74 FAMOUS RACING MEN. 



to him a means of getting out of liis difl&culties which startled the 

 young countryman considerably. " I can get some friends of mine," 

 said Pearce, "to back you against me for a good round sum. You 

 will lose the battle and get a good thrashing ; but in the first place 

 your backer will at once fetch you out of this place to put you in 

 training, and you will be sure to gain the esteem of many useful 

 acquaintances." This is a sj)ecimen of the spirit which animated 

 the professional boxers of that time. They looked upon it as an 

 act of true friendship when a man consented to fight his dearest 

 " pal." And one eminent bruiser was once heard to say to another, 

 " Why won't thou fight me lad ? I have never done aught to give 

 thee offence." Gully finally accepted the offer, and a match was 

 made between the two men for 1,000 guineas, "The Chicken," or 

 his backer for him^ staking 600 against Gully's 400. On the 8th 

 of October, 1805, just outside the pretty little village of Hailsham, 

 in Sussex, that memorable battle was fought, and all the sporting 

 world of London, from the peer to the pork butcher, crowded to 

 witness the exciting event. It was a desperate fight. Fifty-nine 

 sanguinary rounds were fought in seventy minutes, and then Gully, 

 frightfully bruised, was forced to acknowledge that his opponent 

 was the better man, and resign to him the stakes. Nevertheless, 

 though defeated, John was not disgraced ; on the contrary, it was 

 thought a marvellous thing that he, a novice, should have stood up 

 for so long against the finest boxer in England, and not only did Gully 

 become a great and general favourite, but on the retirement of Pearce 

 he was ofiered the title of Champion of England. It was two years 

 after his battle with " The Game Chicken " before Gully was called 

 upon to defend his title to the Championship, and then it was Bob 

 Gregson, the future Poet Laureate of the Ring, who challenged him to 

 fistic combat. The challenger was from Lancashire, a man standing 

 6ft. 2in. in height, of prodigious strength, who had signalised his 

 prowess by several pugilistic contests in his native county with great 

 success. The fight, which had been most anxiously looked forward 

 to, took place on the 14th of October, 1801, in a valley called the 

 Six-mile Bottom, between Cambridge and Newmarket ; and for miles 

 round this part of the country was thronged with horse, and foot, 

 and carriage folks, eager to witness the battle. It was a combat of 

 giants, for Gully was 6ft. in height, and of very powerful frame, 

 though not such a Titan as his opponent. , The hitting was some- 

 thing terrific. The fortunes of war fluctuated, inclining now to one 

 side, now to the other, and victory hung in the balance, until in the 

 thirty-sixth round Gully summoned up all his remaining strength 

 and knocked his antagonist senseless. But it was so near a thing 

 that Gregson's backers made bold to match their man against Gully 

 again, and once more the two pugilists met and fought out the 

 question of supremacy in Sir John Sebright's park, in Hertfordshire, 

 on the morning of May 8th, 1808. So vast were the crowds which 

 assembled to witness the contest that the Dunstable Volunteers 



