Daniel Mendoza 丹尼尔.门多萨

Boxing matches were very popular in England two hundred years ago. In those days, boxers fought with bare fists for prize money. Because of this, they were known as 'prize-fighters'. However, boxing was very crude, for there were no rules and a prize-fighter could be seriously injured or even killed during a match.

One of the most colorful figures in boxing history was Daniel Mendoza, who was born in 1764. The use of gloves was not introduced until 1860, when the Marquis of Queensberry drew up the first set of rules. Though he was technically a prize-fighter, Mendoza did much to change crude prize-fighting into a sport, for he brought science to the game. In his day, Mendoza enjoyed enormous popularity. He was adored by rich and poor alike.

Mendoza rose to fame swiftly after a boxing-match when he was 14 years old. This attracted the attention of Richard Humpries who was then the most eminent boxer in England. He offered to train Mendoza and his pupil was quick to learn. In fact, Mendoza soon became so successful that Humpries turned against him. The two men quarrelled bitterly and it was clear that the argument could only be settled by a fight. A match was held in Stilton, where both men fought for an hour. The public bet a great deal of money on Mendoza, but he was defeated. Mendoza met Humpries in the ring on a latter occasion and he lost for a second time. It was not until his third match in 1790 that he finally beat Humpries and became Champion of England. Meanwhile, he founded a highly successful Acadamy and even Lord Byren became one of his pupils. Mendoza earned enormous sums of money and was paid as much as 100 pounds for a single apperance. Despite this, he was so extravagent that he was always in debt. After he was defeated by a boxer called Gentleman Jackson, he was quickly forgotten. He was sent to prison for failing to pay his debts and died in porverty in 1836.