Titles: World Flyweight champion 1938-1943

Record: 92-7-2

Born: February 28, 1918 in Golborne, England 

Years active: 1934-1948

Nickname: None  

Peter Kane had what it took to become champion of the world, sure he had talent 
but a lot of others had the same! He also had something else.....work ethic. Even 
after he won the world flyweight title he kept his day job as a blacksmith for $4.50 
a week in the town where he grew up! This shows the love for the game that this down 
to earth man Kane had. In his 102 contests over 14 years Kane only lost seven bouts. 
Kane learned to box from his father and never had any kind of amateur career, instead 
making his mark in the rough boxing booths of Britain. Kane could punch however which 
made for his lack of technical skills early in his career with over half his 
victories coming inside the distance against good competition. Kane should be rated
among the 5 hardest hitters ever at flyweight, I would vote him as number 2 behind
Jimmy Wilde. If Kane had fought in the USA I am sure he would be rated much higher
than he generally is. Kane was also known for his large bulging eyes. Kane made his 
pro debut at the age of 16 and won his first 41 fights, 33 of which came inside the 
distance. He beat such respected English flyweights as Jim Mararg, Phil Milligan and 
Jimmy Warnock an Irishman who managed to twice defeat a man who would become the 
nemesis of Kane......Benny Lynch. The fight which gained much attention for Kane was 
a victory over Frenchman Valentin Angelmann who was recognized as the European from 
the European Boxing Union. A 4th round knockout win over Jimmy Warnock set up a title 
shot against the great Benny Lynch and many thought Kane could defeat Lynch on the 
win over Warnock who twice bested Lynch. The fight with Lynch was very eagerly 
anticipated and turned out to be a thriller. 40,000 people came out to see Kane a 
still young and improving 19 year old came back from a first round knockdown to give 
Lynch 13 rounds of hell before finally giving in to the power of Lynch in the 13th. 
After the first knockdown by the big right hand the pro Lynch crowd in Scotland 
thought the fight was going to short. Lynch survived the round and from that point 
on matched Lynch punch for punch. But Kane tired in the late stages as he was 
knocked down again in the 12th and twice in the final 13th round before the referee 
rescued him. It was a classic fight which many boxing historians still refer to as 
one of the best to ever be contested at the flyweight level. Lynch was also smart 
out of the ring and  when a  rematch 5 months later with Kane was made in Liverpool 
where Kane trained for all of his fights, Lynch insisted it not be for the title. 
The 12 round fight ended in a draw at any rate and did not live up to it's exciting
predecessor. Kane would take over the flyweight after Benny Lynch could not make the 
weight anymore. Kane outpointed the sturdy Jackie Jurich for the Vacant title in the 
Anfield Soccer stadium over 15 one sided rounds in 1938. Kane put on murderous 
pressure which resulted in half a dozen knock downs, Jurich did well to hear the 
final bell. How badly did Kane pummel Jurich? The hand of Kane was so badly swollen 
and bruised that his little finger had to be amputated on his right hand. With that 
little finger went a lot of his punching power. Kane like Lynch also had troubles 
with weight and gave up his title in 1939 after he could no longer make weight and 
joined the Royal Air Force during World War II. Kane did not officially loose his 
title however until 1943 when Jackie Paterson knocked him out in a 1 round blow out 
in Glasgow. Kane was out of shape and was simply caught cold, Kane knew he could not 
last long in his state and rushed to much running into a big right hand. Kane would 
lose partial sight in a freak accident when a lapel of a coat caught him in his right 
eye and damaged it. Incredibly Kane fought on after a 3 year absence from the ring. 
Kane defeated tough fighters like Bunty Doran and future champion Dado Marino. Kane 
even won the European bantamweight title briefly before retiring from Theo Medina in 
1947 when he was clearly past his prime. He lost the title and a return bout to 
Italian Guido Ferracin who was simply too fast for Kane at this point of his career. 
Kane retired at the age of 30 and went back to his job as a blacksmith, eventually 
losing sight completely in his right eye. Kane lived a long life and died at the age 
of 73 in Lancashire.   

     1934

     Dec 13  Joe Jacobs              Liverpool, England      KO 6

     1935

     Feb 14  Kid Patterson           Liverpool, England      KO 3
     Mar 14  Charlie Powell          Liverpool, England      KO 2
     Mar 28  Nipper Carroll          Liverpool, England      KO 3
     May 2   Bobby Doyle             Liverpool, England      KO 6
     May 30  Jackie Burns            Liverpool, England      KO 1
     Jun 27  Billy Charnock          Liverpool, England      KO 2
     Jul 11  Frank Bonser            Liverpool, England      KO 4
     Jul 25  Jackie Shea             Liverpool, England      KO 2
     Sep 12  Charlie Reed            Liverpool, England      KO 3
     Oct 10  Billy Charnock          Liverpool, England      KO 2
     Nov 7   Jackie Forshaw          Liverpool, England      KO 1
     Dec 5   Clarry Gill             Liverpool, England      KO 4

