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
Then censures on the fancy Ring on every hand were rife,
And beaks proclaim’d they’d put an end to Boxiana’s life;
And now, as a more gentle mode of settling points of strife,
We’ve introduc’d, God save the mark! the dagger and the knife;
Oh, for brave English Pugilists,
Men of the olden time!
Now surely it were better far the Ring should thrive again,
And good Old English Boxing should a character maintain,
Than that assassination foul our annals still should stain,
And crimes best suited to the soil of Italy and Spain,
Unlike Old English Pugilism,
Milling of olden time!
In 1842 Bendigo, maugre the advice of the medicos, made his way to
London, and, putting in an appearance at a “soirée” at Jem Burn’s,
solicited the honour of a glove-bout with Peter Crawley. Bendy’s
resuscitation was hailed with delight, and as he declared his
readiness to renew a broken-off match with Tass Parker, a spirited
patron of the Ring declared that money should be no obstacle. On the
Thursday week ensuing, Tass also being in town with his friends for
the Derby week, all parties met at Johnny Broome’s, and articles were
penned and duly signed. By these it was agreed that the men should
meet on Wednesday, the 24th of August, within twenty miles of
Wolverton, in the direction of Nottingham, for a stake of £200 a side.
Parker having beaten Harry Preston, the game Tom Britton, of
Liverpool, and the powerful John Leechman (Brassey, of Bradford), was
now at the pinnacle of his fame. His friends, too, were most
confident, as Bendigo’s lameness was but too painfully apparent. Tass
offered to “deposit the value of Bendigo’s belt, to be the prize of
the victor.” The match went on until June 28th, when, £140 being down,
it was announced at the fifth deposit that the bold Bendigo was in
custody on a warrant issued by his brother (a respectable tradesman in
Nottingham), who was averse to his milling pursuits. The rumour was
too true. Bendy was brought before their worships, charged with
intending a breach of the peace with one Hazard Parker, and held to
bail to keep the peace towards all Her Majesty’s subjects for twelve
months, himself in £100, and two sureties of £100 each.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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