The Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame is a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

and

hall of fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in Belfast, New York, dedicated to the sport of

bare-knuckle boxing Bare-knuckle boxing (also known as bare-knuckle or bare-knuckle fighting) is a full-contact combat sport based on punching without any form of padding on the hands. The sport as it is known today originated in 17th-century England and, although ...

. It is housed in barns that were once owned by the

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

and

physical culture Physical culture, also known as body culture, is a health and strength training movement that originated during the 19th century in Germany, the UK and the US. Origins The physical culture movement in the United States during the 19th century ...

pioneer William Muldoon. The

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

boxing champion

John L. Sullivan John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 – February 2, 1918), known simply as John L. among his admirers, and dubbed the "Boston Strong Boy" by the press, was an American boxer. He is recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved ...

, who fought in both bare-knuckled and gloved boxing contests, trained in these barns under Muldoon's guidance for his championship bout against

Jake Kilrain John Joseph Killion (February 9, 1859 – December 22, 1937), more commonly known as Jake Kilrain, was a famous American bare-knuckle fighter and glove boxer of the 1880s. Early life Kilrain found employment as a teenager in Somerville, Mass ...

in 1889. The barns were originally across Main Street from their current location, on the grounds of the Belfast

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. They were bought, moved, and restored by Scott Burt when the church became no longer interested in maintaining them. Burt opened the Hall of Fame in 2009, when it had its first induction class. The Hall of Fame houses plaques and memorabilia associated with bare-knuckle boxers that have been inducted to the Hall of Fame, as well as exhibits devoted to the general history of bare-knuckle boxing. Each year's induction class includes bare-knuckle boxers from the classic era, modern bare-knuckle boxers, and honorary inductees. Trainers, promoters and other significant figures in the sport are also upon occasion inducted. The Hall of Fame also serves as a memorial to Sullivan's training camp with Muldoon, a number of relics of which have survived the lengthy period when the barns sat unused. These include his original work-out rings, a ceiling mount for Sullivan's

heavy bag A punching bag (or British English punchbag) is a sturdy bag designed to be repeatedly Punch (combat), punched. A punching bag is usually cylindrical and filled with various materials of suitable hardness. History Punching bags have been used i ...

, the slatted area of flooring on which Sullivan stood for gravity showers after training, his original swing clubs and weights, and the "room of repose" in which Sullivan and Muldoon relaxed and discussed strategy in the evenings, which includes some of Muldoon's original furniture. Sullivan and Muldoon's use of this training camp was documented by the celebrated reporter

Nellie Bly Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (born Elizabeth Jane Cochran; May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922), better known by her pen name Nellie Bly, was an American journalist who was widely known for her record-breaking circumnavigation, trip around the world ...

, in an article she wrote for the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 to 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers as a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publisher Jo ...

''.

Inductees

The following are the inductees into the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame as of 6 April 2018:

Original Inductees

Original inductees are required to have boxed completely bare-fisted (with no wraps) at some point in their career. These include living fighters and those that fought as early as the 18th century.

Honorary Inductees

These must have brought positive spotlight to upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

or done a considerable service to the sport of

Bare-knuckle boxing Bare-knuckle boxing (also known as bare-knuckle or bare-knuckle fighting) is a full-contact combat sport based on punching without any form of padding on the hands. The sport as it is known today originated in 17th-century England and, although ...

. Honorary inductees are those that have not bare knuckle boxed, that is, those listed as a 'boxer' have boxed with gloves or wraps, and inductees associated with

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

are inducted for their contributions to the fighting aspects of the game (to date, both hockey-related honorary inductees have been associated with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

, who play from Belfast). The honorary inductees were included as an acknowledgement that bare-knuckle boxing ended as a mainstream sport over a century ago, and that the honorary inductee system allows notable figures that promoted activity similar to bare knuckle boxing, who might be more recognizable to modern audiences, to be included in the Hall.

Marie Backus Person of the Year

Induction Events

For the inaugural induction ceremony in 2009, former undisputed

champion

Leon Spinks Leon Spinks (July 11, 1953 – February 5, 2021) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1995. In only his eighth professional fight, he won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978 after defeating Muhammad Ali in a s ...

was a special guest. From 2011-2013 there was a breakfast in honour of a particular person each year, in 2011 this was Jack Green, Buffalo Ring 44 President. In 2012 the breakfast was in honour of Jeff Mengel, who had trained the fighter Jimmy Holmes in the barns in Belfast, New York. The 2013 breakfast was in honour of

Zeke Wilson Frank Ealton "Zeke" Wilson (December 24, 1869 – April 26, 1928) was a professional baseball pitcher. He played five seasons in Major League Baseball from 1895 to 1899, for the Boston Beaneaters, Cleveland Spiders The Cleveland Spiders wer ...

, author of the book The Eighth Round, combatant of prejudice in boxing and a noted boxer himself.

Current Recognized Champions

With the introduction of modern day sanctioned bare knuckle boxing events both inside and outside of the United States, the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame, in conjunction with the

National Police Gazette The ''National Police Gazette'', commonly referred to as simply the ''Police Gazette'', is an American magazine founded in 1845. Under publisher Richard K. Fox, it became the forerunner of the men's magazine, men's lifestyle magazine, the illu ...

, currently recognizes several individuals as World and American Bare Knuckle Boxing champions. The following individuals are recognized as the current champions.

Modern Era Championship History

National Police Gazette Heavyweight World Championship

::''Weight limit: 200 lbs and above (91 kg)'' ::Bobby Gunn was recognized as the Bare Knuckle Boxing lineal champion after his victory over Richie Steward in 2011. Sometime after this victory, Gunn was awarded the

Championship by the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame. He then cemented his lineal championship status as he defeated Irineu Beato Costa Jr at BKFC 1 in 2018 which did not appear to be a Police Gazette Championship title defense.

National Police Gazette Heavyweight American Championship

::''Weight limit: 200 lbs and above (91 kg)'' ::Arnold Adams claimed this championship by winning an 8-man tournament which was hosted by

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promotion based in Philadelphia. The promotion was founded in April 2018, and is presided over by David Feldman. BKFC is the first promotion to hold an official st ...

National Police Gazette Lightweight American Championship

::''Weight limit: 135 lbs (61 kg)'' ::Johnny Bedford claimed this championship by winning an 8-man tournament which was hosted by

National Police Gazette Women's Featherweight World Championship

::''Weight limit: 126 lbs (57 kg)'' ::The inaugural champion, Bec Rawlings, was awarded the

Championship by the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame 3 days after her historic win over Alma Garcia.

National Police Gazette Women's Featherweight American Championship

::''Weight limit: 126 lbs (57 kg)''

References

{{reflist

External links

Official Website

Photo gallery on IBRO website
Allegany County, New York Bare-knuckle boxing Boxing museums and halls of fame Halls of fame in New York (state) Sports museums in New York (state) 2009 establishments in New York (state)