This content is protected Jem Mace held British titles from welterweight to heavyweight in the days when the British title was the world standard. He regularly gave up 30lbs or more in his key career fights. When Mace defeated Sam Hurst for the British title he gave up over 100 lbs ! At the age of 40 he defeated Tom Allen to unify the British and American bareknuckle titles efectively making him the first Heavyweight Champion. Mace is thought to have done more than any fighter in the 19th century to advance boxing technique. He seems to have been the first fighter to make extensive use of combination punching and was noted for his footwork. Along with Larry Folley he established the Austraian school of boxing which created such fighters as Bob Fitzsimmons and Peter Jackson. "Nothing will shake my conviction that Mace was the cleverest man of any weight that ever fought in a ring, either with gloves or bare knuckles. He was the greatest exponent of the gospel of the straight left and a supreme artist and master of his craft" Bernard John Angle, (boxing referee).1925
This content is protected Jem Mace with Sam Langford. In an era where racism was rife in the sport Mace was vocaly critical of the discrimination against black fighters.
Round by round acount of Allen Mace (Mace wins the world title). ROUND ONE: The game opened with two or three minutes of cautious sparring, neither being inclined to let out. Then Mace got in a stinger on Allen's left eye, which flushed at the insult. Jem nimbly jumped away from a wicked counter to the mid-rib, then danced back laughing and countered catching Allen with a rather heavy hit on his nose. Jem' s claim for first blood was not allowed. After further exchanges both clinched and fell, Allen under. Both men walked to their corner. Time: 5'30" [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]ROUND TWO:[/FONT] opened with the same cautious sparring, eyes fastened on eyes. After several feints and dodges, Mace planted a bulb under Allen's right orb, neatly escaping return. Seeming to realize the magnitude of the work before him, Allen played entirely for Jem's stomach, and rather too low down at that. Sharp and rapid sparring followed during which Mace again succeeded in visiting Allen's head lights, one of which showed symptoms of going out, but he caught a heavy return in the ribs from Tom. Both men again trod the ring for over a minute in the old wary and cunning style, both occasionally laughing at and joking with the other in undertones. Accidentally, Allen trod upon the foot of Mace, one of his shoe-spikes piercing the latter's foot and drawing blood, Allen found time to apologize in the handsomest manner, no easy thing in the P.R., and he was properly rewarded with a round of applause. Suddenly they got to work again, a sharp exchange of body blows, Mace went for Allen's nose with a call for claret - and it came, (first blood for Mace). Now the sparring was rapid, Mace catching a few heavy digs in the ribs and a rattle in the left jaw but, in return for the last, he shot his left into Allen's right lantern with such awful force that Tom groaned in agony and sank to the ground totally bewildered; for the first time he was carried to his corner, Mace walking back smiling. Time, eight minutes. [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]ROUND THREE:[/FONT] More cautious sparring and feinting, both men still inviting attack. Allen made an ugly attempt to catch Jem on the left ear, but the old master ducked, and Tom's pulverizer glanced harmlessly off Jem's neck. Attempting a sharp retort, Mace slipped and stretched his iron frame on mother earth. [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]ROUND FOURTH:[/FONT] Men promptly to time. A drippling streamlet of ruby tapped fromTom's left eye picturesquely meandering down his cheek. More elaborate sparring and feinting until Mace deftly shot out his left and planted another stinger on Allen's left eye which opened up another red sea on Tom's headland. [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]ROUND FIVE:[/FONT] Allen now came to the scratch looking desperate; he seemed to realize that some serious work had to be done to stem the tide of battle setting in against him. After more cautious sparring, Allen, in ducking to a left to his neck, caused Mace to slip to grass - cries of "foul" - not allowed. In a moment both the champions were fronting each other in apparent brotherly style when Tom caught a heavy return to the head from Mace, who now rushed in for the embrace, got the underhold, and threw Allen heavily, falling on him in doing so. [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]ROUND SIXTH:[/FONT] $100 to $16 was now offered on Mace, without a