[1][3] Prior to moving to London in 1774 in order to work as a coal porter at a wharf he had already defeated Jack Clayton, the champion of Kingswood, Bristol.

When order was restored and a surgeon had lanced the swelling around the eye, he resumed fighting and within thirty minutes[4] had forced Boone to quit in defeat.

[1] After soundly defeating William Corbally in 20 minutes on 31 December 1788 in Navestock, he finally received a scheduled contract to fight the English champion,[5] Tom Johnson for a prize of £500 the following year.

The fight was a brutal but short-lived affair: despite being a 7–4 favourite, Johnson was incapacitated after 21 minutes, after he broke a finger by hitting a rail that surrounded the ring.

[1] He was buried at St. Sepulchre's Church, London, and his funeral was attended by four fighters: William Wood, Tom Johnson, Bill Warr and John Symonds.

[1] The epitaph on his headstone reads:[6]Farewell, ye honors of my brow,Victorious wreaths, farewell!One blow from Death has laid me lowBy whom such brave ones fell.Yet bravely, I'll dispute the prize,Nor yield, though out of breath;'Tis not a fall – I yet shall rise,And conquer even Death.Some recent sources describe Brain as having possibly retired in 1792 due to ill health.