Two hundred years ago,boxing matches where boxers fought with bare fists for prize
money were a favourite sporting contest in England. Because of this, boxer were also
known as prizefighters.
However, boxing competition was considered to be crude, for there were no rules and a prizefighter could be seriously injured or even killed during a match. Daniel Mendoza,
born in 1764, was regarded as a fascinated boxing figure for he not only did much to
change crude prizefighting into a sport but also brought science to the game as well. In his day, he was so popular that he was adored by rich and poor alike. Mendoza rose to fame after a boxing match when he was only fourteen years old. After having been
trained by Richard Humphries who was then the eminent boxer in England, Mendoza
soon became successful. However, Mendoza and Humphries afterwards turned to be
bitter rivals. So two matches were held between the two men. Unfortunately, Mendoza was defeated in the two matches. It was not untill his third match in 1790 that Mendoza finally beat humphries and became champion of England. Meanwhile, a large number
of students including Lord Byron had been trained at his Academy. Although he earned enormous sums of money, he was so extravagent that he was always in debt. Defeated by Gentleman Jackson, he was quickly forgetten. He was sent to prison for failing to
pay his debts and died in poverty in 1836.
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