1. John Joseph Killion, more commonly known as Jake Kilrain, was a famous American bare-knuckle fighter and glove boxer of the 1880s.
14 Facts About Jake Kilrain
1. 2.
Jake Kilrain was later stripped of that honor when it was discovered that he was a prizefighter and thus could not be considered an amateur.
3.
In 1883, Jake Kilrain took up prizefighting as a profession and quickly established a reputation as a very tough fighter.
4.
Clearly dominant throughout the fight upon his return to the United States, Kilrain was pronounced by Richard K Fox of the National Police Gazette as Heavyweight Champion of the World for his bout with Jem Smith.
5.
The awarding of the belt to Jake Kilrain was part of a strategy by Fox to draw Sullivan into a fight.
6.
Jake Kilrain had not wanted to give up thinking that he could outlast Sullivan, but Donovan defended his actions insisting that Jake Kilrain would have died had the fight gone on.
7.
Jake Kilrain continued on for 10 more years after the Sullivan fight with gloves under Marquess of Queensberry rules with some success.
8.
Jake Kilrain's most significant win was a 44-round knockout of Boston's George Godfrey in 1891.
9.
Jake Kilrain retired with a record of 18 wins, 6 losses and 12 draws along with 1 non-decision.
10.
Jake Kilrain lived in his later years as a devoted family man with his wife and children as proprietor of a saloon in Baltimore, Maryland.
11.
When Sullivan died in 1918, Jake Kilrain served as a pallbearer at the funeral.
12.
Jake Kilrain was godfather to the English boxer Charley Mitchell's son Charles Mitchell.
13.
Jake Kilrain died on December 22,1937, in a local hospital from complications of old age and diabetes, aged 78.
14.
Jake Kilrain was elected to the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009 and to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012.