Allen Battles Mace for World Title

Tom Allen was born in Birmingham, England but fought some of his most famous fights in America.  In 1867, Allen moved to St. Louis, the largest city west of the Mississippi.  Allen never left and would use St. Louis as his home base to train for prizefights.

Allen fought mostly in bare knuckle prizefights as American boxing would not be primarily conducted with gloves until the 1890s.  In 1870, he secured a match for the recognized World Heavyweight Title with champion Jem Mace.  The match was scheduled for Tuesday, May 10, 1870 near New Orleans, Louisiana.

Prizefighting was illegal in many areas, so to avoid any potential trouble with authorities, the site of the fight was hidden until the day of the event.  The match occurred on the Oakland sugar plantation near Kenner, Louisiana.

The fight occurred around 9 a.m. as Tom Allen entered the ring with his seconds, Jo Coburn and Sherman Thurston.  Jem Mace entered the ring next with his seconds, Kusick and Donovan.  Allen was usually the smaller heavyweight fighter at 170 pounds but actually outweighed the 165-pound Mace.

After settling on Rufust Hunt for referee, the men flipped to determine corners.  Mace won, so Allen had to take the sunny corner.  The men then retired to their corners to begin the fight.

Mace started the action by landing several right hands to the face.  One blow to the nose seemed to draw blood from Allen.  Mace claimed first blood but the referee didn’t recognize the call.  Allen landed one body blow but Mace evaded the second.  A solid right hand knocked Allen to the ground to end the first round.

The second round was a little more even.  Allen pounded Mace to the body with mostly right hands, while Mace primarily worked the head.  Mace swung a might right cross that landed above Allen’s left eye.  Blood started gushing and Hunt awarded Mace first blood.  Mace took a knee to end the second round.

In the third round, Allen had some of his best action as he knocked Mace down almost immediately to end the third round.  Mace rebounded in the fourth round but took a knee to avoid a powerful blow to end the round.

By the fifth round, Mace had turned the tide in his favor.  Allen ended the next five rounds by throwing Mace to end each round but he took a terrible beating before being able to secure a clinch and throw Mace.  Mace pummeled Allen’s face, closing both eyes and opening several cuts.

In the tenth round, Mace cut up Allen’s face with a steady onslaught.  Allen was able to throw Mace by sheer force of will but the momentum also took him to the ground.  Being so fatigued, Allen fell awkwardly on his arm.  His seconds believed the fall broke Allen’s arm.

Already planning to throw in the towel, Allen’s seconds conceded the bout to Mace.  Mace saluted Allen, who appreciated the gesture.  Fans also left happy as they called it the best fight to ever occur in New Orleans.

Mace retired after the bout, but like many fighters, he came out of retirement often.  For his part, Allen would win the American Heavyweight Title a few years later.

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Source: New Orleans Republican, May 11, 1870 edition, p. 1

 

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