8.—Immediately they were up, they set-to with great eagerness, and displayed some excellent straight-forward fighting. Wilson appeared to recruit his strength, but it soon failed again, and he fell.
9.—O’Donnell struck his adversary on the temple; Wilson reeled, and receiving another blow, fell again.
10.—This was a very short round, Wilson received a violent blow on the ribs, reeled, and fell against the people, when Belcher advised him to give in, to which he consented.
O’Donnell being declared the conqueror, his countrymen, of whom there were numbers present, mounted him on their shoulders, and carried him out in triumph.
We think the reader will agree that there is nothing in this victory over an old stale man to call for the epithets of “eminent,” “distinguished,” etc., used in “Boxiana,” nor that the Irishman, should “be so raised in the eyes of his countrymen as their future champion, reminding them of those proud days when Peter Corcoran flourished in all his greatness!” But let that pass.
On Monday, November 15th, 1802, a match having been made between O’Donnell, and one Smith, a boot closer, they met at Wormwood Scrubbs, to decide the contest, for twenty guineas. Lenox seconded O’Donnell, and one Anderson picked up Smith.
After some trouble, and by the aid of Caleb Baldwin, who had recently beaten Jack Lee, at Hurley Bottom, a ring was formed, the combatants entered, and five minutes after two o’clock set-to.
THE FIGHT.
Round 1.—Much sparring. O’Donnell put in the first blow, a straight-forward hit with his right hand, and struck his adversary under the left eye. Smith aimed a blow at his opponent’s head, which O’Donnell caught with his hand, and returned it with a blow on the side of the head. They closed and fell, O’Donnell having the advantage, being uppermost.
2.—Much sparring. Smith put in two body blows, but slight; they closed and fell. Smith under again.