John Carmel Heenan and Tom Sayers
Heenan (1835-1873) was born in New York and Sayers (1826-1865) was born in Pimlico London. Both were accomplished knuckle fighters. They fought on 17th April 1860 at Farnborough, England, attended by over 12000 people. Sayers was a middleweight and at 10 stone 10 pounds (150 pounds) and 5 feet 8 inches, was nearly 3 stone (42 pounds) lighter and 6 inches shorter than Heenan. Even with this disadvantage Sayers fought well, but dislocated his right arm in the fourth round and so continued the next 33 rounds only using his left.
With good footwork and a great deal of courage, Sayers saw through the 37 rounds lasting over two hours, earning a very deserving draw. After the match, Sayers refused Heenan’s challenge of a rematch and went into retirement.
