It’s where local legends come from. John L. Sullivan, the last Heavyweight Bare Knuckle Boxing Champion of the World, trained for
one of the most important fights of his career nearly 120 years ago in Belfast, New York. His trainer,
a celebrated and undefeated wrestler named William Muldoon, lived in Belfast and set up his barns as a training center to
prepare The Great John L. for his fight against Jake Kilrain in Richburg, Mississippi in July 1889. For over a century, those training barns have been virtually untouched. Some of the original equipment was
there when we unlocked the doors and several items that had been removed over the years have been returned. The barn now looks
much like it did when John L. Sullivan boarded the southbound train for the epic 75 round bare knuckle battle that
redefined his place in history as the first American Sports Hero. When the brawl was finished, Sullivan was the Heavyweight
Champion of the World.
