Just over a year after his win over Tom Meadows, while still reigning champion, he died of tuberculosis, then known as consumption, on July 10, 1890, at the age of 25, at his home at 5 Endicott Court in North Boston. He had been diagnosed with an incurable lung and heart ailment around six months earlier, though may have suffered from the illness for at least a year. Friends attributed his health problems to his boxing career, particularly his last brutal bout with Tom Meadows where he received frequent blows to his chest. He ended his career with a 33-3-21 win-loss-draw record with 18 knockout victories. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008.