32.—This was a well fought round; and notwithstanding the Giant was nobbed right away from his opponent, he recovered, and ran after Shelton, swinging his arms quite abroad, as it were, and accidentally hit his man down.
33.—Shelton got up angry, and was losing his temper, but his seconds warned him of his danger. He at length grew cool, became himself, fought scientifically, and by a tremendous facer floored his big opponent. (Great shouting; and “He’ll not fight another round.”)
34.—Notwithstanding the punishment the Giant had received, his peepers nearly darkened, his wind did not appear to be bad; and as for his game, he proved himself a glutton of the first mould. This was a sharp round and Shelton, to the astonishment of the ring, was hit down, although the Giant appeared quite done up the round before.
35.—The good fighting of Shelton now made it quite safe. He put in one, two, three so sharply on the mug of Burn, that he went down on his face in a state of stupor.
36.—The strength of Burn’s seconds could scarcely drag him up to place him on their knees. It was now Eclipse to a lame donkey; Gog was floored in a twinkling.
37 and last.—Burn was hit down like a shot, and could not come again. It occupied thirty-two minutes and ten seconds. Burn was so dreadfully beaten that it was some minutes before he was made sensible, and carried out of the ring.
Remarks.—Shelton proved himself this day a superior fighter. He hit with both hands with a facility that astonished all the amateurs; and it was thought that not one on the list, of his weight, could cope with him. He evinced great game, and was in fine condition. Burn, too, behaved manfully in the extreme; more real courage was never witnessed.
Shelton was now matched against Benniworth, the Essex Champion, for fifty guineas a-side, at Southend, on Friday, June 25, 1819, to fight on that day six weeks. A deposit of £20 a-side was also put down. In consequence of an accident, which Shelton met with at a dinner given to Bob Gregson, at the Maid and Magpie, St. Catherine’s, on Tuesday, June 29, it was thought he must not only have forfeited to Benniworth, but that he never would have been able to enter the Prize Ring again. The artery of his right arm was cut across with a rummer. Two surgeons immediately dressed the wound, and he recovered in a very short time; but the friends of Benniworth preferred forfeiting the deposit of £20, to risking the event of a contest.
A match of much interest was now made between Shelton and Tom Oliver (see Oliver, Period V.), and Thursday, December 23, 1819, named for the battle, Copthorne, twenty-eight miles from London, being the rendezvous. The day proved a deluge, and when the half-drowned wayfarers had reached Blindlow Heath, twenty-three miles from town, they found that the ring had been made there. The backers of Shelton protested against the fight taking place on this spot, to Gibbons, the ring-maker, as being not only contrary to the order given, but that it was swampy, and surrounded with puddles of water; that they should proceed to Copthorne, where Shelton had been moved the day preceding, and they left a communication for the commander-in-chief to that effect.
On the arrival of the latter gentleman at Blindlow Heath, he sent an express to Copthorne (which, however, did not arrive till twenty minutes before two o’clock), for Shelton to return and meet Oliver at the former place. Shelton declared he was ready to fight anywhere; but his backers firmly insisted that Copthorne was the place named, and only at Copthorne should he fight. Upon the return of the messenger to Blindlow, Oliver threw up his hat in the ring for Shelton to come forward; a ring was also formed at Copthorne, where Shelton waited till three o’clock for the arrival of Oliver, but without effect. Thus, singularly enough, there were two rings, but no fight. Kendrick and Sutton, a pair of “niggers,” however, sported their sable skins, and Sutton was the victor.