Thomas "Sailor Tom" Sharkey (November 26, 1873 – April 17, 1953) was a boxer who fought two fights with heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries.

Standing 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) tall, Sharkey had unusually broad shoulders for a man of his height, and sported a tattoo of a star and battleship on his chest.

In 1900, he also acquired a large cauliflower ear, courtesy of a brawl with Gus Ruhlin, that added to his persona.

Sharkey's first bout against a front-line fighter occurred in 1896 when he fought Joe Choynski, who later knocked out legendary heavyweight Jack Johnson in an eight-round match.

It had been billed for the heavyweight championship of the world, as it was thought that the champion, James J. Corbett had relinquished the crown.

In the eighth round, Fitzsimmons hit Sharkey with his famed "solar plexus punch", an uppercut under the heart that could render a man temporarily helpless.

[4] Earp based his decision on the Marquess of Queensbury rules, which state in part, "A man on one knee is considered down and if struck is entitled to the stakes."

He threw him to the ground, hit him with hard punches to the body and head and seemed on the verge of victory when one of Corbett's seconds jumped into the ring in the ninth round.

Sharkey knocked out McCoy in the tenth round thereby securing a shot at the heavyweight title then held by James J. Jeffries.

After retiring from boxing, Sharkey operated a saloon and worked as a night watchman and security guard.