A Social History of Sheffield Boxing, Volume I by Matthew Bell & Gary Armstrong

Author:Matthew Bell & Gary Armstrong
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Capitalising on Income

Boxing contests continued for a while at the Excelsior School, but the popularity of the sport in Sheffield had declined since its early 1890s heyday.27 Purses and stakes were lower, and reports in the local press were becoming briefer and less frequent; the era of detailed reports of individual rounds was coming to a close. The Excelsior School eventually closed; ironically had Corfield not applied for the licence of the Ball Inn his school might have continued without interference. Denied the opportunity to earn a living away from the ring, Corfield was forced to reverse his decision to retire. A couple of years previously he could command a purse of £500; he now had to be content with £100, which was still a sum close to the annual earnings of many working-class men in the city. A match was made for Corfield to fight London’s Jim Williams during the 1898 St Leger week. Remaining a favourite of the Sheffield public, big numbers turned out to support him. Corfield accumulated a large points lead over ten rounds but grabbed Williams in the 11th as he rushed in. Twisting him to the floor, he was cautioned by the referee. In round 12 he did it again; this time he was disqualified. It was not the ideal comeback.

Corfield spent much of the next four years in London, where in two contests he drew with and lost to local man George Slark .28 A second fight against Jim Williams in March 1900 was also a let-down; the referee stopped it after five rounds, calling a ‘no contest’ as he believed the two boxers ‘were not doing their best’.29 In all, Corfield fought over a dozen times during his years in London. The chance for revenge over George Slark in neutral Leicester came in July 1900. This time after 20 rounds the decision went in Corfield’s favour. A further opportunity for vengeance followed with a third encounter against the fading Billy Plimmer .

Corfield had enjoyed life since the Slark fight: whilst training at the Markham Moor Hotel near Retford, it was reported that through hard training he had ‘relieved himself of quite 18-1/2 pounds of superfluous flesh’. The venue for their third fight was the Gymnastic Club, Stalybridge. It went the full 20 rounds and was declared a draw.30 Next, after an easy win over debutant Ike Waudby in December 1900, Corfield took on unbeaten Jarrow boxer Andrew Tokell in Newcastle in February 1901 and was knocked out. He had dropped a long way down the rankings and was now fighting for small stakes; he earned £20 for a draw against Ike Cohen of Manchester and less for losing by a knock-out to London’s Billy Eacott in September 1901. The flame in his distinguished career was going out.

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