     1936

     Jan 24  Joe Curran              Warrington, England     W 10
     Feb 14  Tiny Bostock            Liverpool, England      W 10
     Mar 24  Willie Smith            Liverpool, England      KO 4
     May 6   Praxille Gyde           Liverpool, England      KO 3
     May 21  Jim Laird               Liverpool, England      KO 3
     Jun 11  Herbie Hill             Liverpool, England      KO 2
     Jun 21  Cyclone Kelly           Manchester, England     KO 4
     Jun 30  Jim Maharg              Glasgow                 KO 3
     Aug 19  Enrico Urbinati         Liverpool, England      KO 8
     Aug 27  Jimmy Stewart           Belfast, N. Ireland     KO 10
     Sep 3   Ernst Weiss             Liverpool, England      W 12
     Sep 16  Willie McCamley         Glasgow                 W 10
     Oct 22  Pedrito Ruiz            Liverpool, England      KO 7
     Nov 2   Pat Warbuton            London                  KO 1
     Nov 12  Valentin Angelmann      Liverpool, England      W 12
     Nov 23  Eugene Huat             London                  KO 7
     Dec 14  Gaston Van Den Bos      London                  KO 6
     Dec 17  Al Hopp                 Liverpool, England      KO 2

     1937

     Jan 18  Valentin Angelmann      Paris                   W 12
     Feb 18  Paul Schaefer           Liverpool, England      KO 1
     Mar 1   Pierre Louis            Paris                   KO 7
     Mar 18  Fortunato Ortega        Liverpool, England      W 12
     Apr 3   Joseph Decico           Paris                   KO 1
     Apr 29  Phil Milligan           Liverpool, England      KO 11
     May 27  Ernst Weiss             London                  W 12
     Jun 17  Maurice Huguenin        Liverpool, England      KO 1
     Jun 28  Nicolas Petit-Biquet    London                  KO 9
     Aug 26  Jim Warnock             Liverpool, England      KO 4
     Oct 13  Benny Lynch             Glasgow                 KO by 13
             (For World and British Flyweight Titles)

     1938

     Feb 3   Hubert Offermans        Liverpool, England      KO 10
     Feb 24  Georges Bataille        Paris                   W 10
     Mar 24  Benny Lynch             Liverpool, England      D 15
             (For World Flyweight Title)
     May 3   Georges Bataille        Liverpool, England      KO 2
     Jun 2   Bernard Leroux          Liverpool, England      W 12
     Sep 22  Jackie Jurich           Liverpool, England      W 15
             (Wins Vacant World Flyweight Title)

     1939

     Jan 31  Raoul Degryse           Leicester, England      W 10
     Feb 23  Gino Cattaneo           Liverpool, England      W 10
     Apr 3   Baltazar Sangchili      London                  W 10
     Apr 27  Albert Legrand          London                  KO 8
     May 18  Jo El Houssine          Paris                   W 10
     Aug 5   Pierre Louis            Monte Carlo             KO 3
     Dec 11  Stipped by NBA

     1940

     Feb 12  Jackie Rankin           Earl Court, England     KO by 6
     Apr 4   Jim Hayes               Liverpool, England      W 10

     1941

     Feb 20  Teddy O'Neill           London                  W 6
     Mar 3   Jimmy Lyden             Liverpool, England      L 10
     Jun 29  Jimmy Stubbs            Liverpool, England      KO 7
     Nov 16  Tommy McGlinchey        Liverpool, England      KO 2
     Dec 14  Jimmy Stubbs            Liverpool, England      W 10

     1942

     Mar 30  Willie Grey             London                  KO 5
     Apr 18  Eddie Petrin            Bristol, England        KO 7
     Apr 26  Joe Curran              Liverpool, England      W 10
     May 31  Sammy Reynolds          Liverpool, England      W 10
     Jul 9   Norman Lewis            Sheffield, England      W 10
     Jul 11  Sammy Reynolds          Wolverhampton, England  W 8
     Aug 3   Joe Curran              Liverpool, England      KO 11
     Sep 10  Hugh Cameron            Liverpool, England      W 10
     Oct 1   Frank Bonser            Liverpool, England      KO 3
     Oct 29  Paddy Ryan              Liverpool, England      KO 6

     1943

     Jan 14  Willie Grey             Liverpool, England      W 10
     Feb 24  Willie Grey             London                  NC 5
     Mar 26  Gus Foran               Blackpool, England      W 10
     Jun 19  Jackie Paterson         Glasgow                 KO by 1
             (Loses World, For British Flyweight Title)
     Oct 11  Johnny Summers          Bristol, England        KO 1
     Oct 13  Sammy Reynolds          London                  W 10
     Nov 3   Jim Brady               London                  W 10

     1944-45

     Inactive

     1946

     Aug 13  Jackie Hughes           Brighton, England       WDQ 5
     Sep 4   Ronnie Bissel           Cardiff, Wales          KO 2
     Oct 28  Norman Lewis            London                  KO 5
     Nov 18  Jean Jouas              Paris                   W 10

     1947

     Jan 6   Tommy Madine            Nottingham, England     KO 4
     Feb 10  Eddie "Bunty" Doran     Manchester, England     W 8
     Apr 28  Joe Cornelis            Manchester, England     W 8
     May 19  Len Coffin              Leeds, England          KO 7
     Jun 9   Theo Medina             Manchester, England     KO 6
     Jun 27  Albert Braedt           New Brighton, England   KO 3
     Aug 8   Dado Marino             Manchester, England     W 10
     Sep 19  Theo Medina             Manchester, England     W 15
     Dec 15  Joe Cornelis            Manchester, England     W 15

     1948

     Jan 26  Sammy Reynolds          Nottingham, England     W 10
     Feb 20  Guido Ferracin          Manchester, England     L 15
     Apr 16  Eddie "Bunty" Doran     Manchester, England     KO 8
     May 26  Amleto Falcinelli       Paisley, Scotland       D 10
     Jul 16  Guido Ferracin          Manchester, England     KO by 5
     Nov 19  Stan Rowan              Manchester, England     L 12