The Woolly Mammoth wasn't the largest of the Mammoth species, that title goes to the Steppe Mammoth. The Steppe Mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii) was one of the largest land mammals ever to exist. Males reached shoulder heights of 14.8 feet tall and weighed about 14.3 metric tons, making them significantly larger than modern elephants.
It's interesting, scientists are actively working to "bring back" the Woolly Mammoth, though technically they are creating a hybrid. By using CRISPR gene-editing tools, researchers are splicing mammoth DNA traits into the genome of the Asian elephant—the mammoth's closest living relative.The goal is to create a "proxy" species—a cold-adapted Asian elephant with mammoth traits like thick shaggy hair, a layer of subcutaneous fat, and cold-resistant blood. A de-extinction biotechnology company called Colossal Biosciences is spearheading the effort in collaboration with various geneticists. They are editing elephant cells in a lab and using artificial wombs to develop the embryos. As a stepping stone, researchers have even successfully engineered "woolly mice" to test cold-adaptation traits. Colossal's projected timeline aims to produce their first mammoth-elephant hybrids. The main ecological goal is to restore the Arctic tundra grasslands. Proponents believe these massive animals will knock down trees and stomp snow, which helps preserve the permafrost and mitigate climate change. Because the resulting animal will carry modifications, it will not be an exact genetic clone of the extinct woolly mammoth, but rather a functional ecological equivalent.
Back to Neanderthals for a moment, they are our closest ancestors in the evolutionary chain, there are Homo Sapiens on this planet as we speak that have Neanderthal DNA in their genes. In fact, virtually all modern humans whose ancestry originates outside of sub-Saharan Africa carry between 1% and 2% Neanderthal DNA. Because our ancestors interbred with Neanderthals tens of thousands of years ago, traces of these extinct hominids survive in our genomes today. You can't help but look back and really appreciate them, and wonder what happened to them. Neanderthals went extinct about 40,000 years ago. Study shows that rather than a single event, their demise was likely caused by a combination of factors, including climate-induced resource stress, competition and disease spread from early Homo sapiens, and gradual genetic absorption through interbreeding.
Modern humans and Neanderthals frequently mated. Because human populations were larger, some scientists believe smaller bands of Neanderthals were gradually absorbed into Homo sapiens groups, effectively meaning they didn't completely disappear, but were bred out as distinct populations. As Homo sapiens expanded into Europe and Asia, they competed with Neanderthals for the same large Ice Age prey. Humans often lived in larger social networks and had more specialized hunting tools, making them better equipped to survive fluctuations in food sources. Neanderthals lived in small, isolated family groups with low genetic diversity. Severe climate shifts and cold snaps caused their food sources to shift, rendering these isolated populations highly vulnerable to starvation and inbreeding. Some researchers propose that Homo sapiens brought novel infectious diseases from Africa. Because Neanderthals lacked immunity to these pathogens, disease could have slowly decimated their populations over thousands of years. You have to tip your hat to them, and the other species in the evolutionary chain that came before them, they lived a harsh and brutal life, we sit in our perfectly temperatured homes, make a short drive to a restaurant or a grocery store when we get hungry, buy our clothes off the rack at the local department store, luxuries we take for granted. They didn't have it that easy. You really have to appreciate them all, they paved the way for us.
Ok, let's get back to some great boxing photos that were used for the image we see on some great boxing cards. Up next, Stanley Ketchel. The first two-time world middleweight champion, Stanley Ketchel was renowned as one of the most ferocious, hardest-hitting fighters in boxing history. Nicknamed the "Michigan Assassin," he built a legendary reputation for his unyielding aggression, terrifying punching power, and exceptional bravery. He was a brooding brawler who relentlessly pressured opponents and fought with a controlled, violent rage. Despite lacking formal training, he compiled a record of 52 wins (49 by knockout). He never backed down from a challenge, famously stepping into the heavyweight division in 1909 to fight a much larger opponent in heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. Ketchel made headlines by dropping Johnson during the fight, that's how hard this middleweight hit. Ketchel is also famous for his rivalry with Billy Papke, another incredibly brutal middleweight of that era. Legendary fighter. This is the 1909 Jeffries Playing Cards - Ketchel vs. Papke.
1909 Jeffries Playing Cards - Stanley Ketchel. Check out this example, a 1909 card graded a PSA 10. This is a very famous photo of Ketchel, it was used for quite a few of his cards.
