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Thomas King (boxer)
Encyclopedia
Tom King also known as "The Fighting Sailor" was an English boxer who fought both bare-knuckle
and with gloves. Strong, fast, and durable he was a skilled pugilist. He retired from the ring in 1863, as the Heavyweight Champion of England, following his defeat of the boxer Jem Mace
. In retirement he became a successful bookmaker
, and married the daughter of a wealthy shipping magnate and acquired great wealth.
East London and at an early age joined the Royal Navy, in the service he learnt to box, both with and without gloves. Retiring from the navy while still a young man he became a docker, where his skills with his fists earned him respect and some limited notoriety, following several brawls with colleagues.
King's brawling bought him to the attention of the retired boxing champion Jem Ward
who began to give him serious pugilistic training. At this time prize-fighting was illegal in England, and likely to be broken up by the police with ensuing arrests. Matches were arranged by word of mouth and often held on remote farms, the venue being abruptly changed at short notice. However the illegality of the sport did not stop matches being well attended by members of all classes from dockers to the highest echelons of the aristocracy.
King's first professional victory was over Bill Clamp, a celebrated dockyard fighter. Two quick successive victories over Tom Truckle and Young Broome led to his first attempt to attain the English heavyweight crown from Jem Mace
in 1862. The bout lasted for 43 rounds for the first 30 rounds King seemed in control. However, experience began to tell and Mace finally in spite of being almost blinded in both eyes finished King with a crushing blow to the throat.
Mace and King met for a rematch less than a year later in 1863, on this occasion King defeated Mace in the 21st round, victory was achieved by a simple punch to the face. Mace conceded and King finally obtained the heavyweight crown.
The next great fight was 20 December 1863 against John C Heenan the American fighter who had fought the celebrated British boxer Thomas Sayers
to a less than honourable draw for the heavyweight title in 1860. Following the "draw" Heenan had been unofficially acclaimed the heavyweight champion, so the defence of this title against Heenan was an important march in English boxing, Thomas Sayers himself even acted as Heenan's second in this match, The bout was held at "Cockmounts Farm", Wadhurst
, East Sussex
. Heenan relied on brawn and wrestling rather than skill and pugilistic science and was defeated by King in the 24th round while King escaped from the fight almost unscathed.
King now became very selective of his opponent refusing to meet Mace in the ring again. Mace was furious at not being given the opportunity to regain his heavyweight title, and in order to prompt a fight deliberately set out to pick a fight with King in the street but King still refused to fight him and retired allowing the heavyweight title to fall vacant though many unofficially claimed it.
, London.
Bare-knuckle boxing
Bare-knuckle boxing is the original form of boxing, closely related to ancient combat sports...
and with gloves. Strong, fast, and durable he was a skilled pugilist. He retired from the ring in 1863, as the Heavyweight Champion of England, following his defeat of the boxer Jem Mace
Jem Mace
Jem Mace was an English boxing champion. He was born at Beeston, Norfolk. Although nicknamed "The Gypsy", he denied Romani ethnicity in his autobiography...
. In retirement he became a successful bookmaker
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
, and married the daughter of a wealthy shipping magnate and acquired great wealth.
Early life
King was born in Silver Street, StepneyStepney
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...
East London and at an early age joined the Royal Navy, in the service he learnt to box, both with and without gloves. Retiring from the navy while still a young man he became a docker, where his skills with his fists earned him respect and some limited notoriety, following several brawls with colleagues.
Boxing career
Jem Ward
Jem Ward was an English bare-knuckle boxer. "A fine fighter and powerfully built man", he was the English champion boxer from 1825 until 1831. However, he is most notable for being the first boxer to be officially disciplined for deliberately losing a fight. During his fighting career he was...
who began to give him serious pugilistic training. At this time prize-fighting was illegal in England, and likely to be broken up by the police with ensuing arrests. Matches were arranged by word of mouth and often held on remote farms, the venue being abruptly changed at short notice. However the illegality of the sport did not stop matches being well attended by members of all classes from dockers to the highest echelons of the aristocracy.
King's first professional victory was over Bill Clamp, a celebrated dockyard fighter. Two quick successive victories over Tom Truckle and Young Broome led to his first attempt to attain the English heavyweight crown from Jem Mace
Jem Mace
Jem Mace was an English boxing champion. He was born at Beeston, Norfolk. Although nicknamed "The Gypsy", he denied Romani ethnicity in his autobiography...
in 1862. The bout lasted for 43 rounds for the first 30 rounds King seemed in control. However, experience began to tell and Mace finally in spite of being almost blinded in both eyes finished King with a crushing blow to the throat.
Mace and King met for a rematch less than a year later in 1863, on this occasion King defeated Mace in the 21st round, victory was achieved by a simple punch to the face. Mace conceded and King finally obtained the heavyweight crown.
The next great fight was 20 December 1863 against John C Heenan the American fighter who had fought the celebrated British boxer Thomas Sayers
Thomas Sayers
Tom Sayers was an English bare-knuckle prize fighter. There were no formal weight divisions at the time, and although Sayers was only five feet eight inches tall and never weighed much more than 150 pounds, he frequently fought much bigger men...
to a less than honourable draw for the heavyweight title in 1860. Following the "draw" Heenan had been unofficially acclaimed the heavyweight champion, so the defence of this title against Heenan was an important march in English boxing, Thomas Sayers himself even acted as Heenan's second in this match, The bout was held at "Cockmounts Farm", Wadhurst
Wadhurst
Wadhurst is a market town in East Sussex, England. It is the centre of the civil parish of Wadhurst, which also includes the hamlets of Cousley Wood and Tidebrook. Wadhurst is twinned with Aubers in France.-Situation:...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. Heenan relied on brawn and wrestling rather than skill and pugilistic science and was defeated by King in the 24th round while King escaped from the fight almost unscathed.
King now became very selective of his opponent refusing to meet Mace in the ring again. Mace was furious at not being given the opportunity to regain his heavyweight title, and in order to prompt a fight deliberately set out to pick a fight with King in the street but King still refused to fight him and retired allowing the heavyweight title to fall vacant though many unofficially claimed it.
Retirement
Having defended and retained the heavyweight title, King retired. Unlike many of his contemporaries who relied on the charity and munificence of their former patrons and fans for support after their lives in the ring, King went on to make a fortune as a successful bookmaker. In later life he became a celebrated rower, and married the daughter of a wealthy ship owner. He died on October 4, 1888 at his home Clarence House, Clapham, London aged 53. He is buried at West Norwood CemeteryWest Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery is a cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery.One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries of London, and is a site of major historical, architectural and...
, London.