Boone Kirkman

Daniel Victor "Boone" Kirkman (born February 6, 1945 in Vallejo, California)[3] is a former amateur and professional Heavyweight boxer.[4] He fought during the same era as George Foreman, Muhammad Ali, and Joe Frazier, which is often credited as one of the greatest heavyweight eras of all time.[5] He spent his entire career based in Seattle, Washington.

Boone Kirkman
Statistics
Real name	Daniel Victor Kirkman
Nickname(s)	"Boone" "Boom Boom"
Weight(s)	210 lb (95 kg)
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm) (1.85 )
Nationality	American
Born	February 6, 1945 Vallejo, California
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Wins	36
Wins by KO	25
Losses	6
Draws	0
No contests	0 [1][2]

Early life

Kirkman was born in Vallejo, California in 1945 to Oehm and Margarite Kirkman.[3][6] His father, a naval officer, was stationed there at the time. When his father was discharged from the Navy, the family moved back to Renton, Washington, where Kirkman's grandfather initially settled.[3][6]

From a young age, Kirkman's favorite activities were hunting, fishing, and hiking throughout the state of Washington with his father. He frequently stopped to view plant and animal life, earning him his lifelong nickname of "Boone".[3] Growing up in Renton, a working-class community, Kirkman joined a group of 20 teenagers called the "Buds" that regularly drank alcohol and smoked. Considering the rampant street crime in the area, this was only of moderate concern to Kirkman's father.[3] During this time, Kirkman became interested in boxing during regular sparring sessions with his older brother Steve.

Noting Kirkman's lack of interest in reading, a school friend recommended Rocky Graziano's autobiography Somebody Up There Likes Me, which was adapted into a film starring Paul Newman a year later.[3] Kirkman's fondness of both the book and the film catalyzed him to pursue boxing at a serious level.

Kirkman's first training sessions at age 14 involved traveling to a south Seattle gymnasium to work out from his school in Renton, Washington. The venue was suggested to him by former professional Joey Velez. Kirkman took a year-long hiatus from boxing due to injury, but returned to the gym and won several local Golden Gloves events afterward, slowly building a reputation.[7]

His popularity exploded in March 1965 when he won the AAU Heavyweight Boxing national title in Toledo, Ohio. Following the event, he was signed by Seattle-area fight manager Jack Hurley. Kirkman assumed co-ownership of his family's pub; The Melrose Tavern, shortly after his signing. Between bar tending shifts, Kirkman incorporated training, and spent most nights punching a speed bag, entertaining spectators.[7]

Professional career

Boone Kirkman's professional career lasted from 1966 to 1978. He finished with a record of 36—6 with a 59.52 knockout percentage. His peak ranking was seventh.[4]

His first match, held in Boise, yielded a win and knockout over Lou Phillips. Kirkman managed to go undefeated in his first eleven matches, including a win over Eddie Machen until stepping up in opposition in New York City he faced skilled Doug Jones in a featured fight held in Seattle. Jones caused a cut over Kirkman's left eye in the first round, but Kirkman managed to keep the veteran at bay with a deluge of heavy punches, eventually knocking Jones to the ropes in Round 7. Thinking he had won the fight, Kirkman prepared for the referee to raise his hand in victory. However the ring physician stopped the fight in due to worsening conditions in Kirkman's eye, sparking controversy.[3] Six weeks later, Kirkman would return the favor, winning their rematch, to Jones at the start of a winning streak.

Kirkman won his ensuing ten bouts, and Hurley scheduled a match between Kirkman and George Foreman at the Madison Square Garden in downtown New York.

Kirkman-Foreman (1970)

The Foreman fight was scheduled for November 18, 1970. Foreman was the most heavily favored opponent Kirkman would ever face.