I've heard a lot of talk about how the athletes of the past couldn't hang with the athletes of today because of advances in training methods, well, that just simply doesn't apply to the sport of boxing. Take the fighters during Stanley Ketchel's era for instance, they were savages. If Stanley Ketchel found his way through a wormhole and dropped into the current era of boxing, the fighters of today would be caught in a bonafide shitstorm to the likes of which they've never seen, there's nothing they could put Stanley Ketchel through that he hasn't already seen, no amount of punishment they could deal out that he hasn't already absorbed, there's not much they could do with him.
"The definitive monster draws a veil across the top five.
By astonishing coincidence Stanley Ketchel shared an era with perhaps the only middleweight that could have rivalled him for the position of Chief Monster, Billy Papke. They fought wars, savage even for their savage era.
Papke exalted in suffering to an even greater extent than Ketchel, and was delivered to exaltation by his nemesis in June of 1908. Ketchel boxed Papke carefully, “he was not in a hurry” but rather “the coolest man in the house.” He used footwork and a shifting, “sideways” style that reads as almost spiderlike, to keep the brutal Papke off balance and under control; the result was a beating one-sided and impressive, so impressive it led the great Abe Attell to name Ketchel “the greatest fighter that ever lived.”
The rematch, too, provoked admiration. Jim Jeffries, the legendary heavyweight champion, labelled him “the gamest fighter I have ever seen” as Ketchel absorbed perhaps the most hellish beating of an era accustomed to such; so devastating was the punishment that Papke inflicted that by the eighth the crowd, accustomed to the brutalities of boxing in this era, called for the fight to be stopped. Jeffries, a fighter who made his bones soaking up violence, allowed the blood bath to continue into the twelfth. Ketchel’s face “was battered out of shape, as if Papke had knocked him about with a baseball bat as opposed to two fists”. Distracted by talk of a match with world heavyweight champion Tommy Burns, comforted by his one-sided drubbing of Papke on points, Ketchel, perhaps, had not applied himself in the usual way. “His face crooked, his mouth a mere gash,” he vanished into the desert, even his manager apparently unaware of his whereabouts.
When he re-emerged it was with a silent confidence that impressed even the newspapermen who had deemed him damaged goods. At the bell for their rubber, he told Papke, in a steady voice, that he would knock him out one round earlier than Papke had inflicted that ignominy upon him and then proceeded to do so. When he defeated Papke for a third time over twenty rounds some months later he was made Papke’s master for all time.
Ketchel had been an underdog to the much bigger Joe Thomas when he stumbled out of the brush all those years earlier but he crushed Thomas. Hugo Kelly had boxed fifty rounds with Jack Sullivan, thirty rounds with Burns and twenty rounds with Papke without incident; Ketchel dusted him in three. Sullivan, a defensive specialist more accustomed to boxing heavyweights than middleweights, dropped down in poundage to face Ketchel and was destroyed. In fact, while he was beaten by a light-heavyweight Sam Langford and a heavyweight Jack Johnson – no shame in either case – Ketchel was beaten just once at middleweight, by Papke, a defeat he three times avenged.
A lethal pressure fighter with off-scale power, an iron jaw, huge work-rate and limitless stamina, Ketchel dominated a superb era of middleweights during a career that saw him reign twice as the champion of the world."
1910 Red Sun Cigarettes - Stanley Ketchel. I really love this set, the lime green border and the beautiful red sun logo on the back, great images of the fighters as well.
Famous photo of Stanley Ketchel flooring Jack Johnson in 1909. A middleweight flooring the world heavyweight champion, that's how hard Ketchel could hit. The bout was supposed to be an exhibition, but in round 12 Ketchel decided to make it serious.
Jack Johnson vs Stanley Ketchel – When a Friendly Bout Turned Violent
In 1909, heavyweight champion Jack Johnson known as "The Galveston Giant" stepped into the ring with middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel, "The Michigan Assassin." On paper, Ketchel was a superb fighter, but nowhere near Johnson’s size or strength, Ketchel was outweighed by at least 50 pounds and a good 4 inches shorter.
The bout was arranged more as an exhibition. Johnson reportedly agreed to carry Ketchel and not punish him too much. For most of the fight, Johnson toyed with his smaller opponent, controlling the pace with ease.
But in round 12, everything changed. Ketchel saw his chance and stunned Johnson with a surprise right hand, knocking the heavyweight champion down. It was a bold move and a big mistake.
