Daniel Mendoza
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Daniel Mendoza (5 July 1764 – 3 September 1836) (often known as Dan Mendoza) was an English prizefighter, who was boxing champion of England 1792-95. He is sometimes called the father of scientific boxing.
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[edit] Success
Mendoza's style consisted of more than simply battering opponents into submission, his "scientific style" included much movement. His ability to overcome much heavier adversaries was a consequence of this. In 1789 he published The Art of Boxing.
Mendoza was so popular that the London press reported news of one of his bouts ahead of the storming of the Bastille which marked the start of the French Revolution. He transformed the English stereotype of a Jew from a weak, indefensible person into someone deserving of respect. He is said to have been the first Jew to talk to the King, George III.
His early boxing career was defined by three bouts with his former mentor Richard Humphries between 1788 and 1790. The first of these was lost due to Humphries’s second (the former Champion, Tom Johnson) blocking a blow. The second two bouts were won by Mendoza. The third bout was the first time spectators were charged an entry payment to a sporting event. The fights were hyped by a series of combative letters in the press between Humphries and Mendoza.
Mendoza's "Memoirs" report that he got involved in three fights whilst on his way to watch a boxing match. The reasons were: (a) someone's cart cut in; (b) he felt a shopkeeper was trying to cheat him; (c) he didn't like how a man was looking at him.
[edit] Decline
In 1795 Mendoza fought "Gentleman" John Jackson for the Championship at Hornchurch in Essex. Jackson was five years younger, 4 inches taller, and 42 lbs. heavier. The bigger man won in nine rounds, paving the way to victory by seizing Mendoza by his long hair and holding him with one hand while he pounded his head with the other. Mendoza was pummelled into submission in around ten minutes. Since this date boxers have worn their hair short.
After 1795 Mendoza began to seek other sources of income, becoming the landlord of the "Admiral Nelson" pub in Whitechapel. He turned down a number of offers for re-matches and in 1807 wrote a letter to The Times in which he said he was devoting himself chiefly to teaching the art. In 1809 he and some associates were hired by the theatre manager Kemble in an attempt to suppress the OP Riots; the resulting poor publicity probably cost Mendoza much of his popular support, as he was seen to be fighting on the side of the privileged.
Mendoza made and spent a fortune. His Memoirs (written in 1808 but not published until 1816) report that he tried a number of ventures, including touring the British Isles giving boxing demonstrations; appeared in a pantomime entitled Robinson Crusoe or Friday Turned Boxer; opening a boxing academy at the Lyceum in the Strand; working as a recruiting sergeant for the army; printing his own paper money; and being a pub landlord.
Mendoza made his last public appearance as a boxer in 1820 at Banstead Downs in a grudge match against Tom Owen; he was defeated after 12 rounds.
Intelligent, charismatic but chaotic, he died leaving his family in poverty.
[edit] Halls of Fame
In 1954 Mendoza was elected to the Boxing Hall of Fame.
In 1990 he was inducted into the inaugural class of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Mendoza, who was Jewish, was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.[2]
[edit] Family
The actor Peter Sellers was a descendant of Dan Mendoza. Prints of the boxer can be seen on Inspector Clouseau’s wall in the Pink Panther films.
Radio Presenter Mike Mendoza is a descendant of Daniel Mendoza.
[edit] References
- A Treasury of Jewish Folklore: Nathan Ausubel
- Memoirs of the life of Daniel Mendoza ISBN 0517502933
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
[edit] Notes
- ^ His memoir states 1764, but synagogue records suggest 1765; he was circumcised on 12th July 1765.
2. See author David Liss' book, "A Conspiracy of Paper", c.2000, Ballantine Books, NY, ISBN 0-8041-1912-0, a novel, which is loosely based on Mendoza's life.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Daniel Mendoza at the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
- Extracts from Daniel Mendoza's Boxing Manual hosted at the Linacre School of Defence website.
