Thomas Sayers (15 or 25 MayBoth dates have been suggested, but there is no firm evidence either way. 18268 November 1865) was an English bare-knuckle prize fighter. There were no formal weight divisions at the time, and although Sayers was only five feet eight inches tall and never weighed much more than 150lbs (10.7 stones), he frequently fought much bigger men. In a career which lasted from 1849 until 1860, he lost only one of sixteen bouts. He was recognized as heavyweight champion of England between 1857, when he defeated William Perry (the "Tipton Slasher"), and his retirement in 1860.
His first fame depended exclusively on his final contest, when he faced American champion John Camel HeenanThe Times, 6 January 1864. "Caramel" is an erroneous spelling of Heenan's middle name. in a battle widely considered to be boxing's first world championship. It ended in chaos when the spectators invaded the ring, and the referee finally declared a draw.
Regarded as a national hero, Sayers, for whom the considerable sum of £3,000 was raised by public subscription, then retired from the ring. After his death five years later at the age of 39, a huge crowd watched his cortège on its journey to London's Highgate Cemetery.
Early years Sayers was born in May 1826, in a slum in the Brighton alley of Pimlico (now Tichborne Street) not far from the Royal Pavilion. He was the youngest of the five children of WilliamMarriage certificate of Thomas Sayers and Sarah Henderson, St Peter's Church, Islington, Middlesex, dated 8 March 1853. This ends the uncertainty regarding the first name of Sayers senior. Sayers (33), a shoemaker, and his wife Maria,His mother Maria died on 16 February 1859 at Brighton: "The inscription is as follows: - "This stone is erected by Mr Thomas Sayers, in remembrance of a kind and affectionate mother. Maria, wife of William Sayers, born January 26, 1782, died February 16, 1859." It was thought, at the time of his decease, that "Tom" would have been laid beside his mother. But it was ruled otherwise, and the late Champion's ashes now repose beneath a storied monument in Highgate Cemetery." - ten years her husband's senior. At the age of six, Sayers became a Jack-in-the-water, earning a few coppers performing small duties for holidaymakers and fishermen on Brighton beach. Claims that he attended school in 1836 may be unfounded,For the case that Sayers attended school, see Middle Street School. For the case against, see Manson, p. 28. and he was barely literate.
At the age of thirteen, he walked to London, where he stayed with his sister Eliza and her husband, Robert King, a builder. Sayers became a bricklayer and for the next seven years shuttled between his home town and the capital. He is known to have worked on the London Road viaduct outside Brighton and may well have taken part in the construction of London's King's Cross Station.
In an anecdote of his early life, it was reported that whilst working on the construction of Wandsworth Prison he was struck by his supervisor, described as a "great big bully of a fellow", and on his returning the blow it was decided to carry on the fight at a nearby common. Here, after a tremendous battle, Sayers prevailed, knocking out his adversary.
In 1846 he finally settled in the capital, taking up residence in the notorious slum of Agar Town, just north of where St Pancras Station now stands. It was around 1847 that he set up home in a more salubrious part of Camden Town with Sarah Henderson.Marriage certificate of Thomas Sayers and Sarah Henderson, St Peter's Church, Islington, Middlesex, dated 8 March 1853. The claim that he married a widow named Sarah Powell is without foundation. Only fifteen years old, Sarah was unable to marry without her father's permission and her daughter, Sarah (1850–1891), and son, Tom (1852–1936),Sarah Sayers birth certificate, registered 10 July 1850; Tom Sayers birth certificate, registered 7 October 1852. Sarah Mensley (married name) death certificate registered 6 March 1891; Tom Sayers death certificate registered 27 January 1936 by Sayers were consequently illegitimate.
Prize ring career Early career Although the prize ring had long been illegal, it continued as an underground activity, and Sayers, having earned a considerable reputation from a number of informal fights, decided to try to make a living with his fists. His first contest as a professional was on 19 March 1849 near Greenhithe when he defeated Abe Couch (or Crouch). His next contest was with Dan Collins on 22 October 1850 at Edenbridge, Kent. The fight was interrupted after 9 rounds by the local constabulary. The fight recommenced at Red Hill but was abandoned in a draw as darkness descended. The two fighters met again on 29 April 1851 at Long Reach, the result being victory to Sayers.
Sayers next took on Jack Grant for £100 a side, the fight taking place at Mildenhall, Suffolk on 29 June 1852. For this fight, Grant had Harry Orme in his corner whilst Sayers was attended by Nat Adams and Bob Fuller. The fight lasted 64 rounds, Sayers ending up as victor.
Tom Sayers next fight was with Jack Martin, who was backed by Ben Caunt, and the fight took place on 26 January 1853 with Sayers winning after 23 rounds.
Loss to Nat Langham
In 1853, Sayers challenged Nat Langham, who, despite the absence of formal weight divisions, was widely accepted as England's middleweight champion. The fight took place on 18 October 1853 at Lakenheath, Suffolk. This was Sayers's toughest fight so far, and a combination of illness and inexperience contributed to his first and only defeat. The wily Langham gained the upper hand by temporarily blinding his opponent with frequent blows to the eyes. The end came in the 61st round with Sayers unable to see his opponent, who could therefore strike him at will. Sayers was still reluctant to quit, however, and one of his seconds, Alec Keene was forced to "throw up the sponge" to signify the end of the contest. Once his eyes were healed, Sayers requested a re-match but Langham announced his retirement from the prize-ring.
