London Prize Ring rules, set of rules governing bareknuckle boxing, which were adopted in 1838 and revised in 1853. They superseded those drawn up by Jack Broughton, known as the father of English boxing, in 1743. Under the London rules, bouts were held in a 24-ft (7.3-m) square “ring” enclosed by ropes. A knockdown ended the round, followed by a 30-second rest and an additional 8 seconds to regain the centre of the ring. Butting, gouging, hitting below the waist, and kicking were banned. Although the Marquess of Queensberry rules, which called for glove matches, appeared in 1867, professional bareknuckle fights continued. The last heavyweight championship bout held under London rules was in 1889 when John L. Sullivan beat Jake Kilrain in 75 rounds to defend his heavyweight championship.
The Last Great Prize Fight (pic above)
The 10th December 2013 marked the 150th anniversary of the last great prize fight to take place in Britain. John Carmel Heenan, an American born in New York, challenged the British champion, Tom King, to a fight which eventually took place in a field at Turners Green on the outskirts of Wadhurst in East Sussex. In a fascinating booklet, Michael Insley describes the fight and the events leading up to it. Chapter one begins: “At 6.15 a.m. on the morning of Thursday 10th December 1863 a train pulled out of London Bridge Station. It had thirty carriages and was filled with 800 passengers. Each one had paid three guineas for a ticket. Where were they going? The destination was printed on the ticket and stated ‘To Nowhere’.
The train was on time yet already two days late, but there were problems. Because the passengers were going to be engaged in an illegal activity …….”
