I’ve got something new to share with you today. I’ve been working on a new podcast. It won’t be replacing Human Circus, and I won’t clutter up this space with too much non-medieval history material, but I’ll post the first couple of episodes here for anyone who’s interested. You can find more on Apple Podcasts and all the other usual podcatchers. I hope you enjoy it!
This boxing history episode (they won’t always be about boxing) is the story of James Figg, the 17th-century born "Father of Boxing" and one of the 1992 Boxing Hall of Fame inductees. But his boxing was not the sport you're familiar with today. Figg, who would set up his academy on Tottenham Court Road, was before the Queensbury rules and all of that. Figg entered the ring with a cudgel and a sword.
This is his story, and the story of his fight with Ned Sutton, the pipe-fitter from Gravesend.