The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-02-24
Johnny KIIbane
 Only 23 Years Old
New Featherweight Is Clean Living Youngster Who
 Attends to Business

Johnny KiIbane. the new feather weight champion, is only twenty-three years old. He was born April IS, 1889- at Cleveland. Ohio. His height is five feet five inches, and he is of Irish American stock. He is married, and is the proud father of a baby girl.
 In 1910 Kilbane was only green youngster in the boxing game, but around Cleveland they were of the opinion that he was on the road to be a champion. On Oct. 24, of that year he met this same Attell, whom he was fated to beat at later date al Kansas City and AtteI1 got the de- cision in a ten round bout. He con- tinued at his game and did some great work in the featherweight class. Be- fore the fight with Attel1 he wasn't [ known outside of Cleveland. He had been in a number of minor bouts since 1905, but it was not until 1909 and 1910 that he attracted some attention in the fight world.
 In 1910 Tom McCarey of Los Angeles set out to find a logical candidate to meet Abe Atten for the title. Kilbane showed in that elimination contest that he was the boy entitled to meet Attell. He beat such boys as Joe Rivers, Patsy Kline and Frankie Con ley.
 During the year of 1911 he won all his fights, except the first one with Joe Rivers. From that fight until the one Thursday he came along like a champion. Thursday was his chance, and he showed the pugilistic world that he is all the good things said about him.
 Kilbane came to be known as one weight ranks. He never was much of a puncher, but developed a wallop in his second bout with Joe Rivers, whom he put down and out in sixteen rounds.
 He beat one of the greatest feath- erweights the world has ever known when he beat AtteIl. Those who know Abe thought that he knew too much for Kilbane but he met a boy who knew as much about the game as he did.
 KiIbane has always been known ae one of the fine boys of the boxing game. He is a home fellow and has always been a church member. He is -5nown throughout Ohio as Smiling John y.'' He always attended strict ly to business when he was matched for fight, whether with a good boy Or a bad one. He has been knocking about Cleveland for years, and those who know him well, including Billy Evans, the American League umpire, predicted that he would some day be the fea therweight champion
 The Forest City boy has been watch ing Atten for some time, and it took him a long time to get the match. He trained for Thursdays bout to- any trouble in making the necessary 122 pounds, and has always said that he would win the championship if he ever got the chance at Atten.
 Kilbane is a fighter who will fight when he has to, and then switch to boxing with the cleverest. That was the case in his contest Thursday, and he had no trouble in outpointing the clever Abe.
 The Cleveland boxer has always been busy. He never did believe in being idle at the boxing game, as he was under the impression that it would I,S- aI- I,o hot %Ioo in ,1911, and all were with boys who were considered to be the best in their class.
 He said after the fight Thursday that he intends to keep on fighting to defend his title and that he would be in the east shortly.