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
following account is a correct outline:—Coady and Norman were the
seconds for Halton, and Grace and a countryman for Langan. It was for
£50 a-side. The first five rounds were manfully contested on both sides;
but upon Halton being floored by a tremendous blow on his head, he
became very shy afterwards, and did not like to meet his man; he kept
retreating, and getting down in the best manner he could. Upwards of
sixty minutes had elapsed, and it rained all the time; Halton went down
from a flooring hit, and could not come to the scratch when time was
called. This created a disturbance, the ring was in disorder, and when
Halton came to, he said he was not licked. The backers of Langan
insisted upon the money being given up; but Donnelly, whose word was law
at that time, asserted that his boy had not lost the battle, and no
individual being found on the ground to contradict or dispute the
assertion of that mighty chief, the parties separated very much
dissatisfied at the non-decision of the contest!
A short time afterwards, Langan met with Donnelly at the Cock-pit, and
remonstrated with him on the impropriety of his conduct, in being the
cause of withholding the stakes from our hero. Some high words passed
between them, when Langan, with more courage than prudence, thus
addressed the chief of Ireland—“I know, Dan;—no, I do not know, Dan,
neither—but I think, you could bate me; yet I will hold you a wager,
that you do not lick me in half an hour, and I will have a turn-up with
you directly in the Cock-pit.” Donnelly did not appear inclined for a
mill; and, after considerable chaffing about the merits of the battle,
Langan received the money.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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