Latest editorial
Boxing’s racist roots
Cribb vs Molineaux 1811
THE first world title fight in boxing — as acknowledged by most boxing historians — took place at Capthall Common in Sussex on December 18 1810.
It was fought between Tom Molineaux, a former slave from Virginia who began boxing when he arrived in New York as a freeman at the age of 20, and English champion Tom Cribb.
The occasion was preserved for posterity in the writing of the most popular English sportswriter of the period, Pierce Egan: “The pugilistic honour of the country was at stake,” Egan wrote, “the national laurels to be borne away by a foreigner — the mere idea to an English breast was afflicting, and the reality could not be endured — that is should seem, the spectators were ready to exclaim…”
More from this author
JOHN WIGHT takes us on a journey back to a decade defined by union power, pop stars, and gritty football icons - no boxer embodied the heart and soul of 1970s Britain quite like Dave Boy Green
JOHN WIGHT pays tribute to the late great George Foreman who defied the odds throughout his life and career to become a household name and legend of the sport
JOHN WIGHT writes about the fascinating folklore surrounding the place which has been home to some of the most ferocious bareknuckle and unlicensed fighters throughout history
JOHN WIGHT questions how legend of the sport Roberto Duran is lending credibility to the sportswashing circus that is Riyadh Season — and at what cost?
