Category: Sports

Police Gazette publisher Steven Westlake made the trip to Biloxi, Mississippi, on August 25th, not just because he wanted to; it was because he had to. History demanded it, both past history and future history. For a Police Gazette publisher, it was a pilgrimage to Mecca and the second coming combined.

First stop, the site of the February 7, 1882, championship bare-knuckle match between John L. Sullivan and Paddy Ryan in Mississippi City, four miles from the scene of last Saturday’s action. This fight established Sullivan for the first time as–at a minimum–the American champion of all boxing. And it established the Police Gazette as the first boxing sanctioning organization.

The bout had been organized and sanctioned by Richard K. Fox, the Police Gazette publisher, after Fox had become frustrated by the roadblocks preventing a real championship match from happening. Competitive professional boxing was, after all, illegal. In 1881, Fox declared he and the Police Gazette were taking pro boxing under their wing and, for the first time, establishing rules under which championships were to be conducted. One rule was that championship fights had to be under London Prize Ring rules, i.e., bare knuckle.

The Police Gazette remained the custodian of world bare-knuckle championships for the rest of the decade. But by the early 1890s, gloved boxing was becoming legal and accepted. And in 1894 the Gazette declared it would no longer insist that its championship bouts be fought bare knuckle. Fast forward to this year when bare knuckle finally became legal on the state level, in Wyoming and Mississippi so far. The BKFC 2 event at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum on August 25th marked the return of sanctioned bare knuckle boxing to where it started in 1882, in a field off Texas Avenue in little Mississippi City.

At BKFC 2, Bec Rawlings, who’d been declared Police Gazette World Women’s Featherweight Champion after her showing at BKFC 1 in Wyoming, defended her title in a close fight with Britain Hart. Rawlings was presented with the belt for the first time, which made it the first time a Police Gazette belt has been presented to the victor after a bare-knuckle championship bout since the 1880s. Bobby Gunn, who similarly holds a post facto Police Gazette belt, will get to defend his this October.

Here are some scenes and images from Mr. Westlake’s trip:

Watch this short video of Mr. Westlake visiting the site of the first Police Gazette sanctioned bare-knuckle championship, between John L. Sullivan and Paddy Ryan on February 7, 1882, in Mississippi City. Visited a few hours before the most recent Police Gazette bare-knuckle championship bout took place at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum four miles away.

Mr. Westlake stands in the specially designed ring, called the “squared circle.”

Gary Grant Jr., the designer of the ring, stands between Mr. Westlake and Scott Burt, president of the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame, which manages the Police Gazette belts.

Mr. Burt stands between Mr. Westlake and Police Gazette World Heavyweight champ Bobby Gunn, holding the belt later presented to Bec Rawlings.

Mr. Westlake and Mr. Gunn in a serious conversation about the past and future of championship bare-knuckle boxing.

Sam Shewmaker greets his two boys following his narrow split-decision victory over Maurice Jackson. At left is former NFL player–and brother of Walter Payton–Eddie Payton who is now a member of the Mississippi Athletic Commission.

Finally, watch this video as Bec Rawlings is declared winner in her own split-decision victory and receives the Police Gazette belt, bringing full circle Police Gazette championships.

Bec Rawlings, Police Gazette Women’s World Featherweight Champion.

Picks Up Where It Left Off, in Mississippi.

There can be no debate over the fact the Police Gazette championship belt is the most prestigious in all of bare knuckle boxing. The following article from the Police Gazette issue published just before the historic 1889 bout between John L. Sullivan and Jake Kilrain explains:

THE “POLICE GAZETTE” CHAMPION BELT.
     It has been the custom in England for the champions of the prize ring to have an emblem to represent their claim to the title, but until the past five years there never was a fistic emblem put up for competition to be held by a champion according to a code of rules until the “Police Gazette” champion belt was made and offered as the prize ring championship emblem. The “Police Gazette” champion belt was manufactured especially to be held by a fistic hero who was willing to defend the trophy against all challengers, and to battle for it according to the rules of the London prize ring [bare knuckle], which govern all championship contests. John L. Sullivan and Paddy Ryan, after their battle for the championship and $5,000 at Mississippi City, Feb. 7, 1882 [organized and sanctioned by the Police Gazette], were to have again met face to face within the roped arena and battle for a purse of $2,500, $1,000 a side and the “Police Gazette” champion belt.
     At this time Jem Smith issued a challenge to do battle in the orthodox 24-foot ring against any man in the world, and the donor of the trophy agreed to match Sullivan against the English champion for the “Police Gazette” champion belt and $5,000 or $10,000 a side. Sullivan agreed to fill the breach and battle with the English champion for $10,000 and the trophy, but just when the match was about being made a fixture Sullivan backed out, and the English champion began to talk about there being no pugilist in America that would enter the lists against him. Sullivan held the title of champion, but he would not defend it, and then came Jake Kilrain on the pugilistic checkerboard. He challenged Sullivan to battle for the belt and the trophy, but although every fair inducement was made to bring the champion and non-champion together. Kilrain was declared champion, and in August, 1887, he was presented with the “Police Gazette” champion belt at Baltimore, Md.
     On receiving the trophy, he announced his intention of defending it against all challengers. Later, Jem Smith, the English champion, issued a challenge to fight Kilrain for $5,000 a side, the belt and the championship of the world. The match was ratified, the battle fought, and the “Police Gazette” champion belt became the recognized championship emblem of the prize ring.

