London Prize Ring Rules
Rules of English bare-knuckle boxing from 1838, revised in 1853. A round ended with a fall, the number of rounds was unlimited, and the last title fight under them took place in 1889.
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About London Prize Ring Rules
London Prize Ring Rules are the rules of English bare-knuckle boxing that, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, applied from 1838 and were revised in 1853. They replaced the rules from Broughton's amphitheatre of 1743, which according to the book Fistiana (1841) applied until 1838. According to Fistiana, the change was prompted by the fatal fight between Owen Swift and Brighton Bill on 13 March 1838. According to the 1838 rules, the ring was a square with 24-foot sides enclosed by eight stakes and double ropes, with a line called the scratch in the middle. A round ended when one of the fighters was on the ground, and after 30 seconds he had to walk to the line unaided within eight seconds, otherwise he lost. According to Green, the rules limited neither the number nor the length of rounds. Fouls included, among others, a head butt, hitting a downed opponent, a low blow, eye gouging, biting and kicking. According to Britannica, professionals at first rejected the Queensberry rules of 1867, and the last heavyweight title fight under the London rules was won in 1889 by John L. Sullivan over Jake Kilrain in 75 rounds.
History
Fistiana states that under the old Broughton rules seconds could carry exhausted fighters to the line, and calls this the cause of the fatal end of the 1838 fight. The chronology in the same book lists Broughton's seven rules under 26 August 1743, which according to it Captain Godfrey wrote down, while Green places Broughton's rules in 1741. According to Green, London Prize Ring Rules were issued by the Pugilists Protective Association and revisions followed in 1853 and 1866. In Pugilistica, Miles printed the Rules of the Ring in the revision of the Pugilistic Association, which according to him a general meeting adopted unanimously, and according to him Sayers versus Heenan was fought under the new rules of 1853.
How it differs
According to Pancratia of 1812, Broughton's rules provided for a square one yard on a side drawn in chalk in the middle of the stage and a half minute within which the second had to bring the man up after a fall. Miles states that after Swift's fight with Brighton Bill, carrying fighters to the line was abolished. According to Britannica, the Queensberry rules introduced padded gloves, three-minute rounds with a one-minute break, ten seconds to rise unaided and a ban on fighting in the clinch, and Green dates them to 1866 and states that they had twelve points.
Technique
According to Fistiana, the 1838 rules required an honest stand-up fight and forbade a head butt, hitting a downed opponent, a low blow, seizing an opponent below the waist or by the thigh in a clinch, eye gouging, tearing flesh with fingers or nails, biting, kicking and dropping the knees on a downed man. Whoever deliberately lay down without a blow lost, unless slipping out of a grip. Miles's revised text forbade holding a stone, stick or rosin in the hand and squeezing an opponent against the ropes, and whoever fled the ring from an attack lost.
Training
Fistiana writes that the aim of a boxer's training is to increase strength, mobility, wind and the ability to endure exertion and blows, which was called bottom. According to it, in February 1747 Broughton announced in the Daily Advertiser an academy at the Haymarket where boxing was taught with aids called mufflers, meant to protect against a black eye, a broken jaw and a bleeding nose. Green states that Broughton called his lessons lectures.
Competition
A fight under the 1838 rules was run by two umpires and a referee, whom they chose and whose decision was final. Each boxer had a handkerchief of his colour, the handkerchiefs were tied to a stake, and the winner took them away as a trophy. Nobody except the officials and attendants could stand closer than ten feet from the ring. The revised text in Miles allowed only spikes in boots approved by the Pugilistic Association and fined seconds 5 shillings for approaching during a round. According to Green, weight classes were introduced in the 1850s, heavy over 156 pounds, middle 134 to 156 and light under 134 pounds.
Today
Mississippi Encyclopedia states that the fight of Sullivan with Kilrain on 8 July 1889 in Richburg, Mississippi lasted 75 rounds under London Prize Ring Rules and rounds ended with a knockdown, because the three-minute round had not yet been introduced. Britannica writes that the Queensberry rules were first adopted by younger boxers and that gloved fights were also popularized by Jem Mace. Green calls the Queensberry rules the basis of today's boxing. We have not found an organization that would compete under London Prize Ring Rules today.
Did you know
Ungar states under Broughton's rules that boxers had 30 seconds to return to the line in the middle of the ring, which is the origin of the English saying up to scratch. According to Fistiana, the 1838 rules required that even stage fights conform to them as much as possible.
Frequently asked questions
How did London Prize Ring Rules differ from the Queensberry rules?
According to Britannica, the Queensberry rules introduced padded gloves, three-minute rounds with a one-minute break, ten seconds to rise and a ban on fighting in the clinch. Under the London rules a round ended with a fall and the number of rounds was unlimited.
Why did London Prize Ring Rules come about?
Fistiana states that they were prompted by the fatal fight between Owen Swift and Brighton Bill in March 1838. Under the old Broughton rules seconds could carry exhausted fighters to the line.
When was the last fight under London Prize Ring Rules?
Britannica gives the last heavyweight title fight as 1889, when John L. Sullivan defeated Jake Kilrain in 75 rounds.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.