| Bare-knuckle champion of All England, political firebrand, preacher, rock as owt - Abbott profiles the mighty Bendigo, Nottingham's pugilistic hero |
 In 1839, when Bendigo was 28, he finally reached the summit. He was given the task of defeating the fearsome Londoner James “Deaf ‘un” Burke for the All-England title and
a purse of £220. The fight was at No Mans Heath
in Leicestershire, in front of
an unruly crowd of 15,000
people. It lasted just ten rounds,
with Bendigo battering the
helpless Burke, who had
just successfully toured America
and was seen as an unofficial
world champion. After half an
hour, the frustrated Burke
became so enraged with the
barrage of punches and insults
coming from his younger, faster
and stronger challenger, he
grabbed hold of Bendigo and full
on headbutted him, thus losing
on a foul and gifting the
championship away.
The “Nottingham Jester”, Champion Prize Fighter of All England was presented his belt a few weeks later at a ceremony in The Queens Theatre, Liverpool. When he returned to Nottingham, Bendigo met his jubilant supporters and got a bit carried away. He somersaulted into the crowd and ended up breaking his kneecap, which put him out of action for two years.
Bendigo was a true fighting champion, and once he recovered from his injury he defeated 19 opponents over the next four years, including seven in one month. But there was one fight the public were desperate to see - and on 9 September 1845 at Lillington Level, Oxford, a half-drunk riotous crowd of 10,000 came to see the third and final fight between Bendigo and Caunt.
Bendigo’s tactics were called into question as he crouched and bobbed his way around the ring, making it harder for Caunt to hit him. Hardly a round went by without a foul being claimed in a notoriously dirty grudge match. The atmosphere was all the more intense because of the fierce rivalry between the two sets of supporters, who only really came to finish what they had started 6 years earlier.
The fight lasted a massive 96 rounds, with Bendigo tactically and methodically breaking his man down until, exhausted after two hours ten minutes, Caunt sat down without getting hit, losing on a foul. The fight was described by a contemporary writer as “one of the most scandalous brawls in boxing history. Both men used every foul under the sun and invented a good many others… Bendigo was tossed from the ring… Caunt trying to crash him on the ring stakes to break his back. Bendigo’s followers attempted to bludgeon Caunt whenever within striking distance… on one occasion missing by a hair’s breadth, the blow landing on Caunt’s brawny shoulder”
Years later, when speaking on this fight, an old friend said to Bendigo; “I hope you fight Beelzebub with more fairness than you fought Caunt, or else I might change sides” This fight seemed to have taken a lot out of Bendigo, who slipped into semi-retirement and went back to his childhood pastime of fishing. He became good friends with a well-known angler called William Bailey, who made and sold fishing tackle from his shop in Broad Marsh. Although enjoying the quiet life, Bendigo reluctantly accepted a challenge from a young Tom Paddock from Redditch, and on the 5 June 1850, the 39-year-old William Abednego Thompson fought his last fight. In two minds as to whether to accept the fight or not, his 82 year-old mother encouraged him by saying “I tell you this Bendy, if you don’t take up the fight you’re a coward. And I tell you more - if you don’t fight him, I’ll take up the challenge myself.” Part 3 - "See them belts? See them Cups? I used to fight for those, but now I fight for Christ" Bendigo spent quite some time practicing this rather more gentile artform, and won several All-England fishing awards to go with his Prizefighting ones.Comment (0)  Send to friend  Print  Add to Facebook  Socialise
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