response. Both men made a few passes, all neatly stopped, and rushed to the hug, Mace getting an arm hold on Allen's head. For a moment the struggle was desperate, when the latter, with a gigantic effort, threw Mace and fell on him heavily amid enthusiastic applause. Claims of a foul were not allowed. Both parties were helped to corner by their groomsmen. [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]ROUND SEVENTH:[/FONT] Allen came up with both his observatories in a bad way; the right was closed for repairs and the left gradually shutting off daylight. Mace's face was clear and bright, although he glowered occasionally as though Tom had damaged his bellows. The same cautious sparring, close eying and quick dodging, opened this round as with its predecessors. Finally Mace saw his opening, landed heavily on Tom's breast-plate, took his return to the ribs without a flinch and sent another smack on Tom's fluid valve, which made him go for Jem with a wild rush. Mace dodged, clinched and both down. [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]ROUND EIGHT:[/FONT] Mace danced up as lively as a burlesquer. Tom, exhibiting a dangerous determination to interfere with Jem's cutler's shop, then got in two disconcerting pile drivers to the old'un's provision depot. But Mace was awake and responded with three heavy blows to the head. Both then clinched, and after a few seconds of harmless jibing and very clever wrestling, Tom succeeded in inducing Jem so see how green the grass grew - a light fall, at which Mace only smiled. [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]ROUND NINTH:[/FONT] Mace came up fresh and apparently without a scratch; Allen on the other hand presented a very battered appearance. It was plainly evident that, although Mace's equal in pluck and possibly in endurance, he lacked the skills of the English champion. Mace, with everything going his own way, planted one or two light taps on Allen's face and walked around him - like a sculptor selecting places to chip.. After some of this play, Mace dashed out another of his ugly throat blows which Allen stopped, catching the champion under his right ear and sending him clear off his corn-plates (first knock down for Allen) amid uproarious applause. [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]ROUND TEN - AND LAST.[/FONT] Both men apparently fresh and much more determined. Hard fighting was looked for, and hard fighting was had. Allen cleverly followed up Mace, parried Jem's gashing upper-cuts and gave such evidence of metal and pluck that his friends took heart and applauded him. Jem sent a ripping shot which Tom neatly threw aside, and countering got Mace with a heavy right hander a little over the belt. Both men then drew off and walked round the ring closely eyeing each other. Allen quipped, "Hard work Jem." which led to a further spell of hard fighting with Jem polishing Tom's spectacle frame, and deftly dodging the ponderous blows which now flew thick and fast from Tom's right and left arms. Both again played shy of each other and gradually backed towards their respective corners where, by mutual consent, a hasty drink and little sponging was administered to both by their seconds. The fighting in the round showed clearly that Mace's game was to shut off Allen's head-lights, and a plentiful stream of red ink issuing from a gaping cut nearly an inch long under Tom's left lantern and coursing rapidly down his face, neck, shoulder and breast, gave conclusive proof that Jem was in earnest in his dire intent. After this little refreshment the men again toed the scratch - more wary sparring and some pretty hitting given and taken. Tom got in another on Jem's air-chamber, and Allen received a stinger in return on the right reflector. A very rapid and desperate exchange of blows took place, during which Mace smartly and sharply slipped in and, getting Allen's neck in his terrible grasp, he cross-buttocked and threw him with fearful violence, heels over head, on to the ground, falling on top of him. Allen lay for some minutes stretched out at full length on the ground in intense pain, after which he was carried off to his corner. Seeing that any further effort on his part was impossible, his second threw in the sponge saying that Allen's arm was dislocated. Mace, still fresh and smiling, advanced good naturedly to Allen's corner and, clapping him on the back, said: "Tom, you are a game man and I wish you well."
He certainly had a few. He fought Charlie Mitchel with gloves and was said to be adept with them. Mace was instrumental in promoting the use of gloves even before the Marquiss of Queensburys rules were written. The fact that he had brittle hands might have partly influenced him to do this.
