18.—It was distressing to see the punishment Shelton brought upon himself, from the rushing system he pursued. The right hand of the man of colour was at work like a sledge hammer.
19.—The combatants soon fought their way into a sharp rally, when Richmond made some good hits and got down.
20.—Richmond went down rather unsatisfactorily, and some marks of disapprobation were expressed; but the umpires did not deem it worthy of attention.
21.—The man of colour now completely satisfied the spectators of the advantages of hitting and getting away; and this destructive system, to an adversary who will suffer himself to be decoyed by it, was completely exemplified by the dreadful punishment Shelton received. Some murmurings occurred about a foul blow; but the umpires did not stop the battle. (Any odds upon Richmond.)
22.—It was plain that Shelton could not last much longer; he went down from a heavy blow upon one of his eyes.
23 and last.—Richmond now had it all his own way, and, with the utmost sang froid, planted so tremendous a hit upon Shelton’s temple, that he went down. The effects were so severe that he appeared quite stunned, and when “time” was announced, could not quit the knees of his second. The battle continued twenty-nine minutes and a half. Richmond, elated with the success of victory, jumped out of the ring.
By this victory the man of colour added another laurel to his wreath; and although he did not escape without some punishment, he won the battle in good style. Shelton’s impetuous passion completely ruined him; and it was observed by a noble lord that Richmond was “a most extraordinary man, for the older he grew the better he fought!”
This was Richmond’s last regular appearance in the P. R., yet his rooms in Whitcomb Street, Haymarket, were highly patronised by the nobility and gentry; and about this period Lord Byron became acquainted with him, as may be seen in his lordship’s Life and Journals edited by Thomas Moore. His athletic form, though fast approaching threescore years of age, his civility, self-control, and temperate habits, compelled the respect of all who knew him; and that “still beneath the snow of age slept the fire of youth” was well proven by a casual affair, in which the veteran man of colour was involved by the violent conduct of Jack Carter, then known as the “Lancashire Hero,” and aspiring to the championship of England.
The latter pugilist had lately returned from the Continent, intoxicated by the applause he had received at Aix-la-Chapelle, and he had “crept so much into favour with himself,” that he annoyed several companies he went into with his vast prowess, and his challenge to fight any man in the world. This conduct he carried to such excess on Thursday evening, November 12, 1818, at a respectable tavern in the neighbourhood of Chancery Lane, that the company rose in a body and put him out of the room by force. The degradation of being thus ousted, raised his choler that he roared out, “Is there any one among you dare face Jack Carter?” Richmond, who was present, answered that he did not fear him, whereon Carter defied him to a bout, and a turn-up commenced, sans ceremonie, in the yard belonging to the house, where three bustling rounds took place. The report is from “Boxiana.”
THE FIGHT.