Boxing by Gerald R. Gems

Author:Gerald R. Gems [Gems, Gerald R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2014-04-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Religion

Religion carries little significance in boxing today, but it played a more important role in the past. For thousands of years religious wars marked the vicissitudes of peoples throughout the world. Such differences carried over to the surrogate wars in the boxing ring for centuries as boxers were saddled with religious identities and the stereotypes that accompanied such designations.

English Jewish Boxers

Jews have historically faced persecution and were expelled from England as early as 1290. They were not allowed to serve in Parliament until 1858. Religious differences marked Jews as “others,’’ unwilling or unable to assimilate into the mainstream Christian cultures wherever they settled in the Western world. Often stereotyped as cerebral but weak, effeminate, and cowardly due to religious prohibitions regarding bloodshed, sport provided one avenue to greater assimilation. Jews held a prominent position among boxers in England by the late eighteenth century. Foremost among the Jewish boxers was Daniel Mendoza, followed by “Dutch” Sam Elias and Barney Aaron.1

Mendoza (1764–1836), born to a Sephardic Jewish family, grew up in Whitechapel, a poor district, where he found work in various occupations as a glass cutter, laborer, grocer, and even an actor. He claimed that he became a boxer because he was “frequently drawn into contests with butchers and others in the neighbourhood, who, on account of my mistress being of the Jewish religion, were frequently disposed to insult her.”2 His boxing career enabled him to become a tavern keeper with his wife, Esther, whom he married in 1787, and support eleven children. He fought more than thirty bouts between 1787 and 1806. Only 5 feet 7 inches in height and weighing but 160 pounds, but possessed of great endurance and courage, he developed superior defensive skills and enjoyed a large following among the Jews in England who wagered freely on the outcomes of his matches. In four of those encounters Mendoza fought Richard Humphries, with Mendoza winning three bouts. The first confrontation in 1788 drew thousands of spectators. The umpires ruled that Humphries, who had become entangled in the ropes, was to be considered as down and could not be hit. Humphries went on to win that match; Mendoza acquitted himself well and published The Art of Boxing a year later. Their battles proved significant on two counts, one entailing an ongoing clarification of the rules regarding hitting an opponent who was already down, as Humphries developed the strategy of taking a knee when needing a rest in subsequent matches. The second and greater matter of significance involved the symbolic importance of Mendoza, who represented all Jews in England and the respect gained by his successes. In the third bout with Humphries, which took place in 1790, Pierce Egan reported that “Mendoza, in being a JEW, did not stand in so favourable a view, respecting the wishes of the multitude towards his success, as his brave opponent.” Mendoza so pummeled Humphries in that contest that his opponent needed medical attention.3

Mendoza became so famous that he opened a theater

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