Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing, Volume 3 (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, 1719-40, to the Last Championship Battle Between King and Heenan, in December 1863Miles, Henry Downes
History
Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing, Volume 3 (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, 1719-40, to the Last Championship Battle Between King and Heenan, in December 1863
Miles, Henry Downes
Boxing
26-40.――In all these rounds it was clear that Hampson’s
defeat was a mere question of time. In the 40th round
he was thrown heavily, and his friends proposed to give
in for him; he, however, refused, and came up for the
41st round, when Burke hit him on to the rope, and then
let him get down, walking away to his own corner.
Hampson’s backer stepped into the ring and desired the
sponge to be thrown up, saying it was useless to expose
a brave man to further punishment. Time 44 minutes. The
Deaf’un crossed the ring, shook hands with his
opponent, and then indulged in a sort of hornpipe-step
in his own corner, putting on his clothes with little
assistance. Hampson was carried to his carriage,
severely punished, complaining that he lost his power
of wrestling from an injury to his leg in the 5th
round.
REMARKS.――This battle tells its own tale. The Liverpool
man’s friends had much overestimated Hampson’s
scientific attainments, and equally miscalculated his
opponent’s cunning defence, backed as it was by
extraordinary powers of endurance, indomitable pluck,
and cool courage. “Hampson was, up to a certain point,
the cleverer man, but, that point passed, his chance
was gone, and he was beaten by toughness, readiness,
and strength. The Deaf’un by this battle has shown
himself a dangerous competitor for any 12-stone man on
the list. He is now the winner of seven fights, mostly
with big men, and must not be meddled with by any mere
sparrer. However flash and wide-awake he may think
himself, he will find the Deaf’un knows a thing or two
that will astonish him when it comes to real work. The
200 and 300-pounders, though ‘great guns,’ will do well
to take our hint.” These last remarks, which we
transcribe from a contemporary sporting paper, show the
good opinion which Burke was fast gaining among the
most competent judges of boxing merit. Of course the
200 and 300 pounders mean the men who fixed £200 or
£300 as the price for a Ring appearance.
We have just seen that our hero fought and won two sharp battles
within three weeks, and we have now to record yet another arduous
conflict within the three weeks next ensuing, namely, on November
16th, 1830, on which day he met Tim Crawley at the well-fought field
of Whetstone, for a stake of £50.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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