Johnson, enraged, got to his feet and immediately retaliated. He unleashed a vicious right hand to Ketchel’s jaw, dropping him flat on the canvas unconscious. The punch was so hard that it’s said Ketchel’s teeth were lodged in Johnson’s glove. Johnson would later admit:
“I can never remember hitting a man harder.”
If you look at the famous pre-fight photo, you’ll notice Ketchel wearing a heavy coat and heeled boots, trying to appear closer in size to the imposing Johnson. But once the gloves were on, there was no hiding the difference in power.
That night proved one thing when you step in with the heavyweight king, you play by his rules… or you pay the price.
This is the pre-fight photo of Stanley Ketchel and Jack Johnson, notice Ketchel is wearing a thick coat and high-heeled boots to make himself appear closer to Johnson's size.
Stanley Ketchel knocks Jack Johnson down with an absolute haymaker, and Johnson responds with sheer brutality. One of the most violent exchanges in boxing history.
Stanley Ketchel looking down at Billy Papke after knocking him out. They had one hell of a rivalry, the second time they fought, Papke damn near beat Ketchel to death, took his middleweight crown, afterwards people thought Ketchel was done for good, the beating was that bad and vicious. Ketchel disappeared to the desert, got himself together, when he came back he was a different animal, the rematch was in Colma, California, and he mowed Papke down, violently knocking him out in 11 and taking his middleweight title back. Ketchel would never lose his crown again. Great, great fighter.
You know, Stanley Ketchel vanishing to the desert like that and coming back with a vengeance, it reminds me so much of the film "Creed 2", where Adonis Creed takes a brutal beating from Viktor Drago, goes out to the desert, gets himself together, and comes back to get Drago.
These are photos from the beating Stanley Ketchel took at the hands of Billy Papke in their second fight, you can see Ketchel's face is a bloody mess, his nose is crooked, and the ring is stained with his blood.
Ketchel returns the favor two months later. It was the only time Billy Papke was knocked out in his career. Ketchel came back from the desert hell-bent on revenge and he got it.
I need a music break. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love this band. This is one of those songs you listened to as a teenager in the 80s, driving fast down back roads in your Trans-Am.
Up next, Johnny Kilbane, he held the World Featherweight Championship for over 11 years (more specifically, 11 years and 4 months). He won the title on February 22, 1912, by defeating Abe Attell and held the crown until June 2, 1923, when he lost it to Eugene Criqui. His reign is the longest uninterrupted title period in the history of the featherweight division and the second longest title reign in boxing history. Watching footage of Kilbane, he was the real deal, a very clever scientific boxer. This is the 1938 NX5 American Sweets Knockout Bubble Gum - Johnny Kilbane card, one of the rarest boxing cards and sets on this planet.
Jake Kilrain, a tough-as-nails Irishman from the 1890s that captured the Police Gazette championship in 1887 after going 106 rounds with Jem Smith. He also went 76 rounds with John L. Sullivan in 1889. That should tell you all you need to know about Jake Kilrain. Oh yeah, and we're talking bare-knuckle era. Jake Kilrain is a legend and to be quite frank, a badass. This is his rookie card, the 1887 Allen and Ginter's - Jake Kilrain.
1887 N269 - Lorillard’s Mechanics Delight - Jake Kilrain. I don't believe that this issue used actual photos for the images on the cards but it's a really cool set and one of the earliest boxing card sets.
Comments
The Woolly Mammoth really is the most iconic symbol of the Ice Age.
The Woolly Mammoth wasn't the largest of the Mammoth species, that title goes to the Steppe Mammoth. The Steppe Mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii) was one of the largest land mammals ever to exist. Males reached shoulder heights of 14.8 feet tall and weighed about 14.3 metric tons, making them significantly larger than modern elephants.
An example of what a Steppe Mammoth would look like next to an average size man.
Some Steppe Mammoth skeletons.
Wicked image of a Siberian Steppe Mammoth during an Ice Age storm.
It's interesting, scientists are actively working to "bring back" the Woolly Mammoth, though technically they are creating a hybrid. By using CRISPR gene-editing tools, researchers are splicing mammoth DNA traits into the genome of the Asian elephant—the mammoth's closest living relative.The goal is to create a "proxy" species—a cold-adapted Asian elephant with mammoth traits like thick shaggy hair, a layer of subcutaneous fat, and cold-resistant blood. A de-extinction biotechnology company called Colossal Biosciences is spearheading the effort in collaboration with various geneticists. They are editing elephant cells in a lab and using artificial wombs to develop the embryos. As a stepping stone, researchers have even successfully engineered "woolly mice" to test cold-adaptation traits. Colossal's projected timeline aims to produce their first mammoth-elephant hybrids. The main ecological goal is to restore the Arctic tundra grasslands. Proponents believe these massive animals will knock down trees and stomp snow, which helps preserve the permafrost and mitigate climate change. Because the resulting animal will carry modifications, it will not be an exact genetic clone of the extinct woolly mammoth, but rather a functional ecological equivalent.