Still, Sayers had fought well, and defeat did not damage his career. But his marriage that same year to Sarah Henderson, by now old enough to marry without her father's permission, was soon in ruins as she left to live with another man. To make matters worse, on top of an expensive failure to set himself up as a publican, he had great difficulty arranging another payday in the ring. He had one further victory against a fighter near his own weight before taking on much heavier men. The fighter was George Sims, described by the boxing chronicle Pugilistica as " a civil, well-behaved, courageous fellow, ridiculously over-estimated by his friends". The one-sided contest took place at Longreach on 2 February 1854, Sayers knocking his opponent out after 4 rounds of fighting, taking just 5 minutes.
Challenges heavyweight fighters
In convincing Sayers to challenge the heavyweights, Gideon was breaking convention. The convention – though it was never a formal rule – was that men fought others of their own size, and few gave him much chance against the highly regarded Harry Paulson.Manson, p. ix. "Paulson" rather than "Poulson" was the version preferred by the man himself. Paulson was shorter than Sayers by an inch but was described as "a perfect Hercules in the torso, weighing 12st. 7lb. in hard condition." Sayers, however, was undaunted, and in January 1856, a convincing victory raised him to a new level.
Sayers' next two fights were with Aaron Jones in the early months of 1857. The first contest ended in a draw after 62 rounds of fighting but Sayers won the subsequent bout on 10 February 1857. According to the boxing chronicler, Fred Henning: "this battle brought the plucky Brighton Boy still nearer to the coveted title, and it was evident that giving away weight made very little matter to him and he proved by his conquering of the two heavy weights that he must have some chance for the Championship, so his friends were determined that he should have a try when the opportunity offered itself".
Fight for the championship At this time, there was no undisputed champion of England amongst the heavier fighters. Harry Broome, who had won the title in 1851 against William Perry (known as the "Tipton Slasher") and defended it against Harry Orme in 1853, had forfeited an arranged re-match with William Perry and had written to the editor of the sporting paper Bell's Life in London in August 1853, when he "intimated his intention of retiring from the Prize Ring".
In early 1855, fight supporters commissioned a new championship belt, the previous one "having gone astray". The subscription raised £100 and a Bond Street jeweller was asked to make the new belt. At this date there were thought to be 5 possible contenders for the Championship: William Perry, Harry Broome, Harry Orme, Tom Paddock and Aaron Jones.
William Perry claimed the title for himself and attempted to set up fights with Aaron Jones and Tom Paddock in 1856, however both forfeited to him rather than fight, which gave the opportunity for Sayers to fight for the championship.
On 3 March 1857, the articles for a fight between Sayers and the Tipton Slasher were signed. The fight was to be for £100 per side plus the new Championship belt. According to one of the chroniclers of the Prize Ring, many thought it was "a wild, mad, revolutionary idea to match a 10st. 10lb. man of 5ft. 8in. against a 14 stoner of over 6ft., and the latter, mind you, no duffer, but the Champion of England, who had won his title by hard fighting". Perry was so confident of winning that he sold his pub in Spon Lane, West Bromwich, and staked the proceeds on himself at 6 to 4 on odds. However, although confident of winning, he did not underestimate Sayers and he trained hard for the fight. This fight, Perry's final one, took place on 16 June 1857 on the Isle of Grain. During the fight, Sayers demonstrated his ring craft as he moved swiftly, dodging the Slasher's heaviest punches. According to one eye-witness report, Perry's tactics were at fault as, despite being slower on his feet, he tried to force the pace of the fight, instead of fighting defensively and using his powers as a counter-hitter. In the end, Sayers won a convincing victory after 10 rounds of fighting, lasting 1 hour and 42 minutes.
Championship defences
Sayers first fight as champion was with Bill Benjamin on the Isle of Grain on 5 January 1858. According to the sporting paper, Bell's Life in London, Benjamin's real name was William Bainge, and he was a complete novice at prizefighting. Sayers won easily after 3 rounds of fighting, which took just minutes.
On 16 June 1858, Sayers took on and beat the experienced fighter Tom Paddock on Canvey Island. In the 21st round, Sayers, noting that exhausted Paddock could hardly see and was incapable of defending himself, shook his opponent by the hand and led him back to his corner, prompting Paddock's seconds to "throw up the sponge".
On 5 April 1859, Sayers fought a rematch with a much improved Bill Benjamin. Sayers came out on top, defeating his opponent in 11 rounds.
On 20 September 1859 a fight took place with the Birmingham-based Bob Brettle, The contest differed from Sayers' recent fights in that Brettle was slightly the lighter man. In the 7th round, Brettle dislocated his shoulder and so was unable to continue, giving victory and the £600 stake money to Sayers.
In 1859 Sayers accepted a challenge from US champion John Camel Heenan known as the Benicia Boy.
The fight with John C. Heenan