The original Police Gazette heavyweight champion belt, made of solid silver and gold, inlaid with diamonds.

The Gazette points out it did not invent the concept of a championship belt for boxing. But the others were one-offs, created for specific events and not expected to be carried lineally from champion to champion. There had not been a championship governed “according to a code of rules until the ’Police Gazette’ champion belt.” And the most important rule was that the holder of the belt was expected to defend it against all legitimate challengers. The Gazette also insisted for 12 years, even against the tide of change favoring gloved boxing, that championships should be decided under bare knuckle rules only.

When Jake Kilrain defeated English champion Jem Smith by decision in a field in France in December 1887, “the ’Police Gazette’ champion belt became the recognized championship emblem of the prize ring” all over the world. John L. Sullivan, seeing the Police Gazette belt was now bigger than he—regardless of how many “Boston” belts local fans made for him—finally decided he had to face Kilrain.

The articles of agreement signed January 1889 by Sullivan and Kilrain in Toronto specified the fight would be “for $10,000 a side [over $275,000 today] and the ‘Police Gazette’ diamond belt, which represents the championship of the world.” The place was set as “within 200 miles of New Orleans.” The final location became Richburg, Mississippi, near present-day Hattiesburg, and Sullivan won the fight in what turned out to be the last bare knuckle world championship.

By 1894, when it was clear professional boxing would not continue unless it was gloved, the Gazette finally gave up its bare knuckle requirement entirely.

Thus, the Police Gazette‘s codification of bare knuckle champions began and ended in the state of Mississippi. On August 25th, a Police Gazette bare knuckle championship belt returns to Mississippi for the first time in 129 years when Bec Rawlings will defend her featherweight belt against Britain Hart.

As the sport of professional bare knuckle boxing continues to rise, Police Gazette championship belts will rise with it and—as in the 1880s—will become “the recognized championship emblem” all over the world.

The new Police Gazette diamond belt, representing the championship of the world.

The Police Gazette championship trophy.

Except This Time It’s Legal – Mississippi Is the Next State to Accept Bare Knuckle

On August 25th, professional bare knuckle boxing comes back home to Mississippi. The last major BKB world championship took place in Richburg, MS, between John L. Sullivan and Jake Kilrain in 1889. Another major championship bout took place between Sullivan and Paddy Ryan in Mississippi City in 1882. Both of these championships had been organized and sanctioned by the National Police Gazette.

Now, four miles from the site of the Sullivan/Ryan match, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 2 “A New Era” will take place at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi. At that event, a Police Gazette bare knuckle championship belt will once again be on the line as current world featherweight champ Bec Rawlings defends her belt against challenger Britain Hart.

It appears that those stung by the numerous promises and fizzles in years past have nothing to fear anymore. True bare knuckle boxing—no wraps or coverings of any kind on the knuckles—is now accepted and regulated on the state level in two states—Wyoming being the other—and promised events have been going off without a hitch since early June.

Two have already taken place in Wyoming, one by Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship and the other by Corey Williams. And this first one in Mississippi has been approved by the state athletic commission, as well as listed and promoted by the venue. We spoke with commission chairman Jon Lewis who told us all systems are go for the event using the same rules as Wyoming.

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 2 “A New Era” will also feature Kendall Grove, Sam Shewmaker, Maurice Jackson, Arnold Adams, Joey Beltran, and more. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.com. Pay-per-view information will be coming soon.

Meanwhile, Corey Williams is planning Bare Knuckle Fight Club 5 for late August in Wyoming, featuring up-and-coming heavyweight sensation Tyler Canning. More information on that event as we receive it.

The new Police Gazette bare knuckle championship belt

Will Bare-Knuckle Event Happen Tonight?

A bare-knuckle boxing event is scheduled to take place tonight in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Will it? Who knows. We haven’t touched this with a 10-foot pole till now for the simple reason that promoter Dave Feldman and his organization Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) has been responsible for more fizzes than sloe gin when it comes to putting on bare-knuckle events. So the proof will be in the pudding, or in this case, the pummeling.

Also concerning is BKFC has been promoting tonight as the first legal bare-knuckle event since 1889. As any reader of the Police Gazette knows, the 1889 event was not legal in any way, shape, or form–John L. Sullivan was arrested afterward–and the only sanctioning body involved was the Police Gazette itself. So a little truth in advertising would be appreciated.

