On July 9th, the National Police Gazette was formally inducted into the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame as the first and only publication from the original era. The impact the Police Gazette and its publisher Richard K. Fox had on the sport of boxing as a whole, and bare knuckle boxing in particular, cannot be overstated.
Pictured below is the Gazette‘s BKBHOF trophy, accepted by current publisher Steven Westlake. During his acceptance speech, Westlake said “If Richard K. Fox were here today he would say ‘Is that all?’” Fox was known for his Stephen Colbert/Howard Stern-style faux grandiosity. But even this was in the service of making a sport thought to be the ultimate in low entertainment seem more refined and deserving of high status.
Shown behind the trophy is an original issue of the Police Gazette that describes the results of the famous John L. Sullivan versus Jake Kilrain bare knuckle boxing world championship.
