Only a few world champions were undefeated when they retired from boxing. Members of that select group include Jack McAuliffe, Rocky Marciano, Terry Marsh, Ji Won Kim, Ricardo Lopez and Sven Ottke.

The other one was Jimmy Barry, who boxed from 1891 to 1899.

Barry learnt to box under the tutelage of Harry Gilmore, a former Canadian lightweight champion who gave world champion McAuliffe a hard fight.

Born in Chicago on March 7, 1870 (some sources say August 4, 1872) Barry was only 1.57 m tall when he fought as a professional.

He gained prominence in his 37th fight, on December 5, 1893, when he knocked out Jack Levy in the 17th round of a fight in Roby, Indiana.

The bout was advertised as a clash for the world 100-pound (45.35 kg) title and the fighters wore skin-tight gloves.

It was reported that, despite his frail appearance, Barry was aggressive and he had fast hands and firepower in both.

In September 1894, he knocked out Casper Leon in the 28th round for the 105-pound championship of America. After the fight, he claimed the world bantamweight title.

His claim was never taken seriously in Britain, where Billy Plimmer was the champion until he was beaten by Pedlar Palmer in November 1895.

After another 16 wins, Barry went to England towards the end of 1897 and was matched with Walter Croot who fought out of Newcastle and at the time was recognised as the English 102-pound champion.

He was known as a scrapper who, prior to the Barry fight, had lost only 4 of his 17 bouts.

Two nights before Barry and Croot were due to meet, John Fleming, a long-time member of the National Sporting Club of London, died.

The contest was postponed for two months. Some people later said the postponement had been an omen.

Barry and Croot fought at the National Sporting Club on December 6, 1897 in a bout that was billed as a clash for the world bantamweight title even though Croot had been well beaten by Palmer.

The Englishman held his own during the early rounds but in the 20th round Barry dropped him with a blow to the head. He went down with such force that he suffered a fractured skull and died the next day.

Croot is buried at the St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cemetery in Leyton, London, the same place as Mary Kelly, said to be the last victim of Jack the Ripper.

Barry was charged with manslaughter but was cleared of all charges when the magistrate decided Croot’s death was the result of what had happened during a “contest” in the true sense of the word and not during a “fight.”

The American appeared to be haunted by the tragedy. He never reached the same heights during the rest of his career.

His last bout, against Harry Harris in September 1899, ended in a draw over six rounds.

There was much confusion over titles those days and there were many claimants to every title. The Ring Record Book lists Jimmy Barry as the first recognised flyweight champion of the world but does not recognise any of his claims to the bantamweight title. It also lists his final record as 58 wins, 40 inside the distance, and 11 draws.

After retiring from the ring, Barry worked in the county clerk’s office in Chicago for 25 years until his retirement because of ill health.

He died in Chicago on April 4, 1943 and was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2000.