James Figg

Who was James Figg?

James Figg was an English bare-knuckle boxer. He is widely recognized the first English bare-knuckle boxing champion, reigning from 1719 to 1730. Jack Dempsey called him the father of modern boxing. Many of the bouts at the time consisted of boxing, wrestling and fencing with sharp swords. Figg was also a great fencer that engaged in sword duels and singlestick matches. He was born in Thame in Oxfordshire and fought his early prize fights there. In 1719 he started his own school and taught boxing, fencing, and quarterstaff. William Hogarth painted his portrait. Although records were not as precise back then, the common belief is that Figg had a record of 269–1 in 270 fights. His only loss came when Ned Sutton beat him to claim the title. Figg demanded a rematch, which he won, and also went on to retire Sutton in a rubber match. After 1730 he largely gave up fighting, and relied on his three protégés to bring in spectators: Bob Whittaker, Jack Broughton, and George Taylor. Taylor took over Figg's business upon Figg's death in 1734, though Broughton went on to become his most famous protégé.

Figg was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.