Category: Boxing

‘I’ll shoot you in the eye with my fist.’ – A Biographical Sketch of the Gentlemen’s Instructor, John Plantagenet Green (Part II)

It’s in 1870 that Green’s so-called private life begins to appear in the press as often as his professional one. In May 1870 Green was summoned to Hammersmith Police Court charged with assault. Under the headline “Can’t Help His Colour”, the West London Observer reports, with scant detail:  “Plantagenet Green, a man of colour, of… Read More ‘I’ll shoot you in the eye with my fist.’ – A Biographical Sketch of the Gentlemen’s Instructor, John Plantagenet Green (Part II)

Sarah Elizabeth Cox2 Comments

‘I am a pugilist, and that is an artist.’ – A Biographical Sketch of the Gentlemen’s Instructor, John Plantagenet Green (Part I)

“Some novel lessons in the elasticity and expressiveness of the English language” were learned in the Middlesex Sessions of November 1874, when a witness called to give testimony made newspaper headlines over and above the men charged with a crime. William McCarthy, 23, and James Rowland, 21, both labourers, were the lads in front of… Read More ‘I am a pugilist, and that is an artist.’ – A Biographical Sketch of the Gentlemen’s Instructor, John Plantagenet Green (Part I)

Sarah Elizabeth Cox3 Comments

A small and unreliable bit of information about the disappearance of Hezekiah Moscow

As work continues on A Thousand Blows – a TV drama set in a fictionalised 1880s East London boxing world, starring a character loosely based on boxer Hezekiah Moscow aka Ching Hook – I have cause to occasionally pop Moscow’s name/s into the British Newspaper Archive and see if anything new has appeared since my… Read More A small and unreliable bit of information about the disappearance of Hezekiah Moscow

Sarah Elizabeth CoxLeave a comment

Where Did You Go, Hezekiah Moscow? (Part V: A Thousand Blows announced by Disney+)

It’s been quite a year since my last post. To great excitement and lots of media interest this week, streamer Disney+ announced A Thousand Blows (a working title) – an epic new 12-part series set in the perilous world of illegal boxing in 1880s Victorian London. With even greater excitement, I finally get to tell… Read More Where Did You Go, Hezekiah Moscow? (Part V: A Thousand Blows announced by Disney+)

Sarah Elizabeth Cox1 Comment

Where Did You Go, Hezekiah Moscow? (Part IV: Ching Ghook Found)

My articles on Hezekiah Moscow, who was better known by his ‘ring name’ Ching Hook or Ghook, are by far the most shared and read pieces so far produced – apologies to Mr Wannop – and last year led to conversations with the National Archives. My research now appears in their school educational materials, part… Read More Where Did You Go, Hezekiah Moscow? (Part IV: Ching Ghook Found)

Sarah Elizabeth Cox2 Comments

“The death of Mr Sam Sloper has cast a gloom over the New Cross and Catford districts…”

The sums of money involved in boxing and wrestling during the late-19th century were quite frequently astronomical. Local tournaments might be fought for a modest £5 or a nice silver watch, but bigger bouts could attract a purse of £25 to £100 – well over a year’s salary for a labourer – with a zero… Read More “The death of Mr Sam Sloper has cast a gloom over the New Cross and Catford districts…”

Sarah Elizabeth Cox2 Comments

How far can the lady go without unsexing herself? Billy Noon V the ‘irrepressible’ Mrs Noon

I have written previously on a boxer arrested on more than one occasion for punching his female companion in the face. Unlike Jem Haines, Billy Noon not only got away with doing the same, he was paid and cheered for it too. Billy and Mrs Noon were a husband and wife boxing act, one of… Read More How far can the lady go without unsexing herself? Billy Noon V the ‘irrepressible’ Mrs Noon

Sarah Elizabeth CoxLeave a comment

The Most Popular Man in New Cross (Introducing Jack Wannop to Carthorse Orchestra)

I was recently invited to Carthorse Orchestra, a charming online evening gathering of intimidatingly creative and literary types hosted by the author David Collard. Each week David organises an eclectic programme of short readings, discussion, film and performance to entertain and connect people during lockdown. The night was themed ‘wrestling with French literature or wrestling,… Read More The Most Popular Man in New Cross (Introducing Jack Wannop to Carthorse Orchestra)

Sarah Elizabeth Cox1 Comment

PUGILIST KILLED BY ROUGHS – A fatal encounter at the Brockley Jack for The Greenwich Bruiser

By day, the young man who had been attacked at the Brockley Jack was a 28-year-old brass-moulder called John Smith. By night, he was a prize-fighter known as The Greenwich Bruiser.  Smith lived on 13 Torr’s Lane, Deptford, at the time of his death in 1886, which might have been a different address to that… Read More PUGILIST KILLED BY ROUGHS – A fatal encounter at the Brockley Jack for The Greenwich Bruiser

Sarah Elizabeth Cox1 Comment