Although records of fights fought in this era are few, there is no evidence that Broughton ever lost a fight. Throughout the 1730s Broughton fought semi-professionally and earned a sizable reputation. In 1730 he won a major annual race on the Thames, Doggett's Coat and Badge race which is contested to this day, against a number of other watermen who had recently finished their apprenticeships. He served his apprenticeship in the Port of London, initially working as a lighterman but eventually, in light of his physical prowess (Broughton was nearly 6 feet tall and very muscular, weighing over 14 stone, or approximately 196 pounds), working as a waterman rowing passengers on the River Thames. His seven rules of how boxing would be conducted at his amphitheatre (the largest and most influential at that time) evolved later into the London Prize Ring rules which are widely regarded as the foundation stone of the sport that would become boxing, prior to the development of the Marquess of Queensberry rules in the 1860s.īroughton was of obscure birth, he is variously described as being born in either London or Gloucestershire. He was the first person to codify a set of rules to be used in such contests prior to this the "rules" that existed were very loosely defined and tended to vary from contest to contest. 1703 or 5 July 1704 – 8 January 1789) was an English bare-knuckle boxer.
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