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
2.—Langan made play; but Spring, with the nimbleness of a harlequin
showed the utility of a quick step. The Irish Champion made a rush,
when they were again entangled for a short time, until Langan broke
away. A pause: breath wanted: and consideration necessary. Langan
gave Spring a facer with his right hand, and tried to repeat the
dose; another quick movement prevented it, Spring smiling. A little
bit of in-fighting: a desperate struggle for the throw: downright
strength, when Spring went down, Langan falling heavily upon him.
(“Bravo, Langan!”)
3.—The attitudes of the combatants were interesting, and both
extremely cautious. Spring got away from one intended for his nob.
The science displayed on both sides was so excellent in stopping,
that in the ecstasy of the moment the Commander-in-Chief[6] loudly
exclaimed, “Beautiful.” Another skilful stop by Spring; and one by
Langan, “Well done: good on both sides,” observed Mr. Jackson.
Langan planted a hit. A pause. (“Fight, Langan,” from Belcher, “you
have all the best of it.”) Spring drove Langan to the corner, but
the hero of the black fogle got out of danger in style. He made also
an excellent stop while on the retreat: Langan made himself up to do
mischief, and Spring received loud applause for stopping a
tremendous hit. The Champion also bobbed his nob aside, in the Dutch
Sam style, from what might have been a floorer. The Champion again
broke ground, and bobbed cleverly away from the coming blow. Spring
now took the lead famously. He planted a facer without any return;
repeated the dose, and administered a third pill. Langan again got
out of the corner, by fighting up like a trump. A short stand still.
Heavy counter hits. A pause: Spring made another facer; a stand
still. The Champion stopped well, and also drove Langan into the
corner, but the hero of the black wipe would not be detained; he
fought his way out manfully, and, in closing, though the struggle
was terrible, Spring obtained the throw. (Loud applause.) This round
occupied nearly seven minutes. The left hand of Spring was already
going, if not gone.
4.—The “good bit of stuff from ould Ireland” endeavoured to take the
lead, and had the best of this round; he fought first. He planted
one or two hits, and not light ones either, and would have kept it
up, but Spring said “it wouldn’t do,” and stopped him. In fact, this
was a well-contested round on both sides; and Langan, after a
terrible try for it, got Spring down. (Applause.)
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