PROFESSOR MARBRY TAKES YOU BACK TO THE EARLY YEARS & BARE KNUCKLE BOXING
Liberty, NC-For boxing, the years from 1780 through about 1830 were “boom” years as the sport’s popularity reached unprecedented heights. The era developed around pugilism, thus a type of early “Commission” began to “watch over” the sport. From the men who sponsored and financially backed the fighters and the men who put up the prize money arose the group known as “The Corinthians” and their goal was to simply try and ensure that the fight fan got honest fighting for their money. The primary leader of The Corinthians was John Jackson, who in 1814 formed the “Pugilistic Club.”
BOXING’S FIRST SANCTIONING BODY FOUNDED 197 YEARS AGO!
The Pugilistic Club became boxing’s first sanctioning body, and oversaw the signing of fights, the choice of judges and referees, and the settlement of any dispute within the fisticuffs world that might come up (which would usually be about the payment of prize money, or rather the non-payment). The Pugilistic Club even had an “official” ring, which at this time was simply the ropes and ring-posts, but bore the name “London Prize Ring.”
BOXING’S FIRST CZAR CALLED THE SHOTS
John Jackson, as the chair of the Pugilistic Club, supervised the putting up of the official ring and was to be the holder of the prize money for important bare knuckle fights, was the arbiter for any disputes over prize money which he didn’t hold, and was the sole official spokesman for the Pugilistic Club, and thus boxing. Jackson wore this mantle of authority relatively well.
PROFESSOR NAMES SOME OF THE ERA’S HEADLINERS
Some of the better known fighters during this second golden age were Tom Johnson, Tom Cribb, Jem and Tom Belcher, and Bill Neat, with Neat being somewhat immortalized in the essay “The Fight” by William Hazlett. However, this second golden age would not last forever, and in 1822 there was a serious argument over (what else?) money put up for the purses of a bout, and the immanant chair of The Pugilistic Club, John Jackson, resigned, vowing never again to be a “purse holder” for a boxing match. When Jackson resigned, the influence of The Pugilistic Club as the sanctioning body began to wane, and in the following years the “shady side” of fisticuffs began to surface more and more often.
THE RIDDICK BOWE-ANDREW GOLOTA-LIKE RIOT OF 1845
In 1845 a riot occurred during a bout between heavyweight champion William Thompson and challenger Ben Count. The rioters came into the ring after the referee,Squire George Osbaldeston, who barely escaped with his life. Ironically, 1845 was also the year John Jackson died. Once again, Bare-Knuckle-Boxing was in a slump.
NEXT UP IN PART 4: BARE-KNUCKLE BOXING COMES TO AMERICA
Professor Chuck Marbry