2010 Induction Information: This
year's Induction Day schedule and ticket information follows:
a) All morning, Special U.S. Postal
Induction Day Cancellation at Belfast Post Office. b) 10am "Induction Breakfast" at the Angelica Victorian Inn Bed & Breakfast,
$35 includes silent auction and unveiling of the Official Induction Artwork by Chicagoland Boxing Artist Chris Guzman. Media
on hand, including national on-air boxing radio. c) 12 Noon Tours of the restored William Muldoon training barns in Belfast, New York, where The Great
John L. Sullivan successfully trained for the last Bare Knuckle World Champion Title Fight in 1889, a 75-rounder that Sports
Illustrated recently called "The Outlaw Brawl That Started It All". d) 3 pm "Hackers & Whackers" Golf outing with Billy
Backus, $75 per golfer; 18 holes of golf and cart, 4-man scramble format. Limited number of teams.
To purchase tickets, make checks out to Bare
Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame Mail
to: Scott R. Burt, Coordinator 3876
State Route 19 Scio, New York 14880 (585)
610-3326
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Here are some area places to stay, with
time in minutes to Belfast: Ace's Belfast
Bed & Breakfast, Belfast NY (1min) 585-365-2692 Angelica Victorian
Bed & Breakfast Inn, Angelica NY (12min) 585-466-3063 Belfast Hotel,
Belfast NY (1min) 585-365-2456 Budget Inn, Wellsville NY (25min)
585-593-2439 Cuba Coachlight, Cuba NY (25min) 585-968-1992 Long Vue Inn, Wellsville NY (25min) 585-593-2450 MicroTel Motel, Wellsville NY (20min) 585-593-3449 Old Library, Olean
NY (40min) 716-372-2226 Park Circle Bed & Breakfast, Angelica NY (12min)
585-466-3999 Saxon Inn, Alfred NY (30min) 607-871-2600 The Inn at Houghton Creek, Houghton NY (15min) 585-567-8400
Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall
of Fame Announces 2010 Inductees 1970 World Champion Billy Backus Scheduled to
Appear
Belfast, New York – Scott Burt, Coordinator of the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame announced
today that the second Annual Hall of Fame Induction Day will take place on Saturday August 21, 2010, and that guest boxer
Billy Backus will be out honorary inductee. Backus won the Welterweight Championship of the World in 1970. “We
are very excited that Billy will be joining us for this year’s induction.”
The
building that houses the Bare Knuckle Hall of Fame in Belfast is actually a pair of 1800s Victorian barns once owned by favorite
son William Muldoon who was a famous trainer of the time and eventually the Boxing Commissioner from 1921 to 1924.
In 1889 Muldoon brought the sickly John L. Sullivan to his home in rural Belfast to train for the last Bare Knuckle
Championship Title Fight of the World. Getting him away from the limelight and distractions of the big
cities, Muldoon whipped him into shape in these barns which resulted in Sullivan beating then Champion Jake Kilrain in a 2
hour 15 minute 75-round brawl – recently dubbed “The Brawl That Started It All” by Sports Illustrated.
These barns are a virtual time capsule. Muldoon gave up ownership of them in the early 1900s and
they have been locked up ever since, including the original equipment that Sullivan used 120 years ago.
Last summer Burt moved the barns 2 blocks to a location in Belfast more easily accessible to the public, and spent
an immense amount of time restoring them as they contained much structural rot and deterioration. “The
boxing world has responded more than we could have ever imagined to our project, and to our Hall of Fame. They
just can’t believe these barns made it all these years. They have come from all over the world to
view them; 1978 Heavyweight Champion of the World Leon Spinks, 2004 #1 Contender Baby Joe Mesi, and Buffalo Sabre’s
tough guy Rob Ray have all been here so far, along with the International Boxing Research Organization, Ring 44 out of Buffalo,
the Rochester Boxing Hall of Fame, and many more including fans from Germany, France, and England. All
have been in awe of what they see here in Belfast. We can’t wait to show our national treasure off
to Billy in August,” gleamed Burt.
In October 2009, ten bare knuckle boxers, trainers, and promoters were inducted.
Burt is pleased to announce that the Induction Class of 2010 will include eleven more. They are
boxers James Figg, Tom Molineaux, Tom Spring, Tom Sayers, John Heenan, Jem Mace, Jem Smith, Jack Dempsey “The Nonpareil”,
and Jack McAuliffe. Two other original era people will also be inducted; manager Billy Madden and promoter Harry H. Hill.
There will also be the Honorary Induction of 1970 World Welterweight Champion Billy Backus, whose success in the
ring brought much spotlight to upstate New York.
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