From the start, Kirkman was overmatched by Foreman's superior quickness and power. Foreman pummeled Kirkman with a combination of powerful punches, knocking him to the canvas three times in the first two rounds. The bout ended after just three minutes and forty seconds, when Kirkman failed to answer the bell, giving Foreman the win via technical knockout.[7]

Following the fight, Kirkman elected to opt-out of his contract with Hurley.[4]

Post-Foreman (1970-1974)

Following the fight with Foreman, Kirkman won yet another 10 consecutive bouts. Strangely enough, only half were knockouts, whereas his knockout average was much higher. One of his more notable victories during this stretch came against Jack O'Halloran via points. He also encountered his second opponent ranked in the Ring Magazine Top 10 in Jimmy Ellis, whom he defeated by split decision.

Later struggles (1974)

On April 9, 1974, Kirkman fought Memphis "Al" Jones in what Kirkman considered a "tune-up fight".[7] The fight was stopped abruptly when Kirkman, having knocked Jones down four times in the first two rounds, was knocked unconscious by a right hook from Jones.[7] This was Kirkman's first loss in over three and a half years.

Following the loss, Kirkman immediately scheduled several ranked opponents in an attempt to recover his sinking ranking. As a result, Kirkman experienced consecutive losses for the first time in his career after losing to Ken Norton, on his return to Seattle in June 1974. Norton was known as "the guy that broke Ali's jaw", doing it the previous year as a 7-1 underdog.[8] The Kirkman-Norton fight was stopped by the referee when Kirkman failed to answer the bell for the eighth round.[2]

In September, Kirkman fought Ron Lyle (who suffered a narrow defeat to Ali the following year for the WBA and WBC titles),[9] but lost again when the referee stopped the fight due to a cut on Kirkman's cheek.[2]

Professional boxing record

36 Wins (24 knockouts, 12 decisions), 6 Losses (3 knockouts, 2 decisions), 0 Draws[2]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Date	Location
Win	36-6	Charles Atlas	TKO	Jan 26, 1978	Seattle, Washington
Win	35-6	Pedro Agosto	PTS	Oct 25, 1977	Seattle, Washington
Win	34-6	Ron Stander	TKO	Jul 19, 1977	Seattle, Washington
Win	33-6	José Roman	UD	Apr 26, 1977	Seattle, Washington
Loss	32-6	Randy Neumann	UD	Sep 5, 1975	Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss	32-5	Ron Lyle	TKO	Sep 17, 1974	Seattle, Washington
Loss	32-4	Ken Norton	RTD	Jun 25, 1974	Seattle, Washington
Loss	32-3	Al Jones	KO	Apr 9, 1974	Dallas, Texas
Win	32-2	Larry Renaud	TKO	Mar 6, 1974	Reno, Nevada
Win	31-2	Jimmy Ellis	SD	Dec 12, 1973	Seattle, Washington
Win	30-2	George Johnson	PTS	Oct 23, 1973	Seattle, Washington
Win	29-2	Lou Bailey	PTS	Oct 4, 1973	Denver, Colorado
Win	28-2	Robie Harris	KO	Sep 20, 1973	Stockton, California
Win	27-2	Jack O'Halloran	PTS	Jul 12, 1973	Seattle, Washington
Win	26-2	Steve Carter	PTS	May 16, 1973	Stockton, California
Win	25-2	Bill Drover	KO	Apr 28, 1973	Seattle, Washington
Win	24-2	Dick Gosha	TKO	Mar 15, 1973	Seattle, Washington
Win	23-2	Fred Lewis	TKO	Jan 30, 1973	Seattle, Washington
Loss	22-2	George Foreman	TKO	Nov 18, 1970	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	22-1	Amos Lincoln	KO	Jul 9, 1970	Seattle, Washington
Win	21-1	Bill McMurray	TKO	Apr 28, 1970	Seattle, Washington
Win	20-1	Ollie Wilson	KO	Mar 17, 1970	St. Paul, Minnesota
Win	19-1	Mike Bruce	KO	Jan 26, 1970	Seattle, Washington
Win	18-1	Bill McMurray	UD	Sep 9, 1968	Seattle, Washington
Win	17-1	Everett Copeland	TKO	Apr 25, 1968	Spokane, Washington
Win	16-1	Mike Lanum	KO	Feb 29, 1968	St. Louis, Missouri
Win	15-1	Archie Ray	KO	Dec 12, 1967	St. Louis, Missouri
Win	14-1	Wayne Heath	KO	Nov 17, 1967	Spokane, Washington
Win	13-1	Bill Nielson	TKO	Oct 3, 1967	Portland Oregon
Win	12-1	Doug Jones	TKO	Aug 10, 1967	Seattle, Washington
Loss	11-1	Doug Jones	TKO	Jun 29, 1967	Seattle, Washington
Win	11-0	Eddie Machen	TKO	May 26, 1967	Seattle, Washington
Win	10-0	Lars Olof Norling	TKO	Apr 22, 1967	Spokane, Washington
Win	9-0	Wayne Heath	UD	Mar 21, 1967	Portland, Oregon
Win	8-0	Leroy Birmingham	TKO	Feb 28, 1967	Spokane, Washington
Win	7-0	Bowie Adams	KO	Jan 24, 1967	Seattle, Washington
Win	6-0	Archie Ray	PTS	Oct 20, 1966	Boise, Idaho
Win	5-0	Archie Ray	UD	Sep 22, 1966	Boise, Idaho
Win	4-0	Al Carter	TKO	Jun 23, 1966	Los Angeles, California
Win	3-0	John Collins	TKO	Jun 2, 1966	Boise, Idaho
Win	2-0	Gail Wright	KO	May 5, 1966	Boise, Idaho
Win	1-0	Lou Phillips	KO	Apr 1, 1966	Boise, Idaho

