Greatest fighters head to head under London Prize Ring Rules

Tom Cribb--had five victories without a defeat against Hall-of-Famers, defeating Molyneaux (2), Belcher (2), and Richmond, cleaning out the division. His only loss came through drunkenness. Was ten to twenty pounds heavier than Henry Pearce.

Henry Pearce--undefeated in fights we know about but hit the bottle so hard he had a truncated career and I don't think he rates with Cribb.

Ben Brain--Was actually undefeated from 1774 through 1791 when he won the championship from the esteemed Tom Johnson. Was still recognized as the champion and had a pending match with Will Wood when he was taken ill and died suddenly in 1794. I can't think of any champion who fought that long without losing. He did have a draw.

John L Sullivan--Never lost under London prize ring rules, but his second fight with Mitchell raises some question. Another great talent with drinking problems.

Daniel Mendoza and Tom Sayers--great p4p fighters who would in my judgement have been too small to rate at the top head to head.

Jem Mace--ditto

 

Does this include fighters who fought under the Broughton Rules?

 

I don´t know much about boxing during this time but I hope this thread continues, should make a great inspiration to learn something about it.

 

Gentleman John Jackson who became champion by beating Daniel Mendoza on April 15th 1795 is credited with being the first champion to show that a hit was not effective unless the distance had been properly judged and he was also the first to pay considerable attention to footwork.

 

James "Deaf" Burke was the first globe trotter in history. He fought more bouts than any of the previous champions. 20 fights and lost only 2. Strong with seemingly unlimited stamina he was a master of the craft at the time.

He took part in the longest championship fight on record against Irish champion, Simon Byrne in 1833, a fight that lasted 99 rounds and 3hrs and 16 min. Unfortunately Byrne took such a beating that he died. Because of this Burke was hounded in England and so he went to America.

Eventually he returned to England and lost his title to William Thompson.

 

"There was a big stylistic transition over that period"

I would like to read more. Could you elaborate? What were the big differences between, let's say, Cribb and Sullivan?

 

Out of the books that Ive been in possesion of... Bendigo vs Sayers would have been the finest match up... Bendigo, a southpaw was barely an inch taller than Sayers... Both men, as light as they were, I believe remained undefeated after long careers... Hard as nails... fighting much taller men.. giving no inch to the opponents favour, and considerably gentlemanllike in the meeting. Bendigo had been the one who was always the loud mouth... although, as we see now, he was simply the one to try to upset an opponent via verbal barrages.. When it comes to the Prize Ring, match ups, even those to be considered "dream matches" remain to be questioned... as we dont have footage of the men in the ring.. Bendigo remains an old favourite for myself, due to his name being taken as the name of a prosperous gold mining town about 170 miles from myself.... Sayers intrigues me via the Original newspaper report of the Heenan fight I have... Amazing to read and speculate upon... Fantastic thread Janitor..

 

I'd put forward Jack Broughton himself as a candidate then.

The guy was quick, strong, athletic and very tough. He was also a very intelligent fighter who brought new techniques into the sport, and was credited with inventing the boxing glove.

 

Just on Sullivan--Adam Pollock has a quote that indicates that Sullivan "could duck lower than any featherweight". I find that interesting. Was there something of an early Dempsey bob or Marciano crouch in Sullivan? Sullivan was not particularly tall and a glance at his opponents indicates that some of the better ones were several inches taller, but he got to them quickly.

 

one thing that's intriguing (and forgotten today) is that tough, skilled 'smaller' men are tough to handle. sullivan had trouble with mitchell and mccaffery, daniel mendoza was very successful and we see some of that in modern times with chris byrd and james toney.

I don't think tom king would have been as formidable as some have mentioned, he was very thin and some of the smaller bareknucklers outweighed him, if his listed statistics are correct. king was supposedly 6-2 and 175 to 180 pounds. tom johnson, ben brain, hell even james figg and jack broughton were heavier, and it is debateable if that added weight wouldn't tell, tall thin guy versus a fireplug in a battle of endurance.