Current Police Gazette World Heavyweight bare-knuckle champ Bobby Gunn is scheduled to participate tonight in a non-title bout. Others scheduled on the card include former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez and UFC female flyweight competitor Bec Rawlings.

Chairman of the Wyoming Combat Sports Commission Bryan Pedersen pointed out the main reason for agreeing to sanction bare knuckle was that “it was already happening. There have been 2 to 12 events a year for the past eight years,” in the state of Wyoming. Many of these legal, if unregulated, events have been put on by local Wyoming promoter Corey Williams, who will be presenting his own newly regulated promotion on June 23rd. Also read our article about Wyoming’s road to legalization.

So here we are. We will report on whatever happens tonight, sink or swim. But we will keep our fingers crossed for the overall health of the sport of professional bare-knuckle boxing.

 

Police Gazette World Heavyweight champ Bobby Gunn

The Only Official Bare-Knuckle Boxing Belts Are Coming Back. 

Before March 20, 2018, professional bare-knuckle boxing was never legal anywhere in the United States. The State of Wyoming is the first to ever make it legal. However, this did not stop championship bare-knuckle prize fights from taking place in the U.S. in the past. One might ask, if it was illegal then who authorized and approved it? Easy: the National Police Gazette.

Richard K. Fox, publisher of the Police Gazette, had the power, resources, and determination to foster the nascent sport—which was all illegal, even gloved—and withstand the legal ramifications in the process. It was the Police Gazette that created rules, arranged matches, and bestowed championship belts to the winners. Before 1881, American champions had been decided by a sort of consensus among the sporting fraternity that immersed itself in the illicit doings of prize fighting. But there was never any overarching authority that could smooth the logistics—especially since they were illegal—of mediating contracts, selecting venues, providing honest stakeholders, etc. And there was no authority that could say “so-and-so is the champion and here is his belt” and have the sporting fraternity respect that, until the National Police Gazette.

The Police Gazette had been reporting on boxing matches since Fox took over the publication in the late 1870s. But in 1881, he decided to take the next step and become the organizing entity for the entire sport. Fox had become impatient with the roadblocks and difficulties that were preventing a match between Paddy Ryan, who had claimed the American championship, and a young upstart named John L. Sullivan. So the April 16, 1881, issue of the Police Gazette proclaimed, “Richard K. Fox offers to match Sullivan to fight Paddy Ryan at catch-weight, according to the new rules of the London prize ring for the heavy-weight championship of America. He will also offer a champion belt to the winner. All matches for the belt to be made at the Police Gazette office.” London Prize Ring Rules meant bare knuckle. And for the next 12 years, the Police Gazette repeatedly stated its preference for bare knuckle over gloves to determine ultimate championships. If it was gloved, it couldn’t be a real professional championship.

But by the early 1890s, largely due to Fox’s efforts, boxing began to move into acceptance and legality. The only catch was, to be legal it had to be gloved. The handwriting was on the wall. If Fox was going to continue to have the Police Gazette be a major factor in boxing, he would have to accept the gloved version for championships. Still, he made one last-ditch plea in a November 1893 editorial. “BARE KNUCKLES, NOT GLOVES” screamed the headline. “The Prize Ring Championship Has Always Been Settled In That Way.” The article goes on to explain how all the great champions of the past, in both England and America—including John L. Sullivan—had won their titles bare knuckle. But it was a lost cause. Gloves were the only way the sport could legally continue, and so Fox started allowing his belts to be won exclusively with gloves. From that point, bare-knuckle championships were no longer officially sanctioned… until now.

Now that bare knuckle is legal in Wyoming, the Police Gazette is taking its lineal championships—after 125 years—out of suspended animation. The four original weight classes, and the last boxer to win each championship in a bare-knuckle match, are as follows:

Heavyweight: John L. Sullivan
Middleweight: “The Nonpareil” Jack Dempsey
Lightweight: Jack McAuliffe
Featherweight: Ike Weir

Bobby Gunn currently holds the heavyweight belt, but has been unable to defend it due to the difficulties in navigating legalities and putting too much trust in those who promise more than they can deliver. Now that the legalities are out of the way, a match can be made in a more orderly fashion involving more reliable people. The other three weight classes are open. In addition, it is the intention of the Police Gazette to offer championships in two new weight classes: cruiserweight and bantamweight. The Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame of Belfast, New York, has been authorized by the Police Gazette to issue the heavyweight belt and will be issuing the belts for the additional weight classes as well. All weight limits will follow the current standards in professional boxing. It is the further intention of the Police Gazette that Bobby will have completed a defense of his World heavyweight belt and all American belts will be decided by November 30th of this year.

Professional championship bare-knuckle boxing is back. It deserves to have the emblems of its championships back with it.

Torpedo Billy Murphy displays the Police Gazette Feather-weight Champion Prize Ring Belt of the World after having won it in a gloved match from Ike Weir, the last bare-knuckle holder.