On the retirement of Tom Spring the championship fell to Jem Ward, who held it for many years. He was followed by Deaf Burke, whose fight with Simon Byrne is the subject of this chapter. This, as will be seen, was a disastrous fight, in that the unfortunate Byrne died immediately after it. It is, however, necessary to give some details of the circumstances, because Byrne’s death was typical of the sort of accident that occasionally happened in connection with the Prize-Ring, and has since happened more than once in connection with modern boxing. I say “in connection,” rather awkwardly like that because, as will be discovered presently, the fight in these cases is only the occasion and not the actual cause of mortal injury.

The battle in question was fought at No Man’s Land, in Hertfordshire, for ￡100 a side on May 30th, 1833. Almost exactly three years before, Byrne had fought and beaten a man named McKay, who died next day. Byrne had been tried for manslaughter and acquitted. The circumstances of the death of both were somewhat similar: and there is no doubt that McKay’s death preyed upon Byrne’s mind.

In the first place we find that Simon Byrne was grossly out of condition before he went into training. He weighed 15 stone, and reduced himself to 13 stone 4 lb. “An effort which,” Bell’s Life in London tells us, “as it was effected by hard work and sweating, somewhat impaired his natural stamina, especially as, his habits being far from abstemious when in Ireland, he was scarcely fitted to undergo the necessary amount of labour.” That is, no doubt, the explanation of the tragedy, as it has been the explanation of other tragedies, one of which is within comparatively 81 recent memory. As a rule, the modern champion is a teetotaller, and generally speaking “takes care of himself.” He lives not merely a “reasonable life,” but a life, physically speaking, devoted to one end. His health comes before everything else. It is, for better or for worse, a restrained, careful, hygienic age—anyhow for boxers with pretensions. But in the old days, the fighting men alternated between bouts of the wildest debauchery and the most violently severe training. No wonder they died young. No wonder that the sudden abstention from artificial stimulant combined with over-hard work and culminating in the prolonged strain and pain of a desperate battle occasionally killed them. The wonder is that there were not more deaths from a like cause.

A VIEW of the FIGHT BETWEEN
Gully and GREGSON

[A] Gully
[B] Joe Ward his second
[C] Gregson
[D] Harry Lee his second
[E] The Umpire

They fought in Sir John Sebright’s Park near Market Street Herts on May 10, 1808 when Gully beat his antagonist there was a great crowd of Spectators.
Published May 31, 1808 by G Thompson, No 43, Long Lane, West Smithfield.

Deaf Burke, on the other hand, was young and healthy, and in high spirits. He was seconded by Tom Gaynor and Dick Curtis, Byrne by Tom Spring and Jem Ward. On stripping, Burke was seen to be in perfect condition, but Byrne looked still a little too fleshy and had no special show of muscle upon him. He had a good deal of advantage in height. Burke was the favourite but not at greater odds than 5-4, or guineas to pounds.

In the days of bare knuckles there was generally a certain amount of “honour” to be gained by achieving the first knock-down, or drawing first blood. There was often betting on the subject, anyhow on the former event. In the first round of this match a good deal of amusement was caused by Burke. Byrne hit him on the nose and made him sniff. Whereupon Byrne called out, “First blood!” Burke deliberately wiped his nose with his finger and showed it to his opponent unstained. Then they went at it again, and before long the Irishman was seen to be bleeding at the mouth. But at the same moment Burke’s nose did begin to bleed, so the umpires and the referee decided that it was a tie.

The second round found both the men in the best of good tempers, and the hitting was even. Towards the end of this set-to there was a fierce rally in which both gave heavy punishment. They closed, and Byrne threw Deaf Burke and fell upon 82 him. Burke’s defence was the sounder, but his antagonist was the better wrestler. In the fourth round Byrne swung his right with tremendous force at his man’s head, and had the blow landed on the jaw it might well have finished the battle. But Burke moved forward at that moment and the blow caught him on the back of the head with much of its force spent, and no particular damage was done.

There was some good fighting in the next round. Each landed a hard left, and then Byrne stepped back, landing a splendidly timed upper-cut with his right as Burke came in. Then he closed and hurled the “Deaf ’un” down. Jem Ward derisively asked Burke from Byrne’s corner “How did you like that?” and Burke grinned.

Byrne’s hand was now beginning to swell from the effects of his tremendous punch in the fourth round. He again threw Burke, who appeared none the worse for it. He was hitting the oftener, Byrne the harder: but the Irishman’s best blows did not get through the other man’s defence. Both were badly marked, however, and before the fight had lasted three-quarters of an hour, had revived themselves with ............