, John, John, my lad. Why do you think I give you a razor on your birthday?
01:42This is serious, Mr. Peabody. The fight takes place in an hour.
01:45What fight? You mean the slaughter? Oh, if only there were something we could do.
01:50There is. What? Shave him. O'Hara put in an urgent call for the nearest barber, and ten minutes later...
01:57There, how's that look?
01:58Not his hair! The mustache! Cut his mustache!
02:02And after another ten minutes...
02:04It's no use, mister. This man's mustache won't a cut.
02:06I'm a rule of five a pair of seas, four combs, and a half a pair of twees.
02:10Well, I'd best be calling up Kilderain's manager and telling him the fight's off.
02:14Don't do that, Mr. O'Hara. Mr. Peabody'll think of something.
02:17And, of course, I did.
02:19And in this corner, wearing black leotards and pink balloons, John L. Sullivan!
02:29That sure was a great idea, Mr. Peabody. Those balloons are keeping the mustache up.
02:34Now remember, Kilderain, keep away from that left balloon.
02:37I don't like it. I ain't never fought no balloons before.
02:40Don't worry about it. What comes up must come down.
02:43Yeah. What's that supposed to mean?
02:45I don't know. It just sounded like the right thing to say.
02:48The fight was on. Round one found the two antagonists more or less sizing each other up.
02:53Sullivan could hardly raise a hand due to his inactivity of the past week.
02:56And thanks to my talents with a brush, Kilderain was confused by three mustachioed opponents.
03:01How'd you get the black eye, Kilderain? I didn't see him hit you.
03:04He didn't. That left balloon did.
03:06Well, never you mind. Patience is a virtue.
03:09I like what comes up must come down better.
03:12For 30 grueling rounds, the battle raged. At that point, John L. Sullivan was slightly ahead.
03:18You fool. The judges took that round away from you.
03:22But why? I never hit them below the belt.
03:25No, but you hit them below the balloon. Now keep those punches high.
03:28Kilderain did just that. Unfortunately, by round 75, no matter how high he aimed, he couldn't score.
03:33It seemed that Sullivan's balloons had inflated slightly, making him immune to a ground attack.
03:38Come down and fight, Sullivan!
03:40Golly, Mr. Peabody, if John L. can keep away from Kilderain, he'll win a decision.
03:45Ah, but fate proved otherwise, for John L.'s lofty position placed him directly under the powerful lights,
03:49lights that gave off a staggering degree of heat.
03:53He's down! Sullivan's down!
03:55Two, three, four, five...
04:00Get up, John L. Get up!
04:01It's his mustache, Mr. Peabody. He'll never make it.
04:04Nothing in this world will make him rise.
04:07It was then I noticed a gentleman in the first row digesting a huge platter of corned beef and cabbage.
04:12And if John L. Sullivan were any sort of Irishman, he'd rise for this.
04:16Would you mind if I borrow this for a moment? Thank you.
04:19Well, of course, the rest is history.
04:21John L. took one slight inhalation of corned beef and cabbage and turned into a raging tiger.
04:27Sullivan was the new champion.
04:30What a fighter he was, Mr. Peabody. Probably the most famous of all time.
04:35True, Sherman, but his manager was equally famous.
04:38Mr. O'Hara?
04:39Oh, yes. He joined the Marines and became the most talked-about celebrity of our time.
04:43I never heard of him, Mr. Peabody.
04:45Really, Sherman? You never heard of Marine O'Hara?
04:50Ha, ha, ha.
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