Some delay took place before Parker returned, one of his seconds declaring he had been knocked down, an assertion which proved without foundation, although on his way to his carriage he had certainly fallen, and execrations were showered upon him from the friends of Brassey.
With the 128th round the fight was renewed, but amid such a riotous display of party feeling from the crowd, which could not be driven back from the ring, that it was difficult to note the changes which took place. Brassey exhibited unshrinking “game,” and succeeded in planting some heavy blows with his right on Parker’s ear, while the latter was occasionally equally successful in delivering his left and right on his opponent’s disfigured mug. Parker, as usual, preserved his cautious or rather questionable generalship, and no sooner found himself in danger than he got down. In point of freshness he had a decided superiority over the unfortunate Brassey, and not only hit oftener but harder. In the 143rd round he planted the first heavy body-blow with his right, the effects of which were instantly visible on Brassey’s countenance, who was almost doubled up with pain. In the next round he was equally successful with his left on the body, and Brassey was again down. For the three succeeding rounds Parker fought not only with renewed vigour but with a more manly and determined spirit, a change sufficiently amounted for by the almost helpless state of his antagonist, who was down in every round.
The friends of Brassey now saw that all hope of a favourable change was extinguished. The ropes were cut, and a crowd armed with sticks and bludgeons rushed between the men, and prevented the possibility of the continuation of the fight. The most dreadful confusion prevailed, during which Brassey lay at full length with his head resting in his second’s lap, who sat down on the ground to receive him. He was evidently in a helpless state, but still he refused to give in, declaring himself perfectly ready to renew the contest whenever the ring was cleared. Persuasions and entreaties were all in vain to induce the interlopers to retire. Parker’s seconds claimed the battle; but this would not be conceded; and after a long wrangle between those who wished the fight to be drawn and those who wished it to be concluded, a body of horsemen were admitted within the outer circle, who instantly galloped round the fragments of the ropes and stakes yet left standing, and effectually succeeded in clearing the area. Those within the ring then retired, and with some difficulty the ropes were spliced and the ring assumed something of its original form. Brassey still continued to lie prostrate on the earth, but there being no further impediment to his once more resuming the battle he was again called to the scratch. He came up quite groggy, while Parker, on the contrary, was fresh, and apparently as strong as when he commenced the battle.
It was soon seen that the forebodings of Brassey’s friends would be confirmed, and that his chance of success had indeed vanished. In fact, Parker hit him as he liked, his boldness increasing as his sense of danger diminished. Still, from the 148th to the 156th round, Brassey came valiantly to the scratch, but was down in every round, and was obviously incapable of stemming the current of misfortune. His friends again forced themselves into the ring; but “King Dick,” feeling the folly and foreseeing the danger which a repetition of punishment under such circumstances might incur, refused to second him any longer, and the unfortunate fellow at last consented to give in. He then shook hands with Parker, who although thus crowned with the wreath of victory, was certainly not entitled to praise for either manliness or gallantry. He retired from the field perfectly fresh with few marks of punishment, save those on his left ear and on the left side of his caput, which were certainly most wofully damaged. Brassey was completely exhausted, and almost in a state of stupefaction from the repeated visitations, left and right, to his knowledge box. His lip was split, and in other respects his punishment sufficiently testified that he had not left off till nature had deserted him. It is needless to say that his friends and himself were deeply mortified and disappointed by the result. The fighting was rapid, time called quick, and the rounds extremely short, which will account for the number of rounds is so limited a period.
Remarks.—We candidly confess that from first to last we never witnessed a fight the conclusion of which was less satisfactory. We have more than once expressed our disgust at that species of tumble-down fighting by which men, regardless of the principles of fair stand-up boxing, seek to punish others, while by cowardly subterfuges they escape punishment themselves. It is a species of paltry cunning to which no true British boxer would have recourse, and which in Parker’s case, as well as that of Nick Ward, admits of no apology. It is ridiculous to say that such manœuvres are consistent with good generalship, or excusable when small men are opposed to men of greater bulk; because, if small men are incapable of fighting men of larger size by fair means, it is not incumbent on them to enter the lists at all. But here the disparity of size was by no means such as to justify the adoption of such a mode of defence. From the first it was clear that Parker was not only the better fighter left and right, but was the harder hitter; and if he had had the courage to exercise those physical qualities which he possessed, and fought fairly and manfully at his man, there is little doubt that he would have brought the combat to a similar issue in one-third of the time. That he actually went down without a blow in more instances than one the spectators must have been perfectly satisfied, although on those particular occasions the appeals to the referee were not legally and properly made; and that he frequently went down equivocally is equally certain, but he had always self-possession and cunning enough to take care that he did not have recourse to these tricks except under circumstances where no adverse decision could be formed. He was repeatedly warned by the referee, but he declared solemnly he could not help it. On quitting the ring he vauntingly forewarned Caunt, who was present, that he would ere long have a tussle with him for the Champion’s belt, but we apprehend this is idle bounce, which he will be very unlikely ever to realise. With regard to Brassey, he utterly disappointed the anticipations of his friends. He no longer presented the formidable front by which he was distinguished in his contest with Caunt; he seemed, in fact, to have lost that gift of hitting left and right of which the head of Caunt, after their fight, afforded such signal testimony. His left hand appeared to be utterly ineffective, and when he did hit with it it was rather a shove than a blow, while the hits with his right hand were anything but decisive, although from their repetition they seemed at one time to threaten the ultimate defeat of his shifty antagonist. Of Parker’s cleverness and pusillanimity the reader will find further examples in the account of his defeat by Perry, the Tipton Slasher, in our memoir of that boxer, forming Chapter IV. of this volume.
This was the last appearance of Brassey in the P.R. The poor fellow was evidently on a downhill course, and died at his house, the “Coach and Horses,” Todd Street, Manchester, in 1845.
[28] It should never be forgotten by seconds that the referee is distinctly bound by the 4th of the New Rules of the Ring, to “withhold all opinion till appealed to by the umpires.” And it is to those umpires alone that the first appeal should be made; not by bystanders, who may be influenced by personal interest, but by the seconds alone, a rule which is unfortunately but too frequently forgotten, and which was in this instance attended by unfortunate consequences to Brassey—Ed.
III.—TASS PARKER, of West Bromwich, and HARRY PRESTON, of Birmingham, for £100.
As the name of Harry Preston has more than once occurred in connection with the subjects of Memoirs in our history, and was at one period of his career thought good enough for a match for £300 with Young Dutch Sam (see Pugilistica, Vol. II., p. 388), we shall here give his last battle, which was also memorable as being Tass Parker’s first Ring victory. The articles, which fixed the 8th of May, 1838, as the day of meeting, and the stakes to be fought for at £200, and further stipulated that Preston should confine himself to 11st. 7lbs., were duly complied with, Preston, on the morning of fighting, balancing 11st. 6lbs., which many considered 8lbs. below his best standard. Harry, it must be borne in mind, was an “old stager,” having credited to him, in the previous ten years, seven victories, two draws (one with Young Dutch Sam, already alluded to, the other with Davis, of Birmingham, whom he afterwards conquered), and but one defeat, and that by the scientific Jem Wharton (Young Molyneaux). It was, therefore, to be expected that 6 to 4 was readily offered on Preston, and that the defeat of Parker, who, notwithstanding his admitted superior skill with the gloves, had been twice beaten by the renowned Hammer Lane, with a prevalent doubt of his gameness, should have been booked as a certainty; the sequel, however, proved that in the Ring, as on the Turf, “public running” is not always to be implicitly relied on.