17.—Sharpe, seeing the powerful effects of his last blow, instantly prepared to take advantage of his good fortune, while Tom Owen loudly called upon him to repeat the dose in the same place. Reid, however, to the astonishment of the ring, stopped the intended finisher, and countered well with his left. After a short rally Sharpe went down, while Reid had nearly recovered the effects of the previous round.
18.—Sharpe again attempted to throw in his right and left at Reid’s body, but Reid got away cleverly. Reid, who was now “himself again,” pursued Sharpe with an apparent determination to make a decisive impression, when Sharpe went down without a blow, thereby exciting a strong expression of displeasure on the part of Reid’s friends.
19.—Both men came up steady. Reid lost no time in going to work, and after some good counter-hitting Sharpe closed, and threw Reid cleverly. Even betting was the order of the day—Reid for choice.
20.—Sharpe hit short at Reid’s body. Reid attempted to place a left-handed job on Sharpe’s head, when the latter, having crept close, let fly with his left at a well-judged distance, caught him under the ribs, and he dropped as if he had been shot, drawing up his legs apparently in agony. The veteran Tom was again at his elbow, lifted him, as before, on Ben Burn’s knee, but he was not equally successful. Reid continued to writhe, as in great pain, and on “time” being called, being unable to go to the scratch, Sharpe, to the surprise of some, the joy of others, and the mortification of many, was declared the victor. Sharpe was immediately conducted out of the ring, and Reid was conveyed to his carriage, where he soon after recovered, and was subsequently enabled to walk about the heath but little the worse for his defeat; his punishment, in fact, was not so great as that of Sharpe. The fight lasted twenty-four minutes.
Remarks.—By this fight it may be supposed that the comparative merits of Reid and Sharpe have been fairly decided, but this is by no means a general opinion, for it was openly stated, and boldly asserted by Reid himself, that but for the accidental blow which prevented his coming to time, he would certainly have won the battle; and when the game which he displayed in his late fight with Gaynor is considered it is only a matter of surprise that he should have been so soon and suddenly brought to a stand-still. He declared that for some time the effects of the blow rendered him utterly incapable of exertion. Having thus experienced the nature of the Bishop’s tactics, however, he says he feels satisfied that he could in future guard against them, and render victory certain. In the present instance, it is the opinion of the best judges that Reid has shown himself the better fighter; but he is blamed for not taking more advantage of the opportunities which Sharpe afforded him, by leaving his head unguarded while aiming at his body. Indeed, it is thought that if he had been awake to this, and met him as he came in, there could have been no doubt of the issue of the contest. It is pretty clear that Sharpe, in all his battles, never met with such an adversary before, and that he had the worst of it is obvious from his own friends’ betting two to one against him. It is said, however, that it is difficult to tell when he is beaten, and that at all times he is a dangerous customer. This character he has maintained on the present occasion, and he has also shown that his reputation for courage is well founded. The backers of Reid immediately declared their readiness to match him again against Sharpe, if the Smuggler should be disposed for another shy, a proof of their implicit belief in his honesty.
This victory placed Sharpe in the foremost rank among the middle-weight boxers of the day, and as Tom Gaynor had recently engaged with and beaten the same man, the Chelsea Snob, with great difficulty, while the Bishop had polished him off (so said his friends) with much more ease, a line was taken by which the Bishop’s superiority over Gaynor was assumed. Not so thought the admirers of the Bath Carpenter. They considered the match “a good thing” for Tom, so they closed at once with the proposal, and posted their half-hundred readily, fixing the day for the 5th of December, 1826, and the trysting-place at No Man’s Land, Herts. There, however, a move was necessary, owing to a magisterial interference, and a move was accordingly made into Bedfordshire. At Shere Mere, on the ground where Sampson and Jem Burn settled their difference, at two o’clock, the men met in battle array. Sharpe was attended by Josh Hudson and the veteran Tom Owen, while Gaynor had the services of Harry Holt and Tom Oliver. The colours being tied to the stakes, the men shook hands smilingly, the seconds retired to their corners, and the combatants held up their daddles for
THE FIGHT.
Round 1.—On standing up the contrast in condition was evident, and alarmed the layers of the odds of five to four on Gaynor, so that they went round to six to four on the Bishop, who looked hard, ruddy, and confident, while Gaynor was sallow, and bore the traces of a recent indisposition. After a few seconds spent in sparring, Sharpe let fly his left at Gaynor’s ribs, but missed, and swung round. Gaynor immediately closed, and threw him on his back, missing a good chance of punishing his man.
2.—Sharpe short with the right, Gaynor shifting quickly. Gaynor missed his counter-hit, and got it on the cheek. Sharpe closed, and there was a struggle for the fall; Gaynor was thrown. (Shouting for the Bishop.)
3.—Gaynor put in a slight nobber with his left; Sharpe, all alive, let go his favourite body hit, catching Gaynor a sounder on the mark; Gaynor returned on the chin, but could not keep his man out, who gave him another heavy bodier and closed, but failed in getting the fall; Sharpe undermost.