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
It was impossible for Langan to remain idle with such a reputation, as
some one or other was continually offering himself to his notice.
Slantlea, a hardy fellow, offered his services to Jack, which were
accepted without a single murmur. But to ensure success, the night
before the battle, Langan was introduced by a friend to the late Sir
Daniel Donnelly. The advice of the Irish (whiskey-punch) Champion was
asked as to the best mode of training. “Is it training you mane?”
replied Sir Dan, with a smile upon his comical mug; “by the okey, I
never troubled myself much about that training, d’ye see, which the
fellows in the Longtown make so much bother about. But, nevertheless, I
will give my opinion as to what I think necessary to be done upon such
occasions. First of all, you must take off your shirt, Jack Langan, then
walk up and down the room briskly, and hit well out with both hands, as
if you intended giving your opponent a snoozing without asking for his
night-cap. Jump backwards and forwards one hundred times at least; and
then to find out if the wind is good, for being out of breath in
fighting, my boy, is not a very comfortable thing for a distressed man.
Now, Jack,” says Sir Dan, it being then about twelve o’clock at night,
“you must go home directly, and drink half a gallon of the sourest
butter-milk you can get, and then go to bed. At five o’clock, not a
minute after five o’clock in the morning, you must get up, and run three
or four miles, and at every mile you must swig, not whiskey, by J——s,
but a quart of spring water. Mind, now Langan, do as I tell you.” Jack
thanked Sir Daniel for his friendly advice, and started off to procure
the butter-milk; but felt extremely mortified after knocking up all the
dairymen in the neighbourhood, that he was not able to buy more than
three pints. At five o’clock in the morning, although Langan had
scarcely had an hour or two of rest, he jumped out of bed to finish his
training. To make up for the deficiency of butter-milk, our hero drank a
greater proportion of water. The time appointed for the fight to take
place was six o’clock; but Jack, in his eagerness to train, was nearly
half an hour behind his time. His antagonist was upon leaving the
ground, when Langan mounted the brow of a hill, in sight of the ring,
quite out of breath, and dripping with perspiration, roared out as loud
as he was able, “Don’t go yet, man, I’ll be wid you in a jiffy!” The
ring was again formed, and Langan, hot as fire, stripped for action cool
as a cucumber.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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