When his father was discharged from the Navy, the family moved back to Renton, Washington, where Kirkman's grandfather initially settled.
[1] Growing up in Renton, a working-class community, Kirkman joined a group of 20 teenagers called the "Buds" that regularly drank alcohol and smoked.
Noting Kirkman's lack of interest in reading, a school friend recommended Rocky Graziano's autobiography Somebody Up There Likes Me, which was adapted into a film starring Paul Newman a year later.
Kirkman's first training sessions at age 14 involved traveling to a south Seattle gymnasium to work out from his school in Renton.
Kirkman took a year-long hiatus from boxing due to injury, but returned to the gym and won several local Golden Gloves events afterward, slowly building a reputation.
Between bar tending shifts, Kirkman incorporated training, and spent most nights punching a speed bag, entertaining spectators.
Kirkman managed to go undefeated in his first eleven matches, including a win over the dangerous but erratic Eddie Machen, until being stopped by the skilled Doug Jones in a featured fight held in Seattle.
Feeling confident, Hurley scheduled a match between Kirkman and recent Olympic heavyweight champion and two-year professional George Foreman at the Madison Square Garden.
He also encountered his second opponent ranked (at one time in their career) in the Ring Magazine Top 10 in by then over-the-hill ex-ununified heavyweight champion Jimmy Ellis, whom he defeated by split decision.
As a result, Kirkman experienced consecutive losses for the first time in his career after losing to Ken Norton, on his return to Seattle in June 1974.
Two other former boxers who were signed to Hurley, Harry Matthews and Pete Radarmacher, experienced similar frustrations, often finding themselves overmatched when up against highly-ranked opponents.