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Bare knuckle Fighting
| From the fall of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the 19th century pugilism seems to have been unknown among civilized nations with the single exception of the English. The first references to boxing in England as a regular sport occur towards the end of the r7th century, but little mention is made of it before the time of George I., when " prize-fighters " engaged in public encounters for money, with the backsword, falchion, foil, quarter-staff and single-stick, and, to a less extent, with bare fists, the last gradually gaining in popularity with the decline of fencing. The most celebrated of these fighters and the one who is generally considered to have been the first champion of England, fighting with the bare fists, was James Figg, who was supreme from 1719 to 1730. Figg was succeeded by Pipes and Gretting, both of whom made way in 1734 for Jack Broughton, who built the amphitheatre for public displays near Tottenham Court Road and who was undisputed champion until 1750. Broughton seems to have been a man of intelligence, and to him is ascribed the scientific development of the art of boxing. During his time the sport became truly national and the prize-fighter the companion of the greatest in the land. Among Broughton's successors were Slack, " Big Ben " Brain, Daniel Mendoza (a Jew who flourished about 1790 and was the proprietor of the Lyceum in the Strand), J. Jackson, Torn Cribb, Jem Belcher, Pearce (called the " Game Chicken"), and John Gully, who afterwards represented Pontefract in Parliament. Broughton is ascribed the invention of boxing-gloves for use in practice. All prize-fights, however, took place with bare knuckles in roped-off spaces called rings, usually in the open air. Pugilists toughened their hands by " pickling " them in a powerful astringent solution. A fight ended when one of the " bruisers," as they were called, was unable to " come to the scratch," i.e. the middle of the ring, at the call of the referee at the beginning of a new round. Each round ended when one fighter fell or was knocked or thrown to the ground, but a pugilist " going down to avoid punishment," i.e. without being struck by the opponent, was liable to forfeit the fight. Wrestling played an important role in the old prize-ring, and a favourite method of weakening an adversary was to throw him heavily and then fall upon him, seemingly by accident, as the manoeuvre, if done intentionally, was foul. The fighting was of the roughest description, low tricks of all kinds being practised when the referee's attention was diverted, gouging out an adversary's eye being by no means unknown. Until 1 795 pugilists wore long hair, but during a fight in that year Jackson caught Mendoza by his long locks and held him down helpless while he hit him. This was adjudged fair by the referee, with the result that prize-fighters have ever since cropped their head. Nevertheless there were rules which no fighter dared to overstep, such as those against kicking, hitting below the belt, and striking a man when he had fallen. From the time of Cribb the English champions were Tom Spring (1824), Jem Ward (1825), Jem Burke (1833), W. Thompson, called "Bendigo" (1839-1845), Ben Caunt (1841), W. Perry, the " Tipton Slasher " (1850), Harry Broome (1851), Tom Sayers (1857-1860), Jem Mace (1861-1863), Tom King (1863), and again Mace, until 1872. In America boxing began to be popular about the beginning of the 19th century. The first recognized national champion was Tom Hyer (1841-1848), who was followed by James Ambrose (born in Ireland), called " Yankee Sullivan "; John Morrissey (afterwards elected to the United States Congress); John C. Heenan; Tom Allen (of England); Jem Mace (of England); J. Kilrain; John L. Sullivan (1880-1891); J. J. Corbett (1892-1897); Robert Fitzsimmons (1897-1900) (born in Cornwall); James J. Jeffries. The defeat of the last named by the negro Jack Johnson in 1910 caused a great sensation. What is still the most celebrated prize-fight of modern times took place at Farnborough in April 1860, between Tom Sayers and the huge youthful American. pugilist J. C. Heenan, the " Benicia Boy," who had been defeated in America by Morrissey, but had succeeded to the championship upon the latter's retirement. The English champion was a much smaller and lighter man than his challenger, a fact which increased the popular interest in the fight. Although the local English authorities endeavoured to prevent it taking place, Heenan complaining that he had " been chased out of eight counties," the ring at Farnborough was surrounded by a company containing representatives of the highest classes, and the exaggerated statement was made that " Parliament had been emptied to patronize a prize-fight." The battle lasted for 2 hours and 20 minutes, during which Heenan, owing to his superiority in weight and reach, seemed to have the advantage, although nearly blinded by Sayers's hard straight punches. During one of the opening rounds a tendon in Sayers's right forearm was ruptured in guarding, and he fought the rest of the battle with a pluck which roused the enthusiasm of the spectators. Heenan had neglected to harden his hands properly, with the result that they soon swelled to unnatural proportions, rendering his blows no more effective than if he had worn boxing-gloves. Nevertheless towards the close of the fight Heenan repeatedly threw Sayers violently, and held him on the ropes enclosing the ring, which, just as the police interfered, were cut by persons who asserted that Heenan was on the point of strangling Sayers. In spite of the indecisive outcome of the battle both fighters claimed the victory, but the match was officially adjudged a draw. This was the last great prize-fight with bare fists on English soil, as public opinion was aroused, and orders were given to the police thenceforth to regard prizefights as illegal, as tending to a " breach of the peace." Several surreptitious prize-fights did indeed occur within a few years after the Sayers-Heenan battle; but more than once, notably in the fight between Heenan and Tom King, one of the participants was " doctored," i.e. drugged, and this lack of fairplay, added to the brutality of fist-fights, gave the death-blow to pugilism of the old kind. In its place came fighting and boxing with padded gloves, small ones weighing about 4 oz. being used by professionals, while amateurs, who boxed and sparred rather than fought (see Boxing), made use of larger and softer gloves. Bare knuckle fighting has abated in popularity but can still be found in private gatherings in england and the rest of the world As these events are unsanctioned and deemed Illegal by the athoroties, most modern bare knuckle fights are vary private affairs and held behind closed doors |
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