Professor Chuck Marbry
WHEN ENGLAND FIRST “BANNED” BARE KNUCKLE BOXING
Liberty, NC-With Jack Broughton’s death and with England’s Parliament passing legislation making Bare-Knuckle Boxing illegal, boxing was on the ropes. Add to that the fact that Broughton’s successor as champion, Jack Slack, was not exactly the most popular or dynamic pugilist in history, you have the ingredients for a “boxing slump” that would last for some three decades.
CAN’T CUT JACK SLACK ANY “SLACK” AS A FIGHTER!
In the areas where an “underground” fight could be made, Jack Slack lived up to his name, only having three fights in the ten years after defeating Broughton, and even then the quality of his opponents left something to be desired. The champion, unlike his predecessor, was so uncharismatic he could not find backers to support him, so Slack had to make his living working in a London butcher shop.
THE DUKE WOULD BRING BACK BOXING
After about ten years of relative quietness in boxing, The Duke of Cumberland must have cooled off and also recouped his financial losses from the Jack Broughton-Jack Slack bout. The Duke was ready to get back into the game of fistiana, and he decided to back Jack Slack against Bill “The Nailer” Stevens. This time however, instead of a 10,000 pound bet, The Duke bet a much smaller sum. Whether that was prudence on The Duke’s part, or his lack of confidence in the champion Slack, history doesn’t record. But, most importantly, The Duke of Cumberland made arrangements for this fight to take place in London, without interference from the authorities. “The Nailer” lived up to his name by nailing the champion Slack, The Duke lost a second bet and apparently any more interest or involvement in boxing, as he doesn’t show up in any of the historical boxing records.
ENGLISH MAFIA TYPES TOOK OVER THE FIGHT GAME
With a new champion, one would hope boxing (still Bare-Knuckle) would begin to see a revival in popularity, yet it was not to be. Shady characters, underhanded dealings, and cheating would keep boxing in the doldrums a while longer. Meanwhile, former champion Jack Slack tried to be resourceful if he was nothing else. He found a rookie fighter, George Meggs, trained and financed him to challenge “The Nailer” Stevens for the championship. Slack, after making the bout, making bets, proceeded to pay “The Nailer” to miss Meggs. The problem was Bill “The Nailer” Stevens was a better carpenter and fighter than he was an actor; Stevens “lost” to Meggs as he was paid to do, but he just didn’t do it convincingly. All involved in this fight were discredited, and boxing continued to flounder in a funk. By 1770, there was no boxing heavyweight champion of record. And, things were about to get worse.
1771 BRINGS FORTH A NEW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!
During the high horse racing season of 1771 at Epsom Downs, a boxing ring was constructed. One who was bold enough to claim to be the heavyweight champion was found, Bill Darts. Darts was to defend his title against Irishman Peter Corcoran. The primary financial backer of Corcoran was “Captain” Dennis O’Kelly, a famous racehorse owner and breeder, who owned the famous horse named “Eclipse.”
FIXED FIGHTS IN BOXING DATE BACK TO THE 1700’S!
O’Kelly, wanting to be sure he backed a winner in the ring as he did on the track, made arrangements to make sure his man, Corcoran won. And once again the paid pugilist could not act. Dartwent down at the wiff of a blow, and the cry of “fix” and scandal went up once again. Even in the old record books this fight has an asterisk(a big red X in that day) with the simple notation “Captain O’Kelly’s money.” Boxing seemed doomed to stay in the dumps.
THE RETURN OF BOXING
With the dawn of the 1780’s, a full 30 years since the end of the first golden age of boxing, a new fresh wind finally began to blow. New and quality young men began to box, and as always when you have quality fighters, and no shenanigans, there comes along a new generation of fisticuffs fans. And with this surge of electricity and popularity came a new heavyweight champion, Tom Johnson.
NEXT UP IN PART III: BOXING’S SECOND GOLDEN AGE
Professor Chuck Marbry