Modern authorities have retroactively labelled Ryan the "Heavyweight Champion of America", but any claim to Ryan's being a "world champion" would have been dubious; he had never contended internationally as Sullivan had.
Moderna myndigheter har retroaktivt avgivit Ryan som "Heavyweight Champion of America", men alla anspråk på att Ryan var en "världsmästare" är missvisande, då han hade aldrig tävlade internationellt som Sullivan gjort.