Pugilism, or BOXING (Lat. pugil, 'a boxer'; compare 'pugnacity,' from pugnus, 'a fist'). 'To box' is almost as old as our language itself: no special explanation is required to show what boxing is; every one knows that it is fighting—real or mimic—with the hands alone, all weapons being foreign to the 'science.' As pugilism, in what has always been its highest standard—prize-fighting—is now supposed to be extinct, it may be of interest to give a brief sketch of its past, when it played a more important part—or was thought to do so—than it does now in the formation of the national character.
Although now the taste for it seems quite as firmly implanted in the colonies and in the United States, England has been emphatically the home of pugilism; and it is certain that in no other country at any time was such a fair, manly, and humane system of combat established as that under which the English settled their quarrels, especially after the rules of the prize-ring were issued. These, known now as the 'old rules,' dated from the time of the first recognised champion of England, in whose name they were framed to ensure regularity and fair-play in prize-fights, and, as a necessary consequence, in all others, the P.R.—an accepted abbreviation for Prize Ring—being the standard authority in such matters, the royal academy of athletics, as it were. This was soon after 1740, and the rules held good for nearly a century; but in 1838, after a fatal battle, they were revised, entirely in the direction of diminishing the danger of such contests. At the same time it should be remarked—and those unacquainted with the subject may possibly be surprised to learn—that fatal results to prize-fights were extremely rare, and in most instances occurred through what may be termed accidental or secondary causes. In Broughton's rules 'minute time' was allowed between the rounds—each bout of the struggle being called a 'round,' and lasting until one or both of the men were down; but this was altered in the new rules to half a minute. It was properly decided that if a man could not recover himself sufficiently in that time to face his antagonist he must be so weak or stupefied that further fighting would be dangerous. In Broughton's time, too, the seconds were allowed to carry their principals to the 'scratch;' this was forbidden by the new rules on the same grounds as the previous alteration. The purpose of both sets of rules was to secure fair-play and to foster a kind of rude chivalry, objects not without value when we remember the classes most likely to come under their influence, and the angry quarrels either code was intended to regulate. No man was to be struck while he was down; and no man might be struck below the belt—the belt in practice being a handkerchief tied tightly round the waist. With prize-boxers these handkerchiefs were the 'colours' of the men, chosen by themselves and worn by their partisans. Kicking, biting, and the horrible 'gouging'—once so frequent across the Atlantic, but now happily seldom heard of, owing to the spread of pugilism—were all 'foul,' and their practice instantly lost a man the battle. There were two seconds, or, as they were sometimes called, bottle-holders, to each man: their duty was to lift their principal when he fell; to carry him to his corner—always selected by tossing a coin, the winner of the toss naturally choosing the side of the ring which placed him with his back to the sun; to sponge or sprinkle him with water; to wipe the perspiration or blood from his face; and, as their second title implies, to refresh him with sips from the water or brandy bottle. They used also to carry in their jacket pockets a supply of powdered resin, which the boxer would rub on his hands to enable him to clench them tightly when he grew tired; but this practice was made 'foul' by the new rules. The 'scratch,' to which allusion has been made, was a mark in the centre of the ring which the combatants had to 'toe,' face to face, before hostilities could commence. It was also an indispensable formality for the men and their seconds to shake hands prior to the first round, all six crossing hands to do so, something like one of the figures in the Caledonian quadrilles; this prevented anything like a sudden rush by either of the men upon his unprepared foe. The 'ring' itself was a square of 24 feet, marked out by four corner and four middle stakes, round which ran two ropes at a height from the ground of 2 and 4 feet respectively.
