16.—No fighting. The men closed and fell, Richmond uppermost. (Odds had now changed three to one in favour of Richmond.)
To the 24th—All hugging rounds, Holmes upon the saving system.
25.—Richmond appeared in high spirits, fought well, and evidently had the advantage.
26.—Decisive. Richmond stepped in and immediately knocked Holmes down, and, although with great reluctance, he was obliged to give in.
The contest lasted thirty-nine minutes.
Among the amateurs and professors there were Mr. Fletcher Reid, Hon. Berkeley Craven, Thomas Sheridan, Esq., Mr. Upton, John Gully, Jem and Tom Belcher, Bill Ryan, Puss the Jew, Tom Cribb, Jack Ward, and Dan Mendoza.
On the 8th October, 1805, at Hailsham, Sussex, Richmond met Tom Cribb, for a stake of 25 guineas. He never dared to face his man, and after a wretched merry-andrew burlesque of an hour and a half gave in, see Tom Cribb, ante, p. 246.[[148]] This affair seems to have taken the conceit out of Mr. Richmond, for he only appears as a ring attendant and follower until 1808, a period of nearly three years, when we have an account (on April 14, 1809),[[149]] of his beating “a countryman named Carter from Nuneaton, near Birmingham, on Epsom Downs.” As this is given on no other authority, that we can discover, than that of Pierce Egan, we quote him ipsissimis verbis:—
“Carter was much the strongest and a heavier man than Richmond; and who in a turn-up with those heroes of the fist, Jem Belcher and Jack Gully, had convinced them both that he was no trifler; and now having expressed his fancy for a mill with Mr. Richmond, Bill without hesitation informed Carter that he should be accommodated with a trial of skill. Paddington Jones and Bob Clarke seconded Richmond. Upon setting-to the odds were seven to one against the man of colour, and in the fourth round the odds ran so high against Richmond, that twenty to one was sported that Carter won the battle, and ten to one that Bill did not come again. This great odds was occasioned by a severe blow that Richmond received on the side of his head, that rendered him nearly senseless; but Bill soon recovering from this momentary disadvantage, showed off his science in such good style, that in the course of twenty-five minutes, Carter was so punished as to resign the contest. Immediately upon this being declared, Richmond jumped over the ropes, and caught hold of a man denominated China-eyed Brown, threatening to serve him out (if he had not been prevented), as it appeared that Brown had loudly vociferated, during the time Richmond was suffering from the effects of the above blow, that Bill had got a white feather in his tail! Richmond was patronised upon the above occasion by Sir Clement Brigg, Bart.”
We next have upon the same authority, “In seconding a baker a few months after the above circumstance, near Wilsden Green, a man of the same trade, weighing close upon seventeen stone, challenged Richmond on the spot, when a turn-up commenced, and in about two minutes the baker’s dough was so well kneaded, that he would have no more of it at that time; offering to fight Richmond for £50 in a month, which was agreed to by Bill, and two guineas put down to make the bets good before that period; but the baker, it appeared, preferred losing his two quid than submitting his overgrown carcass to the punishment of Richmond.
“Bill fought a man of the name of Atkinson, from Banbury, at Golder’s Green, near Hendon, a bargeman, for a subscription purse; it was a good fight, but in the course of twenty minutes Atkinson was perfectly satisfied the chance was against him, and acknowledged that he was beaten.” “Boxiana,” vol. i. 443–5.