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 into a period of serious decline. Jack Slack, the man who had defeated Broughton for the championship, was a ferocious and game fighter, but lacked the personal charisma of Broughton, which had allowed him to rub shoulders with the British royal family. Slack was admired and lauded by the true Fancy as a worthy champion, but he did not transcend the diehards. The great, iconic champions throughout history have been figures like John L. Sullivan and Muhammad Ali — not merely heroes to the boxing faithful, but intriguing celebrities to world leaders and luminaries from other, unrelated fields.
Whatever glamor remained attached to the sport during Slack’s tenure as champion diminished further following his retirement. The championship passed through a series of lesser lights, all of whom were implicated in suspected “crosses,” or “fixes.” The perception that fights were being thrown only made a sport in decline lose even more popularity, as it turned off both the serious gamblers and the sincere members of the Fancy who had always seen the prize ring as an arena for heroism.
But the “Death of Boxing” is an old story and it has never been an accurate one. By the late 18th century, the sport’s popularity was once more on the rise, spearheaded by the rugged and cool-headed Tom Johnson. In the years following Johnson, a collection of boxing stars emerged on the scene, leading to the sport’s first true Golden Age. A large number of these great fighters came from the city of Bristol. And none of the “Bristol Heroes,” as Pierce Eagan referred to them, was more celebrated than Jem Belcher.
In his great tome on early religion and folklore, The Golden Bough, James G. Frazer wrote about the “The Year King,” a golden youth just entering manhood, blessed with all the gifts the gods can bestow, yet ultimately destined for a tragic fall. The world of sports has created generations of boy-men who have conformed to this mythic archetype on stages of varying size.
Jem Belcher was of the type. He was a true boxing prodigy, who began to gain widespread fame in his teens. Belcher was the grandson of Slack and had two brothers who were boxers, as well. But Jem was without question the family’s biggest star.
Belcher first began to draw local attention in Bristol when he was just 17 or 18, beating more experienced fighters with ease. In London, he was hosted by Bill Ward, a noted member of the Fancy, and after a dinner meeting, the two engaged in a private sparring match, during which the teenager toyed with the well-trained grown man. While chatting afterward, Belcher confessed he had been going light. Ward immediately insisted that they resume sparring, with Belcher giving his full effort. After receiving a brief thrashing, Ward realized he had found the sport’s next great champion.
Belcher’s first big-time prizefight came in London against Paddington Jones, one of the great pound-for-pound stars of the era. Belcher had size and youth on his side, but Jones was one of the most experienced fighters of his era, beating the vast majority of men he faced, excluding the highest order of champions and top contenders, all while weighing in the neighborhood of a 150 pounds.
Jones was a technical master with the heart of a warrior, and he did manage to give Belcher one of the more difficult fights of his early career, while extending him to some degree. But in the end, it was a shockingly one-sided victory for a such a green fighter over a well-seasoned veteran.
Belcher was roughly the size of a modern light heavyweight, tipping in at about 178 pounds or so. But when he faced Jones, Belcher wasn’t merely the bigger man, he was the better one. Belcher had extremely quick hands and outstanding timing. Such eye-witnesses as Eagan describe an extremely athletic and powerful counter puncher who was also able to force action and set a blistering pace due to an endless reserve of energy. In the argot of the times, he possessed first rate science and tremendous bottom.
Belcher was still not 20 when he faced the tough veteran Jack Bartholomew, for the English Heavyweight Championship. Belcher delivered a brilliant throw to end the fourth round, dropping Bartholomew directly on his head and nearly knocking him cold. Bartholomew was able to recover during the 30 second break and made a brave stand for close to 20 minutes, but Belcher forced his surrender with a brutal body shot at the conclusion of Round 17.
Belcher continued to win fights against far more experienced men, and his fame grew. He fought two celebrated but one-sided battles against a physically powerful and belligerent butcher names Joe Burk. Several times Belcher publicly challenged Daniel Mendoza, one of the era’s most popular fighter, but Mendoza opted to retire from active competition, rather than face the young phenom.
Belcher was matched for an eagerly anticipated defense against Jack Fearby, known as “The Young Ruffian” for his ferocious style. However, confronted with the art and technique of Belcher, he became passive, and instead of a great battle, a one-sided shellacking ensued. According to Eagan, Fearby “appeared a different man, his former excellence seemed frightened away.”
Just as his star was reaching ever greater heights, tragedy struck Belcher, when he lost the vision in his right eye while playing a game of rackets. He spent the next two years giving sparring exhibitions and boxing lessons and during that time, his friend Henry Pearce emerged in his place as the biggest active star. Because he always signed his name as “Hen,” Pearce earned the colorful nickname “The Game Chicken.”
Pearce recorded one-sided victories over Burk and Elias Spray, and then survived future champion John Gulley in a legendary, 64-round war. Belcher had yet to be defeated for his claim to the championship, but he had not actively defended it for two years and Pearce began to be acclaimed as the true champion. Belcher’s pride got the better of him and he challenged his friend.
Much of Belcher’s brilliance had rested upon his uncanny ability to gauge and control distance. Robbed of site in one eye, this quality was lost. What remained was his tremendous bottom and his explosive agility and speed. It was enough to make him an extremely formidable opponent. He battled Pearce for 35 minutes and 18 rounds before he was forced to quit, getting the better of much of the early action.
Like so many great fighters throughout history, Belcher found himself unable to resist the lure of ring glory. Even after his loss to Pearce, he continued to fight. In 1807, he nearly defeated future champion Tom Cribb, before losing in 41 rounds and 51 minutes. Cribb was destined to become the biggest star of the era. Belcher challenged him again in 1809, after he had ascended to the championship, losing in 31 rounds and 40 minutes.
In the end, the years of punishment Belcher suffered in the ring took a heavy toll on his body and spirit. Following the loss to Crib, he spent a month in debtors prison. In 1811, at just 31, he died from what appears to have been complications of an ulcerated liver.
