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Tom Cribb vs. Tom Molineaux, December 18, 1810, at Copthorne Gap, near Surrey, England; Tom Molineaux, the first fighter from the United States to fight for a world title, fought Tom Cribb, England’s “Champion of Champions” in the first of their two fights. This was not the first World title fight, but it did mark the first time an American challenged for the title, and the first Black man to do so.
I must admit I didn't know about Jack Slack vs. Jean Petit, & thought Cribb-Molineaux was the first 'world' title fight.
Molineaux was, sadly, robbed. He knocked Cribb down so brutally that he couldn't rise. Cribb's corner then protested that Molineaux had loaded his hands with iron ingots. By the time the referee had shown there were no iron ingots Cribb had had about 5 minutes to recover, in which time Molineaux, a man of African descent born & raised in Mississippi, had been lashed by the cold wind & rain of an English winter. Unsurprisingly, on resumption, Cribb was full of energy & eventually knocked Molineaux out. Even British sports commentators had to admit that Molineaux had not been given a fair go.
Cribb won the rematch quite comfortably, but Molineaux had not exactly trained to perfection. Sources remark on how many lords & dukes at the time were shocked when their ladies gave birth to surprisingly dark babies!
I must admit I didn't know about Jack Slack vs. Jean Petit, & thought Cribb-Molineaux was the first 'world' title fight.
Molineaux was, sadly, robbed. He knocked Cribb down so brutally that he couldn't rise. Cribb's corner then protested that Molineaux had loaded his hands with iron ingots. By the time the referee had shown there were no iron ingots Cribb had had about 5 minutes to recover, in which time Molineaux, a man of African descent born & raised in Mississippi, had been lashed by the cold wind & rain of an English winter. Unsurprisingly, on resumption, Cribb was full of energy & eventually knocked Molineaux out. Even British sports commentators had to admit that Molineaux had not been given a fair go.
Cribb won the rematch quite comfortably, but Molineaux had not exactly trained to perfection. Sources remark on how many lords & dukes at the time were shocked when their ladies gave birth to surprisingly dark babies!
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