Hi

Only just joined the site, however to try and answer your question, one option might be to go to the Cyber Boxing Zone website, find the English Bareknuckle Champions site. At the bottom of the records of the fighters the authors of these records are named so try emailing them for info. Also try the IBHOF website. The British Library might also be able to help you.
I am in the process of setting up my own website as I am writing a book trying to list all the English bareknuckle champions 1719-1870 at all weights including their complete recorded ring careers. If you have the name of your relative I might be able to help with the reference books I have, depending on how successful he was.

Mick Hill

Hi Mick - My apologies in not responding to you earlier. I wanted to thank you for your great suggestions. I will definitely follow these leads! I have his full name which I will post (need to pull up my references)(from what I can remember his last name was Herring and he lived in Hackney but, I will look again for his full name) in addition to a pic of him with his trophies. I know he was a feather light. I have his place of birth and where he grew up. I was told by my grandfather that his uncle use to practice on sides of beef. Not sure if that is true or not but, it certainly adds to the whole vision I have of bare-knuckle boxing in centuries past.Thanks again! I will send the his info and I really appreciate your help.

Hi Heidi

Sorry I haven't got back to you before but I have been busy with getting on with my books on the bareknuckle prizefighting era in England and had to be honest forgotten all about this site. Hope you have had success in tracing your relative Herring, unfortunately I could not find anything myself, however the end of the 19th century is a bit later than my main research work goes as I tend to stop after about 1870 as that is about the real end to bareknuckle fighting in this country. However feel free to email me back if you had any success and the websites you contacted as some might be ones I have not heard of and might also help me. I now also have a website on this subject if you are interested which you will find by typing in bareknuckleprizefighting.com and then clicking on the 18th & 19th century prize fighting site. There is a comments page on there where you can either post comments about the extracts from one of my hopefully forthcoming books or where I might be able to help find a fighter from that era.

I have found a boxer called Fred Herring who resided in Hackney at the end of the 19th century. His ring record shows that he fought 5 fights, winning one and losing four. He may have fought more but they may have not been recorded.

21/12/1899 v. Jack Walker, Lost (TKO) 8th Round
New Adelphi Club, The Strand, London.

29/04/1901 v. Jim Kenrick, Lost (retired hurt) 1st Round
Wonderland, Whitechapel, London.

04/11/1901 v. Bill Lampshire, Lost (Points) 3 Rounds
National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, London.

01/12/1902 v. Owen Moran, Won (Points) 10 Rounds
National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, London.

25/01/1904 v. Jim Kenrick, Lost (Points) 15 Rounds
National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, London.

It should be mentioned that this is the same Owen Moran who went on to become the British Board of Control (BBBC) Flyweight Champion of Gt. Britain in 1903 but lost in his attempt to gain the (BBBC) Bantamweight title as well in the same year. He later in 1908 challenged Abe Attell in the USA for his World Welterweight title but as it was a draw Attell retained the title and in 1911 also in the USA he challenged Ad Wolgast for his World Lightweight crown but lost on a TKO. So if Fred Herring was your relative you have some interesting dinner party conversation.
As I do not always look on this site any other questions you might want to ask please feel free to go to my website which I believe I sent you.

Mick

Heidi

Hope the info. I sent you on Fred Herring helped in your research. If you want to send me a reply could you possibly send it to my comments page on my website as it all helps to advertise what it offers to others who hit upon it. Thanks

Mick

Hi Heidi

This is not a reply it just to let you know that I have had my book "Old Prize Fights in and around Berkshire" printed and it is now on sale, I have had only 50 printed at first to test the sales strength. It is a paperback, A5 size book consisting of 180 pages covering twenty two bareknuckle fights in the Berkshire area between 1787-1868 involving champions and title fights and some pugilists who became famous later. It describes their lives and ring careers before their fights in Berkshire, their actual fight(s) in the county and a short synopsis of their lives afterwards. It also includes short descriptions or results of many other fights not recorded in detail at the time. It is priced at £7.99 + £2.00 p&p so please contact me on this email address bare-fists45@virginmedia.com if you are interested.
I am now working on another book probably to be titled "The Engish Bareknuckle Champions 1719-1820" to hopefully be published in the future, listing the generally recognised and acclaimed champions of each weight and their ring records, possibly in hardback and A4 size.

Regards

Mick Hill

Hi Heidi

If you go to a website called Boxrec, click on boxer location and then type in Fred Herring, you come across his ring career. At the bottom of his personal details you will see an icon of a book with the word biography - click on it, you might be surprised.

Hi Heidi

Ignore the instruction of clicking on boxer location - I got it wrong, click on name in the heading, all other instructions are OK (I think) - sorry

Mick