Bounce Magazine January 2018 Edition

JANUARY JANUARY 2018 | ISSUE 2018 | #63 ISSUE | #63 HISTORY
JOHN ‘JACK’ SLACK
John ‘Jack’ Slack was also known as the ‘Norfolk
Butcher’, and the ‘Knight of the Cleaver’ was a
bare-knuckle fighter who was believed to be the
first International Heavyweight Champion in a fight,
which took place in 1754.
Born in Thorpe in 1721 he traded as a butcher, hence the
nickname and he was also the grandson of fighter James Figg,
who was the first English bare-knuckle boxing champion.
John became champion of Norfolk by 1743 and by 1748 he
became so well known, standing at five foot eight and a half
inches and weighing fourteen stone his physique was said to
be ‘superior to other men’ that he changed his fighting style to
suit his opponent. A term given to him was ‘a slack’um’ which
later became the general name of a ‘smashing hit’. He sold his
business to his brother and moved to London where his name
as a boxer was growing so quickly that he was backed by Prince
William, Duke of Cumberland, who due to the Jacobite uprising
was known as ‘Butcher Cumberland’.
At Broughton’s Amphitheatre, Oxford Road, London during
March 1750, John gave out a challenge to the older Jack
Broughton who was known as the ‘Father of Boxing’. After a
delay, the fight lasted fourteen minutes with John as the victor
with the title Championship of England. He was the only man to
have beat Broughton, who as it was later known was trained by
John’s grandfather, James Figg.
Back in Norfolk in July 1754, a challenge came by the way
of Monsieur Jean Pettit, who in France worked in a circus as
a ‘strong man’. Many newspapers covered the fight and the
London Evening Post wrote the following on 3rd of August 1754:
Rails, and grain’d him so much as
to make him turn extremely black.
Pettit kept fighting and driving
hard at Slack; when at length Slack
clos’d with his Antagonist, and
gave him a very severe Fall; after
that, a second and third. But Pettit
so much dreaded Slack’s Falls, that
he ran directly at his Hams, and
tumbled him down.
Pettit grew weaker, Slack
stronger; this was occasion’d by
Slack’s strait Way of fighting. At
twenty-two Minutes, the best
Judges allow’d Slack to have the
Advantage over Pettit.
Pettit threw Slack again over the
rails; this indeed Slack suffer’d him
to do, as by that Means he fix’d
a Blow under Pettit’s Ribs, that
hurt him much; Thus ended this
dreadful Combat. The Box was
Sixty-six Pounds Ten Shillings’.
John retired from fighting and
opened a butcher shop in Covent
Garden and later retired to Bristol.
Extract: (using original words and spellings)
‘Pettit seized Slack by the Throat, and held him up against the
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