Post career

After retiring from boxing at age 33, Kirkman became a Boeing delivery truck driver. He retired from Boeing in 2010.

Kirkman lives near Renton with his wife Teese, a retired nurse. The two have been married since 1988. He has two children from a previous marriage, Erik and Nina. He also has two grandchildren.

In his spare time, Kirkman enjoys hiking and mountaineering. He has scaled four of the five highest peaks in Washington: Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, and Mount Baker.[7]

Relationship with Jack Hurley

Kirkman and Jack Hurley were often at odds during Hurley's tenure. In interviews, Kirkman has expressed several criticisms of his former manager, including uncooperative behavior, leaving his boxers unprepared for fights, and a failure to secure a fight with Muhammad Ali during his prime (when Kirkman was the seventh-ranked boxer in the world).[3][4] Additionally, Hurley was not heavily involved during the training process, which contributed to poor scheduling.

Two other former boxers who were signed to Hurley, Harry Matthews and Pete Radarmacher, experienced similar frustrations, often finding themselves overmatched when up against highly-ranked opponents.[10]

Notes

1. "Boone Kirkman boxing stats". Retrieved March 27, 2011.
2. "Boone Kirkman - Boxer". Retrieved March 27, 2011.
3. Austin Killeen (June 28, 2008). "Boone Kirkman: FISTIC FRANCHISE OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST". Retrieved March 19, 2011.
4. Shawn M. Murphy (August 23, 2008). "Where Are They Now? Boone Kirkman". Retrieved March 27, 2011.
5. Bill Ross (January 31, 2006). "George Chuvalo - The Right Place at The Wrong Time Part 1". Retrieved March 27, 2011.
6. "Dan (Boone) Kirkman, boxer, possibly in Renton, 1968". University of Washington (from Renton Historical Museum). Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
7. Raley, Dan (June 22, 2005). "Where Are They Now: Boone 'Boom Boom' Kirkman, boxer". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
8. "Interview with Ken Norton: Norton Speaks On Fights With Ali". ESPN Radio 1490. Archived from the original on February 3, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
9. "Ron Lyle - Boxer". Archived from the original on September 21, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
10. Charles Burgess. "Harry "Kid" Matthews". Highline History. Retrieved April 13, 2011.

External links

• Boone Kirkman vs. George Foreman on YouTube