Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing, Volume 2 (of 3): Containing Lives of the Most Celebrated Pugilists; Full Reports of Their Battles from Contemporary Newspapers, With Authentic Portraits, Personal Anecdotes, and Sketches of the Principal Patrons of the Prize Ring, Forming a Complete History of the Ring from Fig and Broughton, 1719-1740, to the Last Championship Battle Between King and Heenan, in December 1863Miles, Henry Downes
History
Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing, Volume 2 (of 3): Containing Lives of the Most Celebrated Pugilists; Full Reports of Their Battles from Contemporary Newspapers, With Authentic Portraits, Personal Anecdotes, and Sketches of the Principal Patrons of the Prize Ring, Forming a Complete History of the Ring from Fig and Broughton, 1719-1740, to the Last Championship Battle Between King and Heenan, in December 1863
Miles, Henry Downes
Boxing
33.—“Have you got a right hand?” said Tom Belcher to Donnelly; “we
must win it, Dan.” The Irish champion hit Oliver a terrible facer
that sent him away. “It’s all your own,” said Randall; “do it
again.” Donnelly did so with great force. “That’s the way, my boy,
echoed Belcher; “another!” Donnelly followed the advice of these
excellent tacticians, and he gave a third facer in succession
without receiving a return. After some exchanges passed, Oliver was
getting rather feeble, from the struggle in bringing Donnelly down,
and fell upon him with his knee on his throat. (“Do you call that
fair?” said Belcher. “If that circumstance had happened on our side,
you would have roared ‘foul’ for an hour.”)
34 and last.—Oliver hit Donnelly on the body. The latter set-to very
spiritedly, and nobbed his man. Sharp exchanges ensued, when, in
closing, Donnelly put in a dreadful hit under Oliver’s ear, and also
cross-buttocked him. Oliver, when picked up and put on his second’s
knee, was insensible, and his head hung upon his shoulders. “Time,
time,” was called, but the brave, the game, the unfortunate Oliver
heard not the sound, and victory was declared in favour of Donnelly.
Time, one hour and ten minutes. The latter walked out of the ring
amidst shouts of applause, arm-in-arm with Belcher and Randall, to
an adjoining farm house, where he was put to bed for a short period,
and bled. Oliver did not recover his sensibility for some minutes,
when he was also brought to the same house, bled, and put to bed in
the next room to Donnelly. The latter expressed great feeling and
uneasiness for fear anything serious should happen to Oliver; but
when he was informed it was all right, he was as cheerful as if he
had not been fighting at all. The Irish champion dressed himself
immediately, and, strange to say, Oliver, in the course of half an
hour, also recovered, and put his clothes on, lamenting that he had
lost the battle under such an unfortunate circumstance, as he was
then able to fight an hour. Oliver and Donnelly then shook hands,
and drank each other’s health, and the latter then went into a wagon
to see the fight between Lashbrook and Dowd. He afterwards left the
ground in a barouche and four, to sleep at Riddlesdown, the place
where he trained, and arrived at Mr. Dignam’s, the Red Lion,
Houghton Street, Clare Market. Oliver also arrived in town the same
day.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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