Back to Neanderthals for a moment, they are our closest ancestors in the evolutionary chain, there are Homo Sapiens on this planet as we speak that have Neanderthal DNA in their genes. In fact, virtually all modern humans whose ancestry originates outside of sub-Saharan Africa carry between 1% and 2% Neanderthal DNA. Because our ancestors interbred with Neanderthals tens of thousands of years ago, traces of these extinct hominids survive in our genomes today. You can't help but look back and really appreciate them, and wonder what happened to them. Neanderthals went extinct about 40,000 years ago. Study shows that rather than a single event, their demise was likely caused by a combination of factors, including climate-induced resource stress, competition and disease spread from early Homo sapiens, and gradual genetic absorption through interbreeding.
Modern humans and Neanderthals frequently mated. Because human populations were larger, some scientists believe smaller bands of Neanderthals were gradually absorbed into Homo sapiens groups, effectively meaning they didn't completely disappear, but were bred out as distinct populations. As Homo sapiens expanded into Europe and Asia, they competed with Neanderthals for the same large Ice Age prey. Humans often lived in larger social networks and had more specialized hunting tools, making them better equipped to survive fluctuations in food sources. Neanderthals lived in small, isolated family groups with low genetic diversity. Severe climate shifts and cold snaps caused their food sources to shift, rendering these isolated populations highly vulnerable to starvation and inbreeding. Some researchers propose that Homo sapiens brought novel infectious diseases from Africa. Because Neanderthals lacked immunity to these pathogens, disease could have slowly decimated their populations over thousands of years. You have to tip your hat to them, and the other species in the evolutionary chain that came before them, they lived a harsh and brutal life, we sit in our perfectly temperatured homes, make a short drive to a restaurant or a grocery store when we get hungry, buy our clothes off the rack at the local department store, luxuries we take for granted. They didn't have it that easy. You really have to appreciate them all, they paved the way for us.
Ok, let's get back to some great boxing photos that were used for the image we see on some great boxing cards. Up next, Stanley Ketchel. The first two-time world middleweight champion, Stanley Ketchel was renowned as one of the most ferocious, hardest-hitting fighters in boxing history. Nicknamed the "Michigan Assassin," he built a legendary reputation for his unyielding aggression, terrifying punching power, and exceptional bravery. He was a brooding brawler who relentlessly pressured opponents and fought with a controlled, violent rage. Despite lacking formal training, he compiled a record of 52 wins (49 by knockout). He never backed down from a challenge, famously stepping into the heavyweight division in 1909 to fight a much larger opponent in heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. Ketchel made headlines by dropping Johnson during the fight, that's how hard this middleweight hit. Ketchel is also famous for his rivalry with Billy Papke, another incredibly brutal middleweight of that era. Legendary fighter. This is the 1909 Jeffries Playing Cards - Ketchel vs. Papke.
1909 Jeffries Playing Cards - Stanley Ketchel. Check out this example, a 1909 card graded a PSA 10. This is a very famous photo of Ketchel, it was used for quite a few of his cards.
I've heard a lot of talk about how the athletes of the past couldn't hang with the athletes of today because of advances in training methods, well, that just simply doesn't apply to the sport of boxing. Take the fighters during Stanley Ketchel's era for instance, they were savages. If Stanley Ketchel found his way through a wormhole and dropped into the current era of boxing, the fighters of today would be caught in a bonafide shitstorm to the likes of which they've never seen, there's nothing they could put Stanley Ketchel through that he hasn't already seen, no amount of punishment they could deal out that he hasn't already absorbed, there's not much they could do with him.
"The definitive monster draws a veil across the top five.
By astonishing coincidence Stanley Ketchel shared an era with perhaps the only middleweight that could have rivalled him for the position of Chief Monster, Billy Papke. They fought wars, savage even for their savage era.
Papke exalted in suffering to an even greater extent than Ketchel, and was delivered to exaltation by his nemesis in June of 1908. Ketchel boxed Papke carefully, “he was not in a hurry” but rather “the coolest man in the house.” He used footwork and a shifting, “sideways” style that reads as almost spiderlike, to keep the brutal Papke off balance and under control; the result was a beating one-sided and impressive, so impressive it led the great Abe Attell to name Ketchel “the greatest fighter that ever lived.”
