‘Napoleon of the Ring’ Jack McAuliffe toasted by Cork

The Cork boxing family gathered at Clancy’s Bar in the city yesterday to toast the 150th birthday of Cork’s only world boxing champion, Jack McAuliffe.

Deputy Lord Mayor Mick Nugent, Cork County Boxing Board president Mick O’Brien, and president of the Ex-Boxers Association Timmy O’Sullivan were among the guests, sharing tales of yesteryear and outlining plans for the future of Cork boxing.

McAuliffe — or the Napoleon of the Ring as he was known — was born in Christ Church Lane on March 27, 1886. He emigrated in the 1870s and forged a training partnership and friendship with Kildare immigrant and future world champion Jack Dempsey. McAuliffe turned pro at 18 and, after only two years as a professional, annexed the world lightweight title in a 21st-round knockout of Billy Frazier in Boston.