page_title: Thomas King (boxer)
section_title: Defence of the championship
hierarchical_section_title: Thomas King (boxer) / Boxing career / English heavyweight champion, 1862 / Defence of the championship
caption_attribution_description: English: Black and white (yellow sepia) drawing of American boxer and heavyweight championship contender John Heenan being struck by English champion Tom King, both barechested in a prize ring
context_page_description: Tom King also known as "The Fighting Sailor" was an English boxer who fought both bare-knuckle and with gloves. Strong, fast, and durable he was a skilled pugilist. One of his quirkier pre-fight rituals was to drink a tot of gin before every bout. He retired from the ring in 1863, as the Heavyweight Champion of England, following his defeat of the reigning champion Jem Mace and American contender John C. Heenan.
context_section_description: King's next fight was a defence of the English heavyweight championship and took place on a sunny morning at 10 am on 10 December 1863 for the exceptional sum of £1000 a side against John C Heenan.  Heenan was an American who had fought the British boxer Thomas Sayers to a controversial draw for the heavyweight title in 1860. Heenan had been unofficially acclaimed the heavyweight champion, so King and his seconds knew the importance of taking the bout to defend the title.  Thomas Sayers acted as Heenan's second, appearing in a boxing ring for the last time before his early death in 1865. The bout was held at Cockmounts Farm, Wadhurst, East Sussex and was fought with bare-knuckles using London Prize Ring Rules. According to Heenan's 19th-century biographer, the fight lasted 35 minutes and 25 rounds. In the first round, Heenan put King in a headlock and beat his head with his opposite hand until forced to stop from the blows administered by King on his back.  Called "fibbing" at the time, holding an opponent by the neck and striking him was a move usually allowed under London Prize Ring Rules. In the second, Heenan again tried to hug and strike King but with less success, so he threw King to the ground.  Heenan attempted a hold again in the third and threw King into the ropes, throwing him to the ground with force in the sixth.  In the sixteenth, King was again dashed to the ground, thrown by Heenan.  For the first 17 rounds the fighting appeared close with a lead by Heenan, but in the 18th round King seemed to gain the advantage with blows to Heenan's face, and went on to win the match.  King dominated the last three rounds, and Heenan's face was pummeled brutally, showing considerable injury.  In the 23rd, King downed Heenan with a right.  Heenan came to scratch in the 24th, but was downed again near his corner by King, curling up in a heap.  He was unable to answer in the 25th and when his second "threw up the sponge", the fight was called.  Heenan received dreadful injuries to his face, and several reporters present at the fight felt it should have been called in the 21st.
  King now became very selective of his opponents refusing to meet Mace in the ring again.  Mace was frustrated and angry at not being given the opportunity to regain his heavyweight title, and in order to prompt a match deliberately set out to pick a fight with King in the street.  King still refused to fight him and retired allowing the heavyweight title to fall vacant, though subsequently many unofficially claimed it.
caption: King striking Heenan in the final rounds
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