The rematch, too, provoked admiration. Jim Jeffries, the legendary heavyweight champion, labelled him “the gamest fighter I have ever seen” as Ketchel absorbed perhaps the most hellish beating of an era accustomed to such; so devastating was the punishment that Papke inflicted that by the eighth the crowd, accustomed to the brutalities of boxing in this era, called for the fight to be stopped. Jeffries, a fighter who made his bones soaking up violence, allowed the blood bath to continue into the twelfth. Ketchel’s face “was battered out of shape, as if Papke had knocked him about with a baseball bat as opposed to two fists”. Distracted by talk of a match with world heavyweight champion Tommy Burns, comforted by his one-sided drubbing of Papke on points, Ketchel, perhaps, had not applied himself in the usual way. “His face crooked, his mouth a mere gash,” he vanished into the desert, even his manager apparently unaware of his whereabouts.
When he re-emerged it was with a silent confidence that impressed even the newspapermen who had deemed him damaged goods. At the bell for their rubber, he told Papke, in a steady voice, that he would knock him out one round earlier than Papke had inflicted that ignominy upon him and then proceeded to do so. When he defeated Papke for a third time over twenty rounds some months later he was made Papke’s master for all time.
Ketchel had been an underdog to the much bigger Joe Thomas when he stumbled out of the brush all those years earlier but he crushed Thomas. Hugo Kelly had boxed fifty rounds with Jack Sullivan, thirty rounds with Burns and twenty rounds with Papke without incident; Ketchel dusted him in three. Sullivan, a defensive specialist more accustomed to boxing heavyweights than middleweights, dropped down in poundage to face Ketchel and was destroyed. In fact, while he was beaten by a light-heavyweight Sam Langford and a heavyweight Jack Johnson – no shame in either case – Ketchel was beaten just once at middleweight, by Papke, a defeat he three times avenged.
A lethal pressure fighter with off-scale power, an iron jaw, huge work-rate and limitless stamina, Ketchel dominated a superb era of middleweights during a career that saw him reign twice as the champion of the world."
1910 E79 - Philadelphia Caramel - Stanley Ketchel.
1910 E75 - American Caramel Prize Fighters - Stanley Ketchel.
1910 E77 - American Caramel Prize Fighters - Stanley Ketchel.
1910 T218 Champions - Stanley Ketchel - Hassan Cigarettes back.
1910 T225 - Khedival Surbrug Prize Fighters - Stanley Ketchel.
1911 T9 - Turkey Red - Stanley Ketchel. My goodness, what a beautiful card.
1910 T219 Champions - Red Cross Tobacco - Stanley Ketchel. Very rare card.
1910 Red Sun Cigarettes - Stanley Ketchel. I really love this set, the lime green border and the beautiful red sun logo on the back, great images of the fighters as well.
1924 Willard's Chocolates - Stanley Ketchel. I have to say, it's insane how many times this photo was used for his cards.
1950 Joe Palooka Candy - Stanley Ketchel.
1951 Topps Ringside - Stanley Ketchel.
Famous photo of Stanley Ketchel flooring Jack Johnson in 1909. A middleweight flooring the world heavyweight champion, that's how hard Ketchel could hit. The bout was supposed to be an exhibition, but in round 12 Ketchel decided to make it serious.
Jack Johnson vs Stanley Ketchel – When a Friendly Bout Turned Violent
In 1909, heavyweight champion Jack Johnson known as "The Galveston Giant" stepped into the ring with middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel, "The Michigan Assassin." On paper, Ketchel was a superb fighter, but nowhere near Johnson’s size or strength, Ketchel was outweighed by at least 50 pounds and a good 4 inches shorter.
The bout was arranged more as an exhibition. Johnson reportedly agreed to carry Ketchel and not punish him too much. For most of the fight, Johnson toyed with his smaller opponent, controlling the pace with ease.
But in round 12, everything changed. Ketchel saw his chance and stunned Johnson with a surprise right hand, knocking the heavyweight champion down. It was a bold move and a big mistake.
Johnson, enraged, got to his feet and immediately retaliated. He unleashed a vicious right hand to Ketchel’s jaw, dropping him flat on the canvas unconscious. The punch was so hard that it’s said Ketchel’s teeth were lodged in Johnson’s glove. Johnson would later admit:
“I can never remember hitting a man harder.”
