22.—Clarke standing out and retreating on the saving suit; Paddock, resolute and determined, forcing the fighting. Clarke but little marked, except the cut over the eye in the second round though his left side showed some red bumps from Paddock’s right-hand body-blows, while Paddock was bleeding from half a dozen cuts on the cheek, nose, lips, and forehead. Still he was gay, and driving “Nobby” into his own corner, the latter dropped to avoid. (Hisses.)
23 to 30.—Similar in character, Clarke going down almost every round.
31.—Clarke, urged on by the Tipton, went in to fight and got the best of several exchanges, nearly closing his opponent’s left eye. Paddock got in a hit on “Nobby’s” neck, from which he turned round, and as Paddock was repeating his blow fell.
32.—This ought to have been the last round. Clarke caught Paddock on the forehead, jumped back, ran away, and as Paddock threw out his left fell without a blow. (Great confusion, the ring broken in, and a minute or two expired before the referee’s decision could be obtained, who gave Clarke the “benefit of the doubt,” from the slipperiness of the ground.)
33–40.—Paddock, despite the punishment he appeared to have received, was little the worse in wind or strength, while in pluck he was the very reverse of his clever antagonist. “Nobby” sparred cleverly, but was evidently afraid of his man, and when they got close and a half-arm hit was got in by Paddock, he was always a consenting party to going down; in fact, he was “on the go” before the blow reached him.
41.—Another wrangle; “Nobby” getting down questionably after getting in a left-hander. (Hisses.)
42.—Great wrangling and confusion. Paddock standing in the middle of the ring protesting, and calling on “Nobby” to come on, which he did after a minute or so of disputation. Paddock went at him, and “Nobby” slipped down. It was announced that Clarke would “fight no more.” Paddock again “orating;” the referee handed over the watch to a friend, called “Time!” and declared Paddock to be the winner. The Tipton created some amusement by his denunciations of the “Nobby One’s” cowardice, and was with difficulty prevented from striking the man he had just been seconding; politely addressing him as a “robber,” “cur,” “thief,” &c. with a variety of expletives which we decline to report, and ending by declaring he would “pay no bets on such a rank cross.” He had, however, to do so, as well as many others, and the stakes went to Paddock, as of right they were due.
Remarks.—There was nothing so worthy of note in this battle as the utter unreliability of mere sparring skill when pitted against a fair amount of boxing acquirements, backed with those indispensable qualities, courage and endurance. Clarke had weight, length, skill, and, if properly applied, superior strength on his side; nevertheless, the Redditch man, by mere resolution and never losing trust in himself, literally frightened his opponent out of his victory. Paddock, though inferior to the “Nobby One,” displayed great improvement on his previous performance, and we did not hesitate to predict for him a successful career, provided that he possessed temper, discretion, and teachability, which, for some time, he certainly did not. Strength, pluck, stamina, and fearless courage he had; the regulating and guiding qualities he had not.
Paddock having failed in meeting with a customer after his defeat of Clarke, did not again appear within the ropes in 1846; but, on the 27th of December in that year, the clever “Nobby One” having somewhat wiped off the stain of cowardice which had attached to his name, by a triumphant defeat of a 12st. 7lbs. man of the name of Jordan, calling himself “the Welsh Champion”—his friends took “heart of grace,” and again offered to back their man for £50 a side against our hero. The second trial took place on the 6th of April, 1847, at Stony Stratford. We shall not inflict upon the reader a full report of this battle. It was, with little variation in its incidents, a mere replica of the first, except that it lasted seven minutes less—48 minutes—and the close of the 35th round brought Tom’s labours to a victorious conclusion. In the first few rounds Clarke, as on the former occasion, took a triumphant lead; but his game and hardy opponent stuck to him so determinedly, and, when he did get on, so completely—as his half-reconciled and again-deluded friend the Tipton said—“Knocked all the fight out of him,” that the result was merely a question of minutes more or less; the fight being finally declared to Paddock from a “foul” by the miscalled “Nobby One.”
In our Life of Bendigo (ante [page 37]), we have fully narrated the circumstances under which Paddock, as “Johnny Broome’s Unknown,” took up the gauntlet thrown down by Bendigo for £200 and the Championship; and how Paddock, after what appeared a winning fight, threw away his advantages, and lost the battle by losing his temper—striking his shifty opponent a “foul” blow. This took place on the 5th of June, 1850, and as the Tipton had already pledged himself to fight the winner (Bendigo having announced his retirement from the Ring), the Slasher, then and there, challenged him for £350, which was afterwards reduced to £200 a side. This came to nothing, for on the 22nd of August, 1850, both parties failed in their deposits, and the money down was drawn. A new match was then entered into for £100 a side, and on this occasion, as the battle ended in a draw, we shall merely refer the reader to the Life of Perry (see ante [page 157]), where, also, will be found the account of his defeat by the Slasher, at Woking, December 17th, 1850, again from the delivery of a “foul” blow.