Title: A Welsh Victory at the National Sporting Club, 31 March 1919.

Date: 1919.

Artist: William Howard Robinson.

Information: This painting depicts the end of a fight between Welshman Jimmy Wilde (who won the bout on points) and American Joe Lynch. After the fight, the Prince of Wales (who later became Edward VIII) stepped in to the ring to shake the hand of the Welshman. In doing so, he became the first member of the British Royal family to officially enter a boxing ring, giving the sport a ne...
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Title:  Richard Humphreys, the Boxer

Date:  1787

Artist:  John Hoppner

Information:  This painting of 18th century bare knuckle fighter Richard Humphreys was probably commissioned by his manager and promoter, Wilson Braddyll, to promote his upcoming fight against Daniel Mendoza. The artist had prior knowledge of boxing so managed to get a good likeness of an early boxer taking a defensive stance; the picture is now housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Title:  The Close of the Battle or The Champion Triumphant

Date:  19th Century

Artist:  Unknown (published by Walker and Knight)

Information:  This hand coloured etching depicts the second of two epic battles between the champion Tom Cribb (who won both fights) and Tom Molineaux, a former slave and the first American challenger to the title.

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Title:  The Bruiser Bruis'D, Or, the Knowing-Ones Taken-In

Date:  1750

Artist:  Unknown

Infomation:  Engraving of the fight between John 'Jack' Broughton and Jack Slack. Broughton was an instrumental influence on the early boxing scene after introducing the first rules aimed at providing some safety measures for fighters. In contrast Slack, after winning this fight and become the champ, went on to become the first known person to fix prize fights; he is also credited with inventing the rabbit pu...
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An illustration of James Figg, the first champion in modern pugilism history and an influential ambassador to the sport. His reign lasted from 1719 – 1730 when he retired undefeated after just under 300 fights. As a former fencer, he was able to bring new types of movement and technique to the art of boxing and after he quit the ring, he set up the world’s first boxing school to teach others.
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Title:  The Boxing Boys

Date:  c. 1600 B.C.E.

Artist:  Unknown

Date:  c. 1600 B.C.E.

Infomation:  This fresco from Thera (modern-day Santorini in Greece) depicts two Minoan
boys engaged in boxing and is the earliest image depicting the use of boxing gloves.
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Title:  L'Énéide

Date:  c.1927 (?)

Infomation:  Painting depicting the famous boxing contest between Entellus and Dares, as described in Virgil's epic poem, The Aeneid, written sometime between 29 and 19 BCE. The older Sicilian champion Entellus went on to win the fight against his younger opponent from Troy, which is said to have taken place in games held by Aeneas in Sicily.
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Title: Jack Broughton

Artist: Francis Hayman (1708 – 1776)

Infomation: This is an illustration of John ‘Jack’ Broughton, commonly thought of as the
‘Father of English Boxing’. He was champion from 1729 – 1750 and was the first
to add a set of widely accepted rules to the sport, which included stopping when
an opponent was knocked to the floor and using gloves, though only for training
purposes.

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Title: Illustration of John Graham Chambers
Date: 1883
Info:  John Graham Chambers (1843 – 1883) was an all-around sportsman from Wales who excelled in several disciplines including rowing, walking, cycling, wrestling and athletics. However his major contribution was to devise the rules for boxing, known as the Marquess of Queensberry Rules.

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