For many years prize-fighting maintained an enormous popularity, and an existence which, if not actually legal, was scarcely to be distinguished from it. The popularity perhaps remains, but the legality or the want of it is so settled that the P.R. is generally regarded as a thing of the past; and even boxing may be prohibited. 'Boxing' was once equivalent to 'pugilism,' the general term for 'fistic' manœuvres, but is now almost exclusively reserved for 'sparring' with padded gloves. These, of course, are used to prevent the injuries which the naked knuckles might inflict, although a very respectable amount of punishment can be dealt even with the largest gloves. Broughton was followed by a series of champions, amongst whom the most famous were probably John Jackson (1769-1845)—known as Gentleman Jackson; Jem Belcher; Tom Cribb (1781-1848), the most fearless, honest, and simple-minded of gladiators; Spring; and Tom Sayers (1826-65), with whom the series practically closed. All these have been honoured with handsome monuments, especially Jackson and Cribb, who lie respectively in Brompton Cemetery (London) and Woolwich churchyard; while the funeral of Sayers was almost a national demonstration, the heterogeneous procession which followed being one of the longest, if not actually the largest ever seen even in London. Another boxer, John Gully (1783-1863), might have been champion, but he retired from the ring and actually became M.P. for Pontefract (1832-37), an owner of extensive coal-mines, and, what to many of his admirers was a fact of much greater importance, his racers thrice won the Derby; and he began life as a journeyman butcher! The popular idol at one time was Jack Shaw (1789-1815), the life-guardian, a pugilist of herculean strength, but not so polished in science as some of his compeers. His patron offered to buy him out of the regiment when it was ordered abroad, and to back him for the championship; but the heroic guardsman refused, and, with thousands of his comrades, fell in winning the crowning victory for his country. It is said that he killed, or placed hors de combat, ten French cuirassiers at Waterloo before he was himself slain. Many men of the highest standing have deemed it essential to preserve the prize-ring. The great Duke of Wellington was its firm supporter; Sir Robert Peel and Lord Palmerston lent their influence to it, and Lord Byron, who was a pupil of Jackson, refers to him in really a respectful style in the notes to Don Juan. George Borrow's fight with the 'Flaming Tinman' is truly Homeric; and he lauds boxing as he lauds all things English. Thackeray, too, whose nose is said to have been broken in a school fight with a future church dignitary, devoted one of his Roundabout Papers to the fight between Sayers and Heenan. It would occupy too much space to continue this catalogue of admirers, but did we do so it would show how different was the popular tone of thought not so very long ago.
The P.R. may undoubtedly claim to have furnished an item in English history; for when the allied sovereigns visited London after the peace of 1814—the most important and brilliant gathering of potentates on record—it was deemed fitting by the highest authorities to show them a display of boxing, supported by the best pugilists of the day—a display greatly admired by the visitors. A year or two later the Grand-duke of Prussia saw a prize-battle and shook hands with the victor. The Shah of Persia in 1873 was also greatly delighted with a similar exhibition. The real decadence of the ring dates from the establishment of police in every county of England, which rendered it well-nigh impossible to 'get a fight off'; the leading patrons of the sport withdrew disgusted at the continual disappointment, leaving the boxers to the influence of a very different class. From the absence of any legal restraint, there had always been danger of disorder and riot, to check which no adequate force could be provided; yet latterly such scenes grew more frequent and worse in character, so that the demand from its opponents for the suppression of the ring gained in strength, while the efforts of those who would preserve it were proportionately weakened.
As with most other extensively followed games, the prize-ring had a dialect of its own, a 'flash lingo,' a few specimens of which may amuse the reader. The fists were 'mauleys,' and when both boxers struck with the same hand at the same time, the blow was called, aptly enough, a 'counter-hit,' or only a 'counter.' When one struck with the right and the other with the left at the same time, the blow was a 'cross counter.' 'Countering' was the most exciting, and the severest mode of inflicting punishment.
In consequence of the police difficulties attending prize-fights on the old lines, they have gradually drifted into exhibition matches, in which the 'gate' is an important factor. These fights are conducted under the Queensberry rules, so called from the marquis of that name who first drew them up (about 1890). They modify the conditions considerably, and as gloves are used (thinly stuffed, from 4 to 6 ounces in weight) they are nominally boxing contests and are presumably legal. They generally end in one of the combatants being 'knocked out'—that is, rendered insensible long enough to be unable to continue the fight. A blow on the point of the jaw or on the heart or stomach is the usual method of accomplishing this end. They are generally conducted under the auspices of some athletic club on a platform enclosed with a 24-feet ring, a charge being made for admission. They are very popular in the United States, where the biggest fights have taken place, such as that in which Fitzsimmons beat Corbett in 1897, and when Jeffries beat Fitzsimmons in 1899. In the latter case the money drawn for admission amounted to $75,000 (£15,000), of which sum over £12,000 was divided between the pugilists.
See Egan's Boxiana (5 vols. 1818); Fistiana (1863); American Fistiana (New York, 1876); 'Pendragon,' Modern Boxing (1878); H. D. Miles, Pugilistica (2 vols. 1880); J. B. O'Reilly, Ethics of Boxing and Manly Sport; and Pollock and Grove's Fencing, Boxing, and Wrestling (Badminton Library, 1889); R. G. Allanson-Winn, Boxing (Isthmian Library, 1897).