Saturday, August 20th- Casal’s Boxing Club, 1766 Maryland Ave., Niagara Falls, NY. Bouts start at 7:30. Tickets are $10 each. Niagara Gazette link: Casal’s Boxing Show
Friday, August 26th- Dr. Bennett W. Smith Family Life Center at St. John Babtist Church Campus, 833 Michigan Ave., Buffalo, NY. Bouts start at 6:00.
Saturday, August 27th- Matthew Glab Post, 1965 Abbott Rd., Lackawanna. Bouts start at 7:00. For tickets/more info call 823-4195.
Hall Of Fame induction program, art by Chris Guzman
The 2011 Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall Of Fame Induction Breakfast was held on Saturday, July 23rd at the Angelica Victorian Inn in Angelica, NY (just outside of Belfast). The breakfast was held in honor of Ring 44 president, Jack Green, for all he has contributed to Western New York boxing. Dan Donnelly, Jake Randall, and William “Abednego” Thompson made up this year’s class, while Livingstone Bramble (former world champion), Dick Wipperman (Buffalo Boxing Hall Of Fame class of 2002), and Jimmy Ralston (Buffalo Boxing Hall Of Fame class of 2000) were given special honoree inductee status. Bramble and Wipperman were on hand, however, Ralston was feeling a bit under the weather and could not attend. In addition, popular former heavyweight contender, Joe Mesi, attended, as did current Indiana middleweight contender Jimmy Holmes.
Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame founder, Scott Burt, presented biographies of the three bare knuckle era honorees. Donnelly, from Dublin, Ireland, is perhaps best known as likely having the longest arms in boxing history. It is said that his arms extended below his knees while standing up straight. He used this obvious advantage in 1814 to defeat England’s Tom Hall in one of the most famous bare knuckle contests ever. The fight took place in Ireland in front of an estimated 20,000 spectators, and to this day, the site of the fight is known as “Donnelly’s Hollow”. Born in London, England, Randall’s biggest claim to fame is being the first great fighter in history to retire undefeated, finishing in 1821 with a 16-0-1 record. Nottingham, England’s Thompson is best known for his epic rivalry with fellow Englishman Ben Caunt. The two pugilists fought three times for a total of 193 rounds, with Thompson officially winning two of the three. Their third fight took place in 1845. The fights have been described by boxing historians as among the dirtiest and most brutal in history.
Green, Mesi, Bramble, Burt, and Wipperman
Chris Guzman, a Chicago area artist/boxing historian presented a beautiful painting of Donnelly, Randall, and Thompson to be on display inside the Hall Of Fame Museum. He also presented the Hall Of Fame with other one of a kind artifacts from the bare knuckle era. Guzman also shared an interesting story relating to Donnelly. Following Donnelly’s death, his right arm was stolen from his corpse. It later resurfaced, and through the years has been used for medical research and has also been on display in various museums throughout Europe and the U.S.
Bramble, Wipperman, and Mesi all made gracious speeches praising the Hall Of Fame, as well as reflecting on their careers and discussing the current state of boxing. After the breakfast, they posed for pictures and signed autographs.
Bramble hitting the bag in Sullivan's old training headquarters
Following the ceremony, the attendees drove to Belfast for a tour of the recently restored barns made famous as the training grounds of John L. Sullivan. Once inside, spectators got a glimpse of what Sullivan’s training routine consisted of. Many of Sullivan’s original training artifacts remain, as well as personal items belonging to both him and his manager, William Muldoon. Also on display inside the barns/museum are pictures, autographs, and other memorabilia related to the bare knuckle era of boxing.
The Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall Of Fame is located in Belfast, NY, about an hour and a half from Buffalo and Rochester. Tours are available. For more inforormation, you can visit www.bareknuckleboxinghalloffame.com.
The Buffalo Boxing Hall Of Fame Induction Dinner will be held on Friday, August 5th at Salvatore’s Italian Gardens. Headlining this year’s list of inductees is popular heavyweight “Baby Joe” Mesi. Mesi compiled a 36-0 record during a 10 year pro career. Alan “Pony Boy” Kemp, Harry Fuller, and Dick Loadman will also be inducted. Local boxing promoter/coach, Don Patterson, will be honored as Ring 44 Man Of The Year. Tickets for what promises to be a memorable evening are available by calling 716-856-9365.
