The English and Yankee "International" prize fight.
The great prize fight between
Heenan and
King was to have come off in
England on the 8th inst. --The stake is $10,000 and the champion belt
Heenan refused to fight
Jem Mace, who is a smaller man than
Sayers; but immediately upon
Mace being whipped by
King accepted a challenge from the latter.
From an article in the New York
Herald on the subject we take the following:
‘
Tom King is backed by the democracy, as the sporting denizens of the East End of
London may be termed.
He belongs to that qarter of the city by birth, was first brought out there, and in all his matches has been backed from there.
He stands six feet two and a half inches in height, and is therefore an inch taller than
Heenan; weighs about one hundred and eighty-five pounds, and is admirably proportioned, strong, and remarkably active.
He has had far more experience in the ring, having fought and defeated Tom Truckle, of Ports-mouth, and Young
Broome, as well as twice fought the accomplished
Jem Mace, losing the first fight through an accidental throw, and winning the second by knocking the champion out of time by one of the most terrific right-handed hits over witnessed in any fight in the prize-ring.
His gameness is unquestionable and well proved in all his battles, white his tremendous powers of hitting, activity, and science, are equally incontestable.
Heenan, as is well known, has but two battles on his record — the first with
Morrissey, and the second with
Tom Sayers.
The constant, regular, and daily practice with the gloves which he has had in the fulfillment of his professional engagement with
Howe &
Cushing's circus for the last eighteen mouths has had, it is stated, the effect of rendering him perfect in the theoretical knowledge of the art of boxing.
In this respect, however, his opponent has had an equal advantage, as he has also been engaged in a similar capacity for nearly a twelvemonth.
Altogether the merits of the two men may he considered as pretty evenly balanced, and lead us to anticipate one of the best and hardest contested battles ever recorded in the annals of the ring.
’
Heenan is training at
Newmarket, in the same locality where
Sayers prepared for their great battle in April, 1860. He has no regular professional trainer with him, declining, in view of the immense pecuniary interests dependent upon him, to place himself in the hands of any one.
His two brothers,
James and
Tim, accompany him in his out-door pedestrian excursions, and superintend the
cuisine of his household.
During the recent
Houghton race meeting at
Newmarket, he took his walks daily upon the extensive heath, and his fine appearance, betokening the most vigorous and lusty health, gave great satisfaction to his numerous friends and backers.
In his daily excursions he was also generally accompanied by Bill Royal, who is matched to fight
Mace for the championship in December next, and who is also training at
Newmarket.
King has also gone into training; but we have not yet heard of the locality he has selected, or who are his mentors.
Jack Macdonald, the staunch friend and second of
Heenan, will be with the latter during the last two weeks of his preparation, to put the final polish upon him for the great encounter on the 8th of December next.
The last deposit ($500 a side) of the stake of $10,000, was fixed for the 19th inst., when the whole amount would have been deposited.
Both men have issued their colors — an expression which requires a word of explanation.
In
England it is the invariable custom for the principals in a prize fight to dispose of a large number of silk neckerchiefs of various fancy patterns, which are termed their "colors" among their respective friends, under the expressed condition that if successful they are to receive a sovereign each from those parties who took them; if unsuccessful, nothing is expected for them.
In a match like the present, each man may be expected to dispose of some hundreds of his colors on these conditions, the margin of profit upon them adding materially to the exchequer of the winner.
Heenan's colors are on this occasion the "
Beaufort color," (the
Duke of
Beaufort being one of his staunchest backers,) and consist of a
blue and
white stripe, an inch in width, with a red border of a similar depth.
Tom King's standard is a white silk, with a rampant lion holding the
Union jack, and the border composed of the rose, shamrock, and thistle entwined together.
The betting in
London up to the present time is not heavy, the speculators preferring to wait until nearer the time.
What little is done shows
Heenan to be unmistakably the favorite, $600 to $400 being freely offered that he wins, and several commissions to bet these odds to large amounts being out in the market.
One well known bookmaker on the turf laid in one bet, $3,000 to $2,000 that
Heenan will win. In this city
King has many friends, and $1,000 to $500, and $1,000 to $600, will be readily taken on him. The last steamers from this city and
Boston have taken a great many prominent sporting men over to
England, to be present at the fight — the most of them being, of course, personal friends of
Heenan.
