In 1849 the Championship was certainly at a low ebb. Con Parker, a big brother of Tass, so it was publicly said, challenged the distinction, after beating Jem Bailey in a scrambling fight in February of that year, and received a forfeit from the Tipton Slasher in September. He was a great, hulking pretender, of 6ft. high, and about 13st., but his pretensions were quickly snuffed out by Tass Parker (weight 11st. 8lb.), who showed at Frimley Green, on November 26th, in 27 rounds, that Master Con had no points of a fighting man about him. Con went to America, and died soon after suddenly. As Tass declined to call himself Champion, there was literally no Champion at all. In this interregnum, at the beginning of 1850, the bold Bendigo called upon the editor of _Bell’s Life_, and declared that sooner than the title should be so knocked about he would once more do battle for the honour of the Ring. He then left £10 with the editor as an earnest that he was ready to meet any man in England, for £200 a side, half-way between home and home. At the same time it was stated that Bendy and Caunt had met, shaken hands, and buried the past in oblivion. Caunt had undertaken to stand a portion of Bendy’s battle-money, fight whom he might, and Bendy, to prove his sincerity, had presented Caunt with the belt with which he had been girded by Jem Ward after his defeat of the Deaf ’un. The Nottingham challenge was not long unanswered. Caunt and Bendigo, the new Orestes and Pylades, took, three weeks later――namely, February 4th, 1850――a joint benefit at the National Baths, Westminster Road. Now, Johnny Broome had, _ad interim_, stated publicly that he had an unknown whom he was ready to back against Bendy for his own sum. Accordingly, after a friendly glove-bout with Harry Broome, Tom Paddock came forward, and announcing himself as Johnny’s “Unknown,” declared his readiness to post, and make a match with Bendy for £200 a side. Peter Crawley responded, and £30 was staked, the next meeting to take place at Peter’s house, the “Queen’s Head and French Horn,” Smithfield, on the next Tuesday. This merely produced a stormy meeting upon details, deposits, and a stakeholder, and a further adjournment to another night, to meet at Jem Burn’s. Here the matter was finally adjusted, and accordingly the men met on the 5th of June, 1850. It was much to Bendigo’s credit that on this occasion he took unusual pains with his training, and came to the post in prime fettle, looking, as a friend said, “fresh as a four-year-old,” though verging on his fortieth year. When we saw him we felt some misgiving about the stability of his damaged knee; he walked unmistakably lame, and the whole left side was evidently lower than the right.