Background
The son of r Barney Aaron, he emigrated to the United States in 1855, and began boxing in 1856. Like his father before him, Aaron was a hard-hitting bare-knuckled fighter, but he fought in a new era under different rules than his famous father.
Career
Modified in 1853, only three years before young Barney began his professional career, the Rules stated the ring should be 24 square feet (22 m2), surrounded by two ropes. Therefore, bouts were recorded according to the number of rounds and length of time. 3-minute rounds were not developed until the late-19th century.
On July 9, 1856, on Rikers Island, Aaron fought a man named Robinson beginning at daybreak.
The fight lasted 3 hours and 20 minutes. After losing the title the following year to Patrick “Scotty” Brannagan in 1858 on a foul, he entered a seven-year period of inactivity because no fighter would face him.
He returned to the ring in 1866, and lost a 47-round bid to regain the title against Sam Collyer. After an excruciating 2 hours and 5 minutes, both men were taken off on stretchers.
However, he defeated Collyer in the rematch on June 13, 1867, in a 68-round battle that lasted one hour and 55 minutes to regain the championship.
In retirement, Young Barney remained in boxing by operating a gym in New New York He also served as a referee and officiated the 1883 John L. Sullivan versus Herbert Slade bout.