Offered is a John L. Sullivan boxing championship belt buckle, possibly an original prototype for his Heavyweight Championship belt. The 5¾ x 7¼-inch silver metal plate is engraved “John L. Sullivan” in the center with a raised outline of an eagle at the top of the device, and the outlines of six flags and a fig leaf arrayed behind the eagle. The scroll work around Sullivan’s name is raised, along with four raised stars and scallops. The metal plate is stored in a 4¼ x 6¼ x 9-inch wooden cigar box with a simple metal latch and hinge. This item comes with a printed photograph of the final gold belt with enameled flags and encrusted jewels. According to histories of the sport, when accounts of Sullivan’s era wrote of the “heavyweight championship of the world,” they are referring to the championship belt presented to Sullivan in Boston, Massachusetts on August 8, 1887. The belt was inscribed “Presented to the Champion of Champions, John L. Sullivan, by the Citizens of the United States.” Its centerpiece, of which the offered item is the likely prototype, featured the flags of the United States, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

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