Fight to the Finish The Barge Battle of 1889 by Ron Jackson, Jr. chronicles the famous boxing match in Southampton Bay in 1889.

– Book release and signing for Fight To The Finish by bestselling author Ron J. Jackson, Jr. will be Saturday, June 1 at Benicia’s historic Union Hotel AT 401 1^st Street from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

BENICIA – One hundred and thirty years ago San Francisco rivals “Gentleman” Jim Corbett and Joe Choynski waged one the most savagely contested fights in boxing history on a barge anchored in Benicia’s Southampton Bay. The legendary, 27-round “finish fight” resulted in an extraordinary display of grit and courage by the two famed pugilists – an epic story that will now be told in all its glory in bestselling author Ron J. Jackson, Jr.’s new book, Fight To The Finish: “Gentleman” Jim Corbett, Joe Choynski, and the Fight that Launched Boxing’s Modern Era.

Ron Jackson, Jr., a Vacaville native will be at the Union Hotel on June 1 for a book signing from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Jackson – a Vacaville native and former sports writer – will celebrate the 130^th anniversary of this legendary fight Saturday, June 1 with the release of his new book at Benicia’s historic Union Hotel. The public is cordially invited to celebrate with Jackson, who will be signing copies of his newest publication between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. on the hotel’s picturesque patio.

Fight To The Finish is a popular nonfiction, historical narrative, and the accumulation of four years of intense research. Jackson salvaged this legendary bout from the shadows of time by drawing on every primary source imaginable, such as archival records, autobiographies, old newspapers, maps, and a variety of eyewitness accounts. The result is a lively, detailed reconstruction of Corbett and Choynski’s earliest years, as well as the intimate moments that placed them on a collision course.

Readers will also be introduced along the way to a parade of colorful San Francisco socialites, gamblers, newsmen, pugilists, and sporting hacks who helped secure the clandestine match. Eventually, the story will place them at ringside on the deck of the grain barge that fateful June 5, 1889 morning with sea air in their lungs and the static of fistic drama in the air. Fight To The Finish will ultimately inspire readers with its showcase of determination, stamina, and courage, and will leave them cheering long after the final bell.

Ron J. Jackson, Jr. is a bestselling author, historian, and former journalist who has been writing professionally for 34 years. He is the author of seven books, including the award-winning Joe, the Slave Who Became an Alamo Legend and the soon-to-be-released Bebes and the Bear: Gene Stallings, Coach Bryant, and the 1968 Cotton Bowl Showdown. He is a member of the Western Writers of America whose work has appeared in numerous regional and national publications. Jackson is a California native who grew up in Vacaville and now lives in Oklahoma with his wife and children.

Sharing is caring!