If you look at the famous pre-fight photo, you’ll notice Ketchel wearing a heavy coat and heeled boots, trying to appear closer in size to the imposing Johnson. But once the gloves were on, there was no hiding the difference in power.
That night proved one thing when you step in with the heavyweight king, you play by his rules… or you pay the price.
This is the pre-fight photo of Stanley Ketchel and Jack Johnson, notice Ketchel is wearing a thick coat and high-heeled boots to make himself appear closer to Johnson's size.
In the top photo you can see the kind of haymakers that Stanley Ketchel was throwing at Jack Johnson.
Stanley Ketchel knocks Jack Johnson down with an absolute haymaker, and Johnson responds with sheer brutality. One of the most violent exchanges in boxing history.
2005 Helmar Brewing Co. - Famous Athletes - Stanley Ketchel.
2005 Helmar Brewing Co. - Trolley Card - Stanley Ketchel.
2014 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions - Stanley Ketchel.
Stanley Ketchel looking down at Billy Papke after knocking him out. They had one hell of a rivalry, the second time they fought, Papke damn near beat Ketchel to death, took his middleweight crown, afterwards people thought Ketchel was done for good, the beating was that bad and vicious. Ketchel disappeared to the desert, got himself together, when he came back he was a different animal, the rematch was in Colma, California, and he mowed Papke down, violently knocking him out in 11 and taking his middleweight title back. Ketchel would never lose his crown again. Great, great fighter.
You know, Stanley Ketchel vanishing to the desert like that and coming back with a vengeance, it reminds me so much of the film "Creed 2", where Adonis Creed takes a brutal beating from Viktor Drago, goes out to the desert, gets himself together, and comes back to get Drago.
These are photos from the beating Stanley Ketchel took at the hands of Billy Papke in their second fight, you can see Ketchel's face is a bloody mess, his nose is crooked, and the ring is stained with his blood.
Ketchel returns the favor two months later. It was the only time Billy Papke was knocked out in his career. Ketchel came back from the desert hell-bent on revenge and he got it.
Stanley Ketchel's world middleweight title belt.
2025 Top Trumps - Boxing Icons Game Card - Stanley Ketchel.
I need a music break. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love this band. This is one of those songs you listened to as a teenager in the 80s, driving fast down back roads in your Trans-Am.
Up next, Johnny Kilbane, he held the World Featherweight Championship for over 11 years (more specifically, 11 years and 4 months). He won the title on February 22, 1912, by defeating Abe Attell and held the crown until June 2, 1923, when he lost it to Eugene Criqui. His reign is the longest uninterrupted title period in the history of the featherweight division and the second longest title reign in boxing history. Watching footage of Kilbane, he was the real deal, a very clever scientific boxer. This is the 1938 NX5 American Sweets Knockout Bubble Gum - Johnny Kilbane card, one of the rarest boxing cards and sets on this planet.
1929 Godfrey Phillips LTD - Sporting Champions - Johnny Kilbane.
1924 Willard's Chocolates - Johnny Kilbane.
1950 Joe Palooka Candy - Johnny Kilbane.
1950 Joe Palooka Candy - White Background and different colored border- Johnny Kilbane. This is a very rare card.
Check this out, a 1950 Joe Palooka Candy - White Background - Johnny Kilbane, but this one has a coupon back, a very rare back.
Jake Kilrain, a tough-as-nails Irishman from the 1890s that captured the Police Gazette championship in 1887 after going 106 rounds with Jem Smith. He also went 76 rounds with John L. Sullivan in 1889. That should tell you all you need to know about Jake Kilrain. Oh yeah, and we're talking bare-knuckle era. Jake Kilrain is a legend and to be quite frank, a badass. This is his rookie card, the 1887 Allen and Ginter's - Jake Kilrain.
1887 N269 - Lorillard’s Mechanics Delight - Jake Kilrain. I don't believe that this issue used actual photos for the images on the cards but it's a really cool set and one of the earliest boxing card sets.
1887 N274 - Old Judge Cigarettes - Jake Kilrain.
1890 N310 - Mayo's Cut Plug - Jake Kilrain.
1902 Ogden's General Interest Series B - Jake Kilrain.
1910 T220 - Champions - Fight Between John L. Sullivan vs Jake Kilrain with Tolstoi Cigarettes back. Very rare variation back.
1921 Romeo Y Julieta - Jake Kilrain/John L. Sullivan.