Captain Barclay and Training During the Bare-Knuckle Era

Fighting comes naturally to the human animal. But that hardly means that fighting is easy. Regardless of innate athleticism and explosive strength, sincere application of study is required to master techniques and patterns of movement. Anybody who has spent any time…

Tom Hyer vs. Yankee Sullivan: The First American Championship Fight

Jack Broughton: The Father of Prizefighting

In early 18th century England, the very idea of child labor laws was still decades away. It would be another…

James Figg and Prizefighting’s First Rivalry

It was the Georgian era, when the last vestiges of medieval England were crashing head on into the emerging modern world. The reigning King, George II, was the last monarch born outside of Britain, and did not even share his subject’s native tongue. He…

Characteristics of Bare-knuckling Prizefighting

The pilgrims would start their journeys days, even weeks, ahead of time. And often, as they hit the road, the ultimate destination still remained a mystery. Despite being patronized by some of the elite members of English society, even the Royal…

Peter Corcoran, The First Irish Bare-Knuckle Champ

The story of the bare-knuckle era of prizefighting in the United States is largely the story of Irish immigrants. And even within the first generation of bare-knuckle fighting becoming established in England during the Georgian era, the Sons…

The Transition from Bare Knuckles to Gloves

It’s a common assumption that the transition from bare-knuckle prizefighting to gloved combat was the result of a more civilized society demanding additional safety concessions for a brutal and primal sport. The adoption of gloves for competition, along…

From Year King to Busted Out in Palookaville: The Triumphant and Tragic Tale of Jem Belcher

By the start of the 19th Century, boxing was enjoying a renaissance. After the popularity and prestige boxing had enjoyed while establishing itself under the rule of James Figg and Jack Broughton in the 1740s and 1750s, it had fallen…

The First International Prizefight: Bob Whitaker vs. the Venetian Gondolier

For over a century The British Isles reigned at the capital of prizefighting. From the beginning of James Figg’s tenure as the recognized champion in 1719 until Tom Sayers retired following his draw…

Isaac Perrins, a Georgian Era Giant

For the masses, life in Georgian England was a mean affair. The squalid conditions of life in the industrializing cities promoted disease and parents struggled simply to keep their children’s bellies full. Not surprisingly